Page 48 of Finding Mr. July

I do email the Texas firm to apologize for the disruption to the call, and they, in turn, express continued interest in arranging a second interview, this time in person. I never even entertain the idea, and a few days later, I bow out of the process citing “other opportunities” as my reason.

Ava doesn’t talk to me for several days, and Jude isn’t happy with me for putting him in the awkward situation of having referred someone who failed to deliver on the hype. But since he and Rachel have finally landed on a date to get together, he’s mercifully forgiving.

My phone remains silent, and if Jonathan is in the office, he’s more deserving of his old nickname, The Shadow, than ever before.

“Do you know what it’s about?” I ask Rachel.

She looks at my screen. “No. Could be an exit interview maybe? I wouldn’t worry about it.”

I don’t, but I still have high school–level jitters as I enter the office space across the way.

Here’s the corridor where I chased after Jonathan that morning, the rec room where boundaries were crossed, his office where things went south.

I approach his space slowly, inching toward the glassed wall as if I’m expecting someone to jump out and scare me, but I needn’t have worried. Only Jacques is there.

Relief and disappointment fight each other for purchase inside me as I continue around the corner to where Manny’s office is located, but once I get there, I’m distracted by his blinds being drawn. That’s unusual.

I sit down facing the door, run my fingertips down the buttons on my shirt, and adjust the clasp to my necklace.

I can’t possibly be in trouble, can I? Since the announcement, I’ve done nothing but keep my head down and follow whatever directives Rachel has given me.

Maybe she’s right, and it’s an exit interview.

With no sounds coming from the office, no clues to latch on to, I try to clear my mind as best I can while the minutes pass.

I’m just contemplating knocking when the door finally opens, and out comes not Manny but Letitia and…

Jonathan. What reason would the three of them have for a meeting?

For a split second, his step falters upon seeing me, but then he turns back to face Letitia who is laughing at something Manny has said behind her.

They both step into the carpeted hallway.

“We’re good?” Jonathan asks Letitia.

“Absolutely.” She nods. “It was the right thing to do.”

“Okay, good.”

“Is Holly out there?” Manny calls from inside.

“She is,” Letitia confirms.

Jonathan takes a step back from the door. “I should get going. Let you guys do your thing.” He looks at me again. “Hi,” he says, and the richness of his voice awakens every cell-level memory inside me. I would give anything to dive into that word, swim around in it, and find out what’s beneath it.

I hold his gaze as I stand. “Hi.”

He inhales as if he wants to say more, but then his head dips on a turn, and he walks away. I numbly watch his back as he disappears around the corner.

“Come on in,” Letitia says. She holds the door open for me so I can enter the office and follows me inside.

My head buzzes with misfiring synapses. She’s in my meeting, too? Not an exit interview, then.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” Manny says to me, gesturing to the chair next to Letitia’s. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called this meeting, and I don’t plan on keeping you in suspense, so let’s get to it.”

“Get to what exactly?” I ask. The faint scent of Jonathan’s cologne still lingers in the air around me—enough to make me antsy. Now that I’ve seen him and know he’s nearby, anything keeping me away from him another minute seems like a waste of my time.

“There’s been a… development,” Letitia says next to me. “With the fundraiser.”

“What kind of development?”

Manny looks at her before responding, and she nods. “We’ve been alerted to an issue with the plant-a-tree walk-a-thon that affects the net profit of Letitia’s campaign.”

I spin to look at her, but her expression is completely unruffled.

“Do you want to explain?” Manny asks her.

“Sure.” She scoots forward in her seat and puts her finger on a map lying open on Manny’s desk. “It’s about the area where the trees are to be planted,” she says. “The Duwamish River is prone to flooding, so the riverbanks don’t have adequate drainage for the evergreens I planned to plant.”

My gaze cuts from the map to her and Manny. “Okay?”

“Which means I need to buy a different species—and unfortunately that’s going to be a lot more costly.”

“Oh.” I say it as if everything’s now fallen into place, when in reality, I still don’t see what this has got to do with me.

“I made a mistake.” Letitia shrugs.

“An honest one that not many people would have caught,” Manny adds.

“But someone did,” I say, knowing exactly who that someone is.

Manny nods but then defers again to Letitia, who briefly reaches out to touch my arm. “This means that, after subtracting the additional expense from my campaign, I’m no longer the winner. It wouldn’t be fair to you to pretend otherwise.”

I blink at her, the room wobbling. I must have heard her wrong. I won?

“But,” I say, resisting the urge to put my head between my knees, “you raised so much money, and I…”

She shakes her head. “The job in Glasgow is yours if you want it. It’s what’s fair.

And if I’m going to be honest, when Jonathan came to me with this, my first feeling was relief.

It’s just my mom and me and my younger siblings, and we’re super tight.

I don’t know what I’d do being so far away from them even if it was just for a year. ”

“So, congratulations, Holly.” Manny grins. “I’ll draw up a contract as soon as you say the word.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t feel my face,” is all I manage.

Manny stands. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Images of Glasgow apartments rise to the surface of my mind. It’s really happening? “Yes. Thank you so much. But what about you?” I ask Letitia. “Now you have nowhere to go.”

“No, no,” Manny says. “I already spoke to the board members, and we decided to make space for her here in Seattle. It’s more of an entry-level position that can grow into something more, but she’ll still stay with GCL.”

I turn to her. “And you’re happy with that.”

“I am. Promise.” She smiles. “I won’t hold it against you if that’s what you’re worried about. I was the one who made a mistake. Actions have consequences.”

They do. But so does in action, and now that I know my victory won’t mean her demise, I can’t delay any longer.

I stand abruptly. “I’m really glad this is working out, but if you don’t mind, there’s somewhere I need to be. Can we continue this conversation tomorrow?”

Manny nods. “I need another word with Letitia anyway. You go ahead.”

I sprint down the hallway to Jonathan’s office, but it still only holds Jacques. I knock on the window and push open the door. “Do you know where Jonathan went?”

“No idea.” He cranes his neck to better see Jonathan’s desk. “But it looks like he grabbed his stuff, so he’s probably done for today. Anything I can help with?”

Damn it. He can’t be far ahead of me, though. “No, but thanks.” I take off again, this time to the elevators. My foot taps against the tile as I wait. Hurry, please.

Finally, the doors open, and the people already inside cram together to make room for me.

It’s the end-of-day rush, and unfortunately, that means we stop on every floor for more home-bound folks.

Sweat is pooling between my breasts. I’m going to miss him.

He’s probably already out of the garage.

If it was anyone else, I’d text them, but this time, I need to talk to him in person.

I need to see his face, read his eyes, feel his energy.

Otherwise, what we had might as well be only a figment of my imagination.

I’m right—I don’t see his car, but since he has Sir Leonard at home, I can’t imagine he’s going anywhere but straight there, so that’s where I set course.

A windy Seattle rushes past my car windows as I speed along Aurora Avenue. Concrete buildings, bundled-up pedestrians, graffitied underpasses, construction zones. But also vast parks, a choppy Lake Union, and rows of cute bungalows sporting both leftover jack-o’-lanterns and early holiday lights.

Jonathan’s garage is open when I turn into his driveway, and he’s still inside unloading equipment. He pulls up short when he sees me.

I don’t check my hair or teeth in the mirror.

The urgency is too great. That is, until I’m out of the car and face-to-face with him.

Then the spinning world slows like a Tilt-A-Whirl running out of steam, leaving me unsteady.

I first stop ten feet away but change my mind and walk another two steps closer.

For a breathtaking moment, it seems as if the wind dies down and the city noise fades around us. He’s so real, standing here in front of me. Perhaps that’s a strange observation, but it’s what comes to mind. He’s real and regarding me like he’s worried I’m not.

“You got the job,” he says finally.

A microburst chooses that moment to stir up a heap of dead leaves between us. The tail of it whips my hair across my face.

“I did.” I sputter at the strands sticking to my lips. Tuck them back behind my ears. “I’m guessing thanks to you?”

There are so many things I want to ask. How did he know about the trees? Why go to the trouble? But also, does him helping me today mean he wants me to leave? My heart aches anew at the possibility.

I pull my jacket closer around me, but a shiver runs through me anyway, made stronger by him stepping out of the garage toward me.