I Ran So Far Away - Complete

Chapter 48

"Mrs. Grey? I'm sorry to wake you. Your cell has been ringing for the last twenty minutes, and now there's a call on the house phone. The caller is insistent they speak with you..."

I opened bleary eyes, looking to the door of our master suite. Prescott stood there in her usual black pants suit holding out the house phone for me. I guess she'd drawn the night shift this evening.

"Thanks, Prescott. I'm sorry it interrupted you."

"I'll be in the security office if you need anything," she said with a hot pink lip-sticked smile.

My cell charging on the kitchen counter, since we had twenty-four-seven security, I was unsurprised someone had heard it. As for the home phone, the protocol was Gail answered it when she was in the main house; if not, security picked up. I felt bad that Prescott was put in a position where she had to decide whether to disrupt my sleep. If Christian had been home, she would not have disturbed us.

"Hello?" I said wearily. I already knew it wouldn't be Christian. Prescott would have told me if it was him. So, at this time of night, it only left one option...

"Ana?! Elliot's left me!" Kate wailed.

I looked at the bedside clock. It was 3:00 am, which made it 11:00 am in London.

"Hey," I said, yawning. "Give me a minute. It's 3:00 am, here."

Kate paid no attention, starting into a diatribe outlining how the end of her relationship played out. Elliot had called her late in the evening, telling her he'd be back in London, asking to meet for breakfast the next day. Surprised, Kate had told Elliot she'd take the day off work, and he could treat her by bringing breakfast to her place.

He'd agreed, bringing ham and cheese croissants. Kate assumed he was there to escalate a reconciliation between them. Instead, they'd traded small talk, ate, then Elliot told Kate he wanted to end things between them permanently.

"He didn't say why!" Kate wailed, incognizant to the fact I was only just awake, and not fully switched on. "He gave me some half-assed excuse about 'not being ready' and saying we 'didn't have what it took to go long term.'"

Pulling myself together, I prepared to dedicate the next hour or two to consoling Kate. Not that, so far, I'd been required to say much.

"I don't know where this came from!" my former best friend wailed. "We were perfect together, but now he wants to end things! Do you think he's met someone else?! Have you heard anything?!"

As much as I'd like to be fully honest with Kate, there'd be no joy in telling her Elliot had met another woman; especially given they may never progress beyond friends. That information was best kept to myself.

"I know nothing," I lied. "We hosted a family lunch here on Saturday, and Christian mentioned he was traveling to London to check out a company GEH is looking to acquire. Elliot asked if he could catch a ride on the jet since Christian was traveling there anyway..."

Kate snarled. "So Christian is with him! No wonder Elliot has suddenly changed his tune! Last weekend Elliot was all about our future together, and today he was 'I care for you, but we need to end things here.'"

"What happened after he said that?" I asked, ignoring Kate's barb about Christian. I was curious about how my brother-in-law played things.

"Nothing! He wished me well, kissed me on the cheek, and walked outside. He already had a taxi waiting, I don't know where he's staying, and now he's not answering his cell!" Kate was sobbing, and part of me was genuinely sorry for her. A breakup like this was understandably devastating. "But I guess I have your husband to thank for this!"