Meant to Be

CHAPTER 28 - WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART

Author's Note: Hi Everyone! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. I have the rest of the story outlined so I know how things will end and I think it will be a fun journey the rest of the way.  I personally prefer reading stories once they are complete so I know I won't be left not knowing how it ends so I appreciate all of you that are reading along as I update. I promise, I will not leave this story without an ending!  Here's Chapter 28 ... 

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Rory had sat at her office for the better part of Monday morning and her phone showed no signs of any communication from Logan. They were supposed to meet sometime during the day to discuss things but he hadn't reached out, which she thought was sort of typical behavior for him. He was always moving a thousand miles a minute and had the weight of HPG on his shoulders, but she didn't think he would stand her up, not when they had so much to discuss. Fortunately for Rory, Claudette was out of the office for the day so she had to pick up some of the slack and was conducting walk-thrus for two upcoming weddings at the Plaza which helped to keep her mind off of Logan and her eyes off of her phone.

She spent her afternoon working on the invoices for a few of their events and met with a new floral vendor that they were interested in using for the upcoming wedding season. At 5:30PM Rory still had not heard from Logan and her disappointment was palpable when Pam walked in to her office.

"Hey Ror! A few of us were going to go the bar next door for Happy Hour. Are you interested in coming along?" Pam asked.

Rory scrunched her nose up and was about to come up with an excuse when she had a change of heart. She would not sit around all night, home alone, waiting for Logan to finally get around to reaching out to her. If he was going to stand her up, she was going to find a better use of her time.

"You know what? I think this is just what I need. Let me shut down my computer and grab my things and I will meet you all out front."

***

Logan was sitting in his office on the 60th floor of the HPG Tower doing everything in his power to stay focused on his work. A few articles had made their way around the internet about the Huntzberger-Nichols nuptials being cancelled but so far the major media outlets (at least those not owed and operated by the Huntzbergers) were staying out of the fray. Most of the stories that had been published seemed to stick to the basics: the wedding had been set for February, the bride and groom had called off the engagement, they remained friends and asked for privacy at this time. All in all, Logan was pleased that he would be able to put the engagement behind him without dragging Rory or anyone else in to the mud.

Speaking of Rory, he was shocked that she hadn't responded to his text the previous night. He knew Rory well and she was a planner, the kind of girl that lived her life by pro-con lists and detailed organizational monthly calendars. She didn't like plans being cancelled and she definitely wouldn't like being kept out of the loop on such a major event in his life given how they left things at the New Year's Eve Party. He wanted to reach out to her again, to apologize for the last minute change of plans, to tell her he loved her but, he decided to give her a little space. She would reach out to him when she was ready to talk.

He was able to get most of his work done by the early afternoon and he used his suddenly free time to meet with his real estate agent to view a few apartments that were for sale. He knew Colin and Steph would be happy to have him stay at their place for as long as he needed to, but he was determined to not wear out his welcome. Plus, the sooner he moved forward with his life, the sooner he would be able to show Rory that he was ready, willing and able to be the man she needed him to be.

After a few hours viewing every available apartment in his price bracket, Logan finally found the perfect place. It was located on Central Park South, the most expensive street in New York and to say that the Penthouse was opulent would be an understatement. Italian marble floors, state-of-the-art kitchen appliances, multiple terraces overlooking Central Park, 5 en-suite guest bedrooms and a two story master bedroom retreat were included in the luxury listing. This was the place Logan, and hopefully Rory, would soon call home.

***

Rory had enjoyed the night out with her co-workers and even enjoyed flirting with a few gentlemen in the bar. She wasn't seriously interested in any of them but it felt nice knowing that she was desirable to the opposite sex since Logan had stood her up. She said her goodbyes to the girls and headed to her apartment to call it a night. Once in her apartment she changed out of her work clothes and threw on a pair of her Yale sweats and a tank top and climbed in to her bed. It was still early so she picked up her phone and pulled up the New York Post app. She scrolled through some of the top stories when her eyes caught a glimpse of the headline:

Huntzberger and Nichols are Kaput – How the Wedding of the Year Became the Breakup of the Century

She stayed staring at the headline and the photo of Logan and Katie, looking perfectly in love for the engagement photo shoot. Her eyes poured over the story – there wasn't much there. All she knew was that Logan and Katie were done, finished, over. Claudette had assumed they were done with the Plaza when really they were done with each other. IF this was true, why had Logan ghosted her today? She would have thought he would have wanted to tell her everything himself instead of her having to find out in a news story.

Rory held her phone in her hand. 'Should I call him?' she wondered out loud. She seemed to always be the one that had to reach out to him, begging him to talk to her. She decided then that things would be different this time. She had spent the last few months torturing herself by planning his wedding to someone else, if he wanted her, he needed to be the one to step up and do something about it. She was resolute in her decision and turned her phone to 'Do Not Disturb' because she was determined to have a good night's sleep. As her head hit the pillow, Rory was drifting off to sleep, dreaming of a future that looked just a little brighter than it had the night before.

***

Logan headed back to Colin and Steph's place relieved that his offer was accepted on the Penthouse. He would be moving in at the end of the week. One of the advantages of being a Huntzberger was having access to enormous wealth and therefore foregoing things like bidding wars, escrow waiting periods, inspections and so on. Logan learned a long time ago that if you threw enough money at something, it could be yours for the taking. When he walked in to the Brownstone, Logan was greeted by Steph and Colin watching the tv in their den. He told them about the Penthouse that he was moving in to and they discussed the breakup announcement that had been released in several newspapers.

"Anything else you need to tell us about?" Steph questioned innocently.

"Nope, nothing else to mention," Logan responded back, knowing she was really asking him about Rory.

"Hmmm. So, you didn't talk to Rory today?" Steph asked.

"I told her we'd talk later once the shit had time to hit the fan," Logan asserted, "Don't worry Steph, I have every intention of making sure Rory knows exactly how I feel about her and our future."

"Good boy!" Steph replied and Logan and Colin smiled while shaking their heads. Steph always made sure her feelings about any situation were known and when it came to Logan and Rory she had enough of them doing everything in their power to screw it up, it was time for them to finally get things right.