People connected through shared experiences. One drum circle, a few meals, and the most incredible night of my life weren't enough to bond us together. Not enough to make Warrick see that we could be a great couple, and have a future together.
I couldn't bring myself to turn around and wave, instead only listened as the car pulled out and drove away.
Slumping into the house, I was going to have to tell Dad that it was already over.
Our connection was broken.
14
WARRICK
Ididn't always know when I did something wrong, but this time I was sure.
Brooke had looked so happy this morning. We started to drive to her place, and she seemed resolved to have what was sure to be a slightly unpleasant chat with Frank.
But as we pulled into her driveway she seemed utterly crushed. Possibly…angry? It was hard to tell, since she wouldn't meet my eyes.
Yep, I had massively screwed up somehow.
Whenever this happened at work, which of course it was bound to because I was such a weirdo, I would get someone to point out the problem, then I would apologize profusely and rectify things any way I could.
But asking Brooke to point out exactly what I had done wrong didn't seem like an option here.
I drove home, then decided to call Beny. He knew my quirks and was usually helpful in these types of situations.
After quickly recounting every detail of my conversation with Brooke, I asked, "So what did I do or say that was wrong enough to make her angry?"
I could hear Beny's slow sigh. "Warrick, it seems like the two of you were getting pretty close. Then you said you wanted to send her away to school. Don't you think that will make her feel rejected?"
"What?" I bolted upright on the couch. "I want us to live together wherever she goes. I mentioned hiring someone to set up a home."
Benny's voice took on that quiet, patient tone that I was used to. "Did you say that you would getheran apartment, or an apartment for thebothof you?"
I tried to recall every detail, but my mind was beginning to spin. "I – I'm not sure."
"She probably thinks that you're using the excuse of school to get rid of her," he said gently.
"Why would she think that? She has to know that I'm falling hard for her."
"Warrick, older men who have just become billionaires tend to float around with hot young girls. Perhaps a new girl every week. They don't latch onto their first real girlfriend forever."
"But…Brooke must know that I'm not like that!" I sputtered.
"You're still getting to know each other," he said calmly. "Since she's the younger person in the relationship, she's going to have her defenses up. She's scared that if she gives you her heart you're going to break it."
"Well, shit."
Beny laughed. "This must be serious. I don't think I've heard you swear before."
"This is the most serious problem I've ever had to solve. What do I do?" I begged.
"I'm not sure." Beny paused. "I think you're going to need a woman's perspective here."
"Okay. Thanks. I really appreciate it."
I ended the call, then made fresh coffee. I didn't know a lot of women, but there were a few at work who were always straight with me. Not nervous because I was their boss. I was genuinely lucky to have people like that on my team.
As always, when faced with a problem, I was going to have to get down to work, and ask my entire team for help.