Sweet Torment/A Jordan Knight Fanfic (18+)✔️

29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jordan was usually already in his office by the time I got to work, so it was strange to get in before him. I sat at my desk and powered on my computer, hoping to be able to concentrate on work.

I checked my phone while I waited for my computer. In the haze of my hangover, getting ready in record time, and being seriously put in my place by Jordan, I hadn't even thought to look at it to see if Charlie had tried to call.

He hadn't. I wasn't surprised.

He was hurt, and I didn't blame him. I'd been the one to hurt him, and it was only fair for me to leave it up to him to make contact. I supposed I'd need to stop home at some point in the short term, if nothing else to get some of my things. Jordan had been nice enough to provide what I needed that morning, but I couldn't rely on him.

In the long term, I'd need to move out of the apartment I shared with Charlie. We'd need to talk, to separate our things, to move forward with our divorce.

But all of that could wait for a bit. Our marriage was over, but Charlie deserved the time to process my confession from the night before.

When my computer was finally on and I'd pulled up my email, I found one from Charlie. It had been sent a little after two in the morning. My heart raced and tears heated my eyes the second I saw his name. I clicked it immediately and began to read.

Emily,

I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. I'm going to talk to apartment management today to see if we can break our lease. I'm looking into a divorce lawyer. You keep what's yours. I don't want any of it anyway. Come get what you want, but please don't be at the apartment after 7:00 tonight.

Charlie

I read it through three times, looking for hints into his mental state, but other than the fact that he clearly hated me, he was pretty straightforward.

I swiped at a tear that had escaped from my eye and forced myself to focus on work, but it was largely futile. I gathered data for the MTC account, but I couldn't move forward with any of my ideas until I met with Jordan.

I hated depending on the men in my life, and it seemed like a vicious cycle. First I depended on Charlie to help me with my family, and then I depended on Jordan to take care of me the night before and now with the project.

I needed independence.

It was that realization that made me think perhaps my very best option was to get as far away from Jordan as I could. I needed time to move forward in order to heal. I needed to be on my own for a while.

I needed to reconnect with Emily—not the wife, not the cheater, not the assistant, not the confused woman. Just Emily.

It was time to just be on my own for a while.

The thought of being away from Jordan ripped my heart in half.

It was a sad realization to have on the day I was going to be named Assistant of the Year, but I couldn't see any other way. I knew what I had to do.

I shook my head to clear it and then drafted the email I'd been thinking about all morning. I wasn't sure if I'd actually send it, but I had it there for insurance.

I chickened out of bringing my questions to Jordan and chose to email him about the MTC account. It would be easier to handle it over email than to have to meet face-to-face, especially with everything hanging in the air. I couldn't let our personal relationship affect my work. It wasn't professional, and it certainly wasn't how the Assistant of the Year should act.