“Sorry, Mom, but I need to borrow Christine for a moment.”
She looks confused, but she follows me as I lead her up to the third floor of the house. There’s no one else here and it’s quiet.
“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me with your silence,” Christine says worriedly.
I turn to look at her before placing her phone in her hand.
“You got a text. I didn’t mean to look at it,” I say apologetically.
Do not lash out. Do not lash out. I repeat the words in my head like a mantra. This has to be a big misunderstanding.
“What was in the text?’ Christine questions as she opens her phone.
Her face falls when she sees the content. I watch her swallow.
“Michael—” she begins but I cut her off.
“First off, who the hell is Richard? And why is he calling you beautiful?”
She hesitates. “Richard was my co-worker when I worked at the firm. He’s also my, uh, ex.”
I let out a short laugh. “Wow, okay. Why have I never heard of him until now?”
“Because nobody talks about their ex with their current partners, Michael,” she answers.
“Okay, fine, let’s shelve that for a moment,” I say, taking a deep breath. “What does he mean about the job in Toronto?”
Christine’s expression is like a deer caught in headlights. She looks absolutely guilty, and as soon as I see the look on her face, my heart drops.
“Mike, I’m going to need you to calm down,” she starts.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Christine. I’m calm. But I want to know what’s going on.”
She nods and lets out a breath. “Okay, so I got an email yesterday from my old boss, Ryder. He was informing me that he managed to get me an opportunity of a lifetime. Apparently, my brief came across his desk and the other lawyer was trying to use him to sabotage me. Ryder was so impressed with my brief that he reached out to a friend who had an opening he thought I would be perfect for.
“The organization in Toronto provides counsel for people who have been bullied by larger organizations and need representation—anything from a wrongful termination to an unpaid insurance claim, to medical malpractice. They have paralegals who vet the cases before having them assigned. My boss emailed to tell me that there might be an opening there for me to work as a lawyer.”
I stand there, speechless.
“Oh, and I owe you an apology. I’m sorry I said you meddled in all of this and that’s why they backed off. I’m sure your name was brought up and helped seal the deal, but I appreciate you not getting involved. And I admit that your little pep talk helped build my confidence a little,” she says.
She didn’t have to say any of it. No one believes in her more than I do, so I knew she would find a way to work it out. But if, for some reason, things didn’t align in her favor, come hell or high water, I would have made sure that my woman had her coffee shop.
I should acknowledge what she just said, but all I can think about is the possibility that she and Noah may be moving.
I scoff. “When were you planning on telling me?”
“Mike, I swear—”
“When were you planning on telling me, Christine!” I shout.
My mind whirls at the possibilities. There can only be one reason why she didn’t tell me about the offer immediately after she got the email.
“Calm the hell down,” she cautions sharply.
“You were going to leave me, weren’t you? You were going to take Noah and just disappear. Like you did before.”
Christine gapes at me. “What? How could you think that?”