66- Waves of shining

he event in Breckenridge is just about to begin when we arrive.
We’re shown to our seats just as it is in full swing and my keynote is soon called upon. It
breezes by and afterwards, there is a storm of salutations and networking that we have to work through. Five hours later however, we are done for the day and begin our return back to Denver.
I shut my eyes, needing the rest more than anything and it leads to me sleeping through the rest of the journey until I feel a small tap on my arm.
“Mr. Abbott?” I hear a soft voice call repeatedly. I’m awake enough to respond but I listen to her for a few more seconds before my eyes come open. I turn, and the light of the setting sun through the window covers her in a beautiful, mesmeric light. I can’t look away from her and once again, it is slowly beginning to dawn on me that we cannot work together. Not with me constantly on the verge of an incapacitating arousal. I straighten and loosen the knot of my tie.
“I’m sorry for waking you but earlier on, I got a call from Bloom. They have signed the contracts we sent over yesterday, so can I quickly hop off anywhere here? I’ll take a taxi to collect them before they close for the weekend.”
I give it a thought and make my decision. “No need. Let’s just drive over.” “Oh, okay,” she says.
I give Andrew the needed instructions.
I wait in the car as she collects the contract and immediately, begin to peruse it the moment she hands it over. They have agreed to all our stipulated conditions. Twenty one million in projected revenue and direct access to all of their users. It is quite a pleasant end to the week. I hand the document over to Blair. “Send that over to customer success management so that they can start working on it next week.”

“Yes, sir,” she replies and slips the folder into her briefcase.
I want to head straight home so I drop her off at the office. Before she leaves however, I want to tell her that she did good today. I watch as she gets out of the car and shuts the door. I take a deep breath and before she walks too far away from the car, I roll the window down and call out to her, “Blair.”
She turns around, the light evening breeze is blowing her hair all over her face. It’s not in a particularly cinematic way and most probably half blinds her. “Yes, sir,” she answers as she struggles to push the hair out of her face. Her face is flushed and almost pained.
“You did great today.” She goes still.
So as not to linger, I roll the window back up and the car pulls away.


break down in the taxi.
I can’t stop the tears from flowing and by the time I arrive home, my eyes are puffy enough
to warrant Lee Rang’s concern.
“What’s going on?” She runs over to me.
I throw my arms around her for a much needed hug. For the longest time I don’t speak and she just lets me be.
When I’m finally able to pull away from her, the first thing she notices is my outfit. “You look different. This isn’t what you wore this morning is it?”
“No…” I sniff and head over to the fridge. In seconds, I have a strawberry in my mouth and a handful of grapes in hand.
“What happened?”
“I spilled coffee on my boss and almost burnt him. This is his shirt.” Her mouth forms a little ‘O’ as her eyebrows rise. “Is that all?”
I think of how to explain to her just how that seemingly simple incident was the catalyst to the most tense day that I have had in a very long time. Words don’t seem to be adequate enough to properly convey my frustration, so I just plop the rest of the grapes in my mouth and grab a bottle of water.
“You didn’t get fired did you?” she asks.
I shake my head. My gaze goes over to the bubbling pot on the stove. “What are you making?” “Chicken soup,” she replies. “I need something brothy to soothe me.”
“That’s exactly what I need too.”

She cocks her head at me, her gaze soft and endearing. “You’re not going to give me any details?”
“It’s basically the coffee spill incident,” I reply. “But trust me, it was more than enough to send me on a self-loathing spiral for the rest of the day. Well, the majority of it.”
“If working for him is this stressful, then why don’t you just quit? I don’t want you to have to go through all of this.”
I consider her suggestion as I head over to the sofa, taking my seat in one corner. She comes over to perch on the arm of the sofa I’m sitting on.
“This is all happening because I slept with him, so now everything seems a bit more personal when it shouldn’t be. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it.”
“If it was just any other generic company, I would have pulled you out of there myself, but you’ve mentioned that they can really help your advancement in your industry, so I'm restraining myself. From nothing to an Inc. five hundred company in five years? And he started right out of college? The information is that he’s worth at least a billion dollars.”
I am a little bit surprised at her well of information.
At my expression she explains, “I was a bit idle today, so I did some research.” “Did you also see any pictures of him?”
She releases a whoosh of breath. “I did, and I couldn’t stop staring at him. If it wasn’t too weird to ask, I would have asked you for all the details about your night together.”
“Don’t ask,” I say. “That’d be creepy.”
She laughs. “At least, give me some sort of impression.”
“Anytime he comes within three feet of me it’s all I can think about. It doesn’t help that his scent is all over this damn shirt!” I look down at the expensive fabric with disdain and then begin to pull it off.
“That bad?” she asks. “How can you work?” “I barely can,” I reply.
“You need a drink,” she says. “I’ll make you something.”
“No need. I’m going out with Jodie soon. I’ll get my fix then.”
“In that case, I’ll get you some soup to cheer you up. Things will get better. Also remember not to drink too much tonight. Tomorrow’s dad’s memorial and we need to bring him some flowers in the

afternoon.”
“I know,” I reply, my heart feeling just a tad bit heavier. “Maybe that even contributed to my unusually sour mood today. I probably didn’t even realize it.”
“It happens,” she says and with a soft brush of her fingers down my hair, rises to her feet. “I’m glad you’re sticking it out, but don’t force things beyond what you are able to bear. This company is not the only company there is. I’m proud of you and Dad most definitely is too, so just take things easy.”
This makes me smile sadly. “Well, I doubt he’s proud that I slept with my boss.”
“Don’t worry, he knows the daughter he has. Remember when you took a nail to his Cherokee when you were about four and refused to admit it because you were too afraid to disappoint him?”
I laugh at the memory. “You remember that?”
“Of course, I do. I despised you for getting away with everything. You, with your hair in pigtails and you could do that stupid squeaky laugh with him, he would have torn down the moon and hung you in the sky. I couldn’t stand either of you and neither could Mom.”