Company Ink by E.L. Lewis

t h i r t y – e i g h t

Dressed in a three-piece burgundy suit, holding documents in his hands, Adrian stops in front of me, breathing heavily.

"What're you doing here?" I ask, looking around, my eyes landing on Ness and Lucy who slowly back away, leaving me defenseless. "How did you know—"

"Kitty told me where I could find you," Adrian admits guilelessly. "I had to see you. Talk to you. Cassie, I—"

"Talk about what, Adrian?" I sigh, mentally cursing Kitty. "We've talked, we've said goodbye. I have a flight to catch, I don't have time to talk anymore."

Adrian hands me the stack of documents, his eyes full of anguish. "These are divorce papers," he whispers. "I'm going back to Spain in two days to end the agreement with Mariela."

"What?!" I exclaim, my heart thudding in my chest. "Are you serious? Adrian... I—why?"

"Why?" Adrian asks, shaking his head. "Isn't it obvious? Because I want you, Cassie. I don't care about anything else; I don't care about the family business. I want you, and this way, maybe, we could have a fighting chance."

He's going to get a divorce? So, he can try and make things work with me? I narrow my eyes. "Why are you just bringing this up now? When I'm leaving, when we've said our goodbyes? Adrian—" I pause, his words ringing in my head. "Wait—what happens to your family's business if you end the arrangement?"

Adrian grabs my hand, holding it tightly like he's afraid I'll vanish. "It doesn't matter, it's not important. I thought I was doing the right thing, letting you go, but I can't, Cassie. I don't want to be without you."

My heart is racing, my palms sweaty. "But it is important, Adrian, because if you're going to destroy the lives of everyone in your family for a chance to make it work with me, I'm not okay with that. I'm not. Tell me, what happens?"

Adrian, swallows, his eyes scanning my face. "Mariela and Giovanni would get full control of the company—"

"No!" I interject, my voice rising. "You can't do that! You can't put me in this position, Adrian. You're not thinking straight, you're not thinking about the consequences of your actions, again! This isn't just about you, this involves your brother, your father, your mom. Adrian—" I place my hand on his cheek. "You can't do this. Not for me. Not because of me."

Adrian leans into my touch, his hand enveloping mine. "Cassie," he whispers. "I lo—"

"No!" I hold my finger up to his lips, my eyes welling up with tears. "Don't say it. Please don't say it. Don't finish that sentence, please Adrian, don't finish it."

Everything around me is muddled, slow motion, his voice a dull echo. Why is he doing this to me? Why did he have to come here? We said our goodbyes. That door closed. I closed it. It was shut. And I was dealing with it. I was moving on.

"It's true, Cassie," he breathes, cupping my face, dragging his thumb along my cheeks, capturing my tears. "I do."

I shake my head, trying to catch my breath. "I'm sorry, Adrian, I really am, but you can't do this. You can't just throw away your family's legacy on the off-chance that we somehow end up together." I lower his hand, my fingers linked through his. "Adrian, I can't promise you a future, I can't guarantee you that we'd work, that we'd somehow overcome all of this shit. I don't want to be responsible for ruining your family's livelihood. Have you thought about them? What they'd do if you went through with this?"

Adrian's jaw clenches as he sucks in a sharp breath. "They'd be fine, Cassie. My family is well-off."

"But you'd be giving up the company your grandfather worked so hard to build," I say, tilting my head. "Adrian, I know how much your family means to you, you'd regret this decision at some point. There's no winning here. If we don't work out then all of this would have been for nothing, and if we did, you'd resent me, maybe not right away, but at some point, you would."

Adrian's quiet, staring at me with those eyes. The ones that make me want to take everything I said back, that make me want to leap into his arms and celebrate, but I can't. I won't.

"You really have no faith in us, do you?" he finally says, taking a step away from me. "Do you not feel this? This connection we have? Do you not—" He shakes his head, closing his eyes "I'm a fucking idiot."

I release a long exhale, my heart clenching. "You're not an idiot," I whisper. "I feel it, I do. But—"

"Why does there need to be a but, Cassie?" Adrian asks, running a hand through his hair. "You feel it, I feel it. Let's just try, Cassie. We have to at least try."

Searing guilt spears through my body, decimating my heart, my brain, my lungs. He's being so vulnerable, so real, so God damn honest, for once, and I hate that I'm causing him pain. He's willing to risk it all for me, for us, but I can't bring myself to say yes, not when my heart is damaged, split in two, not fully his.

"No, Adrian," I whisper, taking a step towards him and lifting myself up on my tippy toes. "We have to let it go." My lips connect with his stubbled cheek, his face clenching under my touch. "It's time to let it go."

"Cassie, please," Adrian begs, grabbing my hand. "Don't go."

I squeeze Adrian's hand, a sad smile forming on my face. "I have to go," I say, pulling out of his grip. I can almost hear his heart breaking and it kills me.

Adrian shakes his head. "No," he murmurs. "Cassie..."

"Take care, Adrian," I say softly and walk away, leaving him standing there, calling out my name.

Don't look back. Keep walking. I did the right thing. He wasn't thinking. He wasn't being rational.

"Honey, are you okay?" Lucy asks, wrapping her arms around me as I wipe under my eyes. "Oh gosh."

I sniffle, looking at Ness. "Now we're actually late," I mutter. "We need to go. We need to leave. Please, can we go?"

"Of course." Vanessa passes me a compact from her purse. "Eyes."

We give Lucy one final hug and rush towards the security checkpoint. This is not how I imagined this day going. Today was supposed to be exciting, happy, but now I just feel tired. I've been tired for so long now. What a mess. What a sticky, horrendous mess. I can't think about it. I can't dwell. I need to move on. I need to forget.

"This is the final boarding call for passengers Cassandra Carrington and Vanessa Clarke booked on flight 143C to New York City. Please proceed to Gate 6 immediately. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for Cassandra Carrington and Vanessa Clarke. Thank you."

Shit! I grab Vanessa's hand. "Ness, can you try to run?" I ask her softly.

"I can try," Ness murmurs and we speed walk to Gate 6.

We stop just a few yards away from the kiosk. "Hi!" I exclaim, waving my hand. "We're here! Sorry, we're late!"

The flight attendant tosses me a tight smile. "It's quite alright, it's busy today. Tickets please?" I hand her our tickets and she scans them. "Go ahead. Enjoy your flight."

"Thank you! Sorry again!"

Vanessa and I make our way down the jet bridge and onto the aircraft. We're escorted to our seats in business class. "You can have the window," I say to Ness and she slides inside, buckling her seatbelt. "Comfortable?"

"Yes." Vanessa nods, tilting her head. "What did he say?"

I sigh, reclining into my seat. "He said things that every woman wants to hear."

Ness hums, biting her lip. "I'm sorry."

I rest my head on her shoulder. "Me too, Ness."

After the preflight and safety announcements, we take off, Vanessa gripping my hand as we ascend into the air. I peer over her shoulder, gazing down at a disappearing Seattle. "Are you excited for New York?" I ask.

"Very," Ness says softly, pointing to the screen in the seat in front of us. "What movie?"

My eyes flicker to the dashboard above our seat, thankfully the Captain turned off the seatbelt sign. "I need to pee first, that tea was a bad idea." I unbuckle my belt. "I'll be right back."

I shimmy my way through the narrow aisles until I get to the bathrooms. There's something that's super unsettling about peeing in a moving plane, I'm always worried I'll get sucked out. Stupid, I know, but a real fear.

When I get back to my seat, a confused frown marks my eyebrows, as my gaze immediately darts to Vanessa. What the fu—"Ness?" I ask warily. "Why is there a succulent on my seat?" Did she buy this? When? Is this...Stella?

Vanessa presses her lips into a thin line, her eyes glistening knowingly. She lifts her finger and points towards the first-class cabin. "Go see."

"What do you mean, go see?" I ask, my heart racing. "Who left this here?"

Vanessa cocks her head to the side, raising a sassy brow. "You know."

I shake my head in disbelief. No. He didn't. He isn't. Why would he... after everything? What?

"Blake's here?" I ask in a whisper. "Are you fucking with me, right now? 'Cause, it's not funny, Ness."

"Go," she says, shooing me away. "Seat 1A."

"You're serious?"

"Yes!"

I flick my nails as I stare off into first class. Blake's here. Just behind those curtains. What is up with today? Don't people call anymore? I've had enough surprises to last a lifetime.

"Go!" Vanessa commands. "Go."

I grunt and wave her off. "I'm going! God, you're annoying."

Ness rolls her eyes, letting out a scoff.

I release a long breath as I make my way down the aisle, my anxiety thrumming. Am I even allowed to be here? If a flight attendant drags me back to my seat, I might just die of embarrassment. I nibble on the inside of my cheek as I pass row 3...row 2...row 1. Shit.

He must have heard my inner screaming because Blake turns his head. "Cassandra," he says, grinning. "What took you so long?"

I cross my arms. It's him. He's here. On my flight. Not at all creepy. "This is a plane, Blake," I say slowly. "To New York."

"Is it?" Blake smirks. "I could've sworn they said London."

"Why are you here?" I ask in a hushed tone, scared to draw the attention of the cabin crew.

"Do you want to sit?" Blake asks, gesturing to the empty seat beside him.

"No!" I exclaim. "I want you to tell me why you're here."

Blake sighs. "Just sit, it's fine. I bought the seat, no one will kick you out."

I groan inwardly, sitting down beside him. "Why are you on this flight?" I ask him again.

"I have business in New York," he states coolly.

"Business? What kind of business?"

"Important business."

I shake my head, frustrated at his cryptic responses. "I—Why…Blake! Oh my God, can you speak in sentences longer than seven words? You're on my flight. Going to New York, that's kind of weird and I want to know why. How did you know I'd be here?"

Blake lets out a low chuckle. "I was scheduled to fly to New York tomorrow, but I changed my flight last minute."

"Why?"

"To give you Stella," he says, smiling.

"You changed your flight to give me a plant? Seriously? How did you even know my flight number?" I can't tell if he's playing me or he's being genuine.

Blake shrugs. "I asked Matt to ask Monique."

Monique. She and Kitty are in for an ear full when we land. "You could've just mailed me Stella if you wanted to give her back. Clearly, you could've gotten my address from Monique, apparently, she's like my own personal info desk."

"This seemed easier," he says, handing me the inflight drink menu. "What would you like?"

Seriously? I slam the menu on my lap. "Blake...why are you really here?"

"I told you, I have business in New York," he says calmly. "We're expanding Pearson & Associates to the east coast. I'm scouting locations for the new firm."

"So, you're going to be in New York?" I ask, biting my lip. Interesting.

"Sporadically, yes."

"Huh," I hum, tapping my nails on the laminated menu. "I see."

"Perhaps we can get coffee when I'm in the city?" Blake offers casually. "I can show you and Ness around."

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. I made a pact with myself. No dating. No men. School. My future. That's what's important.

"Just coffee," I whisper. "Right?"

"Decaf," he smirks, his soulful eyes meeting mine causing my heart to flutter ever so slightly.

Fuck.

It's just coffee...right?