Page 119 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

HAILEY

T he second bedroom of Hannah’s apartment had never looked so empty.

Sure, when I’d moved to New York the first time, I’d taken most of my things with me, but I’d also left a good chunk of things behind, like my old dresser and my bedframe.

The expectation was that she would send everything afterward by truck.

Obviously, that never happened.

This go-around, things were different.

There wasn’t a single thing left in the old bedroom. I stood at the threshold, the soles of my well-cushioned old sandals lined up with the metal strip separating the bedroom carpet from the hallway hardwood.

I’d spent many years in this bedroom feeling stuck in limbo. Now things were moving too fast for comfort.

But I wasn’t scared. Not anymore. And I wasn’t alone.

I sighed and leaned one shoulder on the doorframe. “You were a good home to me,” I said softly to the room.

It didn’t say anything back. I hadn’t expected it to.

But the sun shone through the window and painted a bright path of light on the carpet where my bed used to be.

I smiled and rapped my knuckles on the doorframe before pushing off and heading down the hall to the kitchen, where my sister was sniffling over the kitchen sink while she filled the kettle with water.

“Hey,” I said.

She straightened up and turned off the water. Hannah wiped her eyes dry before she turned to me with a forced smile. “Hey. Did you get everything?”

I nodded. “Yep. Did my final sweep to make sure I left nothing behind. I got it all.”

Hannah licked her lips. “So that’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Silence hung between us but I knew exactly how my sister was feeling. I was feeling it too.

“I’m going to miss you.” The words hitched in my throat and I laughed at my own inability to control my emotions. It would only get worse as the pregnancy went on. “I’m really, really going to miss you.”

Hannah pointed an accusing finger at me. “Don’t. If you cry, then I’ll cry. And I really don’t want to cry because once I start I won’t stop.”

I felt bad leaving her alone in this little apartment. That feeling hadn’t crept up on me at all the last time I left. Maybe part of me had known it wouldn’t stick and sooner rather than later I’d be back here.

Not this time.

This time was final.

I was starting over in New York with the man of my dreams and our baby in my belly. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was going to be magical.

But that didn’t make goodbye any easier.

“Let me walk you down to the car,” Hannah said.

I accepted the offer. My sister and I left the apartment and she let me linger in the hallway for a minute before I finally turned my back on her home and we made our way down the hall to the elevator.

We rode it down with our arms wrapped around each other, and when it spat us out, we crossed the lobby and stepped outside into the late morning sun.

Jackson was waiting outside for me. He was leaning up against the side of a rented truck loaded down with several suitcases.

I wanted to take as much as possible with me on the plane so that the week of waiting for all my other stuff to arrive wouldn’t be too difficult.

All my other worldly possessions were already headed to New York.

He had his arms crossed and his muscles were on display in his tight black V-neck shirt.

He looked good. Then again, Jackson always looked good.

And he was all mine.

A giddy thrill ran through me as we approached.

When he saw us coming, he pushed off the side of the truck. “Ladies,” he purred. “Are we ready to hit the road?”

“I think so,” I said.

Hannah put her hand on my shoulder and turned me to her so she could pull me in for a hug. I fell into her arms and breathed in the smell of her Moroccan oil shampoo.

She gave me a tight squeeze. “Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll come up next month and book my flights as soon as I get the time off approved at work.”

“Okay. I can’t wait. The guest room will be ready for you and you can help with the nursery.”

Hannah sniffled into my shoulder. “I would love nothing more.”

When we pulled apart, we were both teary eyed. We laughed at our own silliness and wiped each other’s tears. Jackson got in the truck and gave us a minute to say our farewells.

“The offer still stands that I can come stay with you guys once the baby is born for support,” Hannah said. “I can make dinners and clean house and do whatever you need.”

“And change diapers?”

“Don’t push your luck, little sister. You know I don’t do feces of any kind.”

I giggled. “Okay. Okay. You get the fun auntie stuff then.”

Hannah patted my cheek before stepping back and wrapping her cardigan around herself. “You’d better go. Call me when you land?”

“I will. I love you.” I opened the truck door and climbed up into the seat.

“I love you too,” Hannah said. I could see right through her smile. She was sad to see me go. But there was a bigger part of her that was happy. She’d always wanted me and Jackson to end up together.

I closed the door. Jackson started the truck. The engine rumbled and I buckled up. As we pulled away from the curb, I rolled down my window and stuck my arm out to wave goodbye. Hannah stayed on the sidewalk and waved until I lost sight of her around a corner.

Jackson put his hand on my knee. “You okay, Hails?”

I wiped my tears and closed my hand over his. “I will be.”

“You still want to stop in at your work?”

“Yes. I want to say goodbye to Azira properly this time.”

“Are they even going to let you in there since you quit?”

I’d written up my resignation letter the night Jackson got down on his knee and proposed I move to New York with him for real. I’d hit send without even bothering to proofread it, which was unlike me. But I was so certain I was making the right choice.

It was time to shed the dead weight in my life. And the biggest anchor was definitely my job.

They’d written back the following morning and told me not to bother coming in to finish the week. They didn’t need me.

Their dismissive way of saying goodbye had pissed Jackson off. But me? I didn’t give a damn. Goodbye dead weight. Hello freedom and fresh starts.

And motherhood.

I still have to wrap my head around that one.

It was a fifteen-minute drive to the office towers where the call center was. Jackson offered to go up with me but I opted to go alone. I passed familiar faces in the hallways and on the elevator, but none were the face I was looking for.

I found Azira at her cubicle on the phone with an irate customer. Azira was rolling her eyes and tapping the end of her pen on her mouse pad to the beat of an old Elvis song. When she saw me, she sat bolt upright in her chair.

“Let me put you on hold,” she said. “My manager just walked into the office and I think he can help me work something out for you, Mr. Sykes.” She put Mr. Sykes on hold, hung up her headset, and leapt out of her chair like a cat.

Azira flung her arms around me. “Oh my gosh! Did you come to say goodbye?”

I laughed and nodded. “Yes. I couldn’t leave without seeing you. And I wanted to thank you for keeping me sane in this place. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Azira flashed me a white smile and planted her hands on her hips.

As usual, she was dressed in bright colors.

Her neon pink, high-collared shirt looked incredible with her bell-bottom black pants.

The points of yellow booties peeked out from beneath the dark fabric.

“What am I supposed to do without you now, Hailey? I don’t think I can deal with this place if I don’t have you here. ”

I shrugged. “Quit.”

She blinked at me. “I can’t just—”

“Yeah. That’s what I said for years. And I let this place suck my soul dry.

I was miserable here, Azira. You were literally the only thing I liked about this job and I lied to myself for three years that the future I wanted was here.

It’s not. I looked around and realized there was nobody in this company above me whose job I wanted.

I was on a one-way street to regret. And now?

I have a wide-open road in front of me and I’m not looking back. ”

“Who are you and what have you done with Hailey Brown?”

I laughed. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Does this secret have something to do with your sudden lifestyle change?”

I nodded. “It’s a big one.”

Azira winked and leaned in close. “I can handle big ones.”

“Put it back in your pants.” I snickered. “I’m pregnant, Azira. I just found out. And I’m moving to New York with Jackson and we’re going to start a family together.”

Azira blinked at me.

I giggled at her shock. “I know. It’s a lot.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Azira let out a delighted cry before throwing her arms around me and congratulating me. She made a fuss about the baby and asked me a dozen questions I didn’t have time to answer.

I held up both hands. “Okay. Okay. Calm down. I know it’s a lot. And I don’t have time to get into the details right now. But I’ll call you sometime this week and tell you everything . And maybe you can come to New York and visit me one of these days?”

“You’d better invite me to the baby shower.”

“Consider it done.”

Azira cupped my face in her hands. “I’m happy for you, Hailey. You deserve all the happiness in the world. Now get the hell out of here. This place is too small for you. Even for a visit.”

I gave her one last hug. “If it’s too small for me, it’s definitely too small for you. If you ever need a place to crash in New York, call me. A woman like you would make waves in the big apple.”

I meant every word. Azira was a powerhouse of a woman, and in time, I hoped she would realize what I had—that the call center was just a good hiding place. Nothing more.

I left the office feeling like I could take on the world. When I slid back into the passenger seat of the truck, Jackson asked me how it went.

“Couldn’t have gone better,” I said.

“So now what?”

I stared out the windshield down the busy Nashville street lined in blossom trees with green leaves and no petals. I grinned. “Onward.”