One Weekend with the Billionaire novel Chapter 79

Days go by without a response from Thompson’s attorneys. I wait impatiently, trying to absorb myself in my work during the day and with Julia at night. The nights pass more quickly as I relish every moment I have with her. The days are long, and I do not feel as focused as I used to. I know I am distracted.

One day, after a particularly rough meeting with some of our clients, one where I have little to say and can hardly stay focused long enough to answer their questions, Luckily, I have some talented associates in the room with me who are able to cover for me. I think I hear one of them say that I’m feeling under the weather. The clients make sympathetic faces in my direction, but they might know already what’s going on. There have been rumors in the tabloids that I’m being sued for taking one of my employee's wives. None of them have been substantiated. Yet.

Once the clients have left the room, Stringer lingers, sending everyone else out of the room. I know the look he has in his eyes. I know what he wants to say to me.

He is gentle at first. "Mr. Merriweather, how have you been?" he asks me as I spin my chair back and forth like a child. "Are you feeling okay?" He asks the question with an emphasis on the "are" as if to imply perhaps it is true that I truly am not feeling okay, and the story that was told to the others in the room might be true.

"No, I’m not," I tell him, my eyes immediately going to Thompson who is pretending to work in his office. I say pretending because I know he’s not actually doing anything. He doesn’t care about this company, so why would he actually make any efforts to bring in more money or help us out? He’s only pretending to work so he can keep getting a paycheck until he either gets a giant pay out from my account or owns the company himself. Then, he’ll be interested in what’s going on with the company.

"Well, we need to fix that," Stringer says, matter-of-fact. He’s always been sort of like a work father to me, taking care of me in ways that I wouldn’t have realized I needed someone in the office until after he stepped in to fill the void. "What if you started working out of an office on a different floor?" he asks. "One where you can’t see Thompson?"

A wave of fear passes through me as I consider what it would be like to take my eyes off of Jeff Thompson for a few moments, to have no idea what he is up to. I want to tell Stringer no way. I wouldn’t dare change offices just because of Thompson, but then, he has a point. If I can’t look out the window and see the man I despise, maybe I could actually concentrate on work more. Am I not letting him sabotage me in even more ways by constantly keeping an eye on him, by constantly worrying about what he’s doing or not doing?

The idea that I might be able to get back to my work is invigorating, and when Stringer asks if I’d like to go ahead and get started on the office swap, I nod. I know I won’t have to actually do anything myself, that my staff will take care of it, and I already feel better, like I can concentrate on my work again. It’s odd, knowing that one large distraction is about to be gone. I will still be distracted by thoughts of Julia all day long, but I can’t see her from work. Not being able to see her dastardly husband is bound to be a positive.

I take a deep breath and look out the window, perhaps for the last time. The idea that I will be free soon enough makes me feel like a new man. I just can’t wait until all of this is over, and Julia and I can truly start our lives together without ever having to think about or see Jeff Thompson again.

I just have no idea when that will be.