Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Even if it meant more pain in the long run.
“It’s her decision.”
“You sound broken,” Fisher says.
“It’s rough. But I’ll bounce back, just like Leo.” Except it’s different. Efa wasn’t Nadia. She didn’t betray me. Quite the opposite. And I understand that she doesn’t want to betray herself and her own needs and boundaries. I respect that about her. I love that about her.
I love her.
I’m not sure I’ll ever bounce back from loving her.
“You don’t think she’s worth fighting for?” Fisher asks.
“I don’t have anything left to fight with,” I say. “I can’t give her what she needs.”
“But can’t you?” Worth asks. “It sounds like you have a choice: Efa or your anonymity.”
“It’s not like she’s asking you to announce it in Forbes,” Fisher says. “Is she?”
“She hasn’t asked me for anything,” I reply. “She knows there’s no point.”
“Changing your name after your mom died. I get it,” Worth says. “You wanted to get out from under her shadow and become a person in your own right. You didn’t trust people who knew you as her son, because she was surrounded by people who were there because of her fame and fortune. But, now?” He frowns, but I’m not sure why. “Now? You’ve carved out a piece of this world for yourself. No one is just going to see you as her son. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Ben Fort or Bennett Fordham, people are going to fawn. They’re going to want to be close to you because you have money and success. It’s the same for all of us. It’s our job to spot those people and only trust those we know are genuine.”
Leo raises his hand. “Don’t come to me for lessons.”
I smirk. Leo’s down, but he’s not out. Never in this lifetime.
“So what, you think I should just rip open my shirt and announce I’m Batman?”
I’m met with a round of jeers. “That’s just weird,” Fisher says. “You’re not Batman. You’re just an uptight businessman who’s overly paranoid.”
I actually manage to smile at that one. “You make it sound so simple. But it’s not. I’ve spent a long time building walls around me, and I come back and strengthen them all the time. I am surrounded by people who respect me—not my fame or my reputation, but my work. My character. Who I am.”
“Exactly,” Worth says. “You’ve done the hard work. Now’s the time to reap what you’ve sown.”
I pull in a breath at the idea that I could let go of these reins that I’ve been holding on to so tightly for so long.
“I’m not sure where I’d start, or even if I want to,” I confess.
“You have to decide whether Efa’s worth it,” Leo says.
Leo’s statement is all it takes for the fog to lift and everything to become clear. Because I know that Efa’s worth everything I can give her.
THIRTY-SIX
Efa
I press the button on the lift to take me to the Park Suite for the very last time. It’s fitting that this room will be the last one I service. It’s Marcella’s day off and I’m filling in. I’m no longer the newbie who needs to be shown how to fold the loo paper. I stack my trolley in record time, I have a shortcut for fitting the maximum amount of shortbread biscuits to the assigned container, and I manage to hook my vacuum cleaner to the trolley like it’s a trailer. I’m a pro. Trained by the best.
Gretel’s agreed for me to leave early. Next weekend will be Labor Day and apparently the hotel’s always quiet. I can slip off back to London like I was never here. Only two things have changed. I’ve accepted I’m never going to be an employee of Fort Inc., and actually, I quite like tech security. It’s a growth industry, and I like the idea of protecting people and assets. This summer, I’ve tried it on like brand-new shoes, and now, as the season end approaches, they’re so soft and comfortable, I don’t want to give them up.
Tristan works alone, but I’m not like that. I want to work with people, and so I’ve sent off applications to three companies in the UK. I’m waiting to hear back. I might not have any certainty, but it feels like there’s a path forward. I just need to follow it.
The light to make up the Park Suite is on and I pull out the master key from my pocket and knock on the door. When there’s no answer, I click open the lock. “Housekeeping,” I call. It’s dark. The curtains are still pulled, and I flick on the lights before heading into the bathroom.
It doesn’t look like it’s been touched. I’m used to people not using the shower or the bath. I’m still not over it, because why in the hell aren’t people washing regularly, but I’m not used to the towels still being in place and the soaps and mirrors all being as good as new. I pull out my tablet. Maybe I’ve made a mistake and this room isn’t on the list for servicing.