“Ella, just stay awhile. Please? We haven’t talked properly in six months, and so much has happened.”
I can’t refuse her.
Morgan comes to give me a hug, and we see the two of them off at the door. As soon as Gigi shuts the front door, she turns to me again.
“You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened with Rodney,” she says.
“I’m not blaming myself, don’t worry. I just needed some time off from the usual routine. I wanted to try out something new and I did. It was an adventure, and I would do it again if I could.”
“But now you’re back,” Gigi says, taking my hands and leading me towards the living room again.
“Yeah, now I’m back and I need to get myself another job. I really hope my sudden decision to quit my previous job hasn’t had a big effect on my career. I don’t even know where to start looking for new work.”
Gigi sighs and nods. I know she won’t be able to offer much advice. Unlike her practical decision to major in business marketing, I decided to study history.
As I quickly discovered upon graduating from college, there aren’t exactly loads of high paying jobs on the market for a history major. I was lucky enough to get a research-based position at a marketing company, but now there was no hope of getting that job back. Not after I quit so suddenly and took off for six months without warning.
“I’m sure something will come up. Maybe get in touch with the college’s career counselors again. It might be helpful to have them in the loop.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I say.
I turn the large TV on, just to fill in the silences in our conversation. I know Gigi is still trying to work her way around to returning to the Rodney topic, while I’m trying my best to avoid it.
“So in all these months while you explored Europe, did you like…meet anyone interesting? From what I hear, Europe is filled with the most interesting men.” She’s beaming at me now; there’s a flash in her eyes too. I smile at her, but I shrug.
“Yeah, I met a lot of interesting people. The backpacking community is pretty tightly knit and reliable. They’re always looking out for each other. I think I’ve made some new friends. If we do manage to keep in touch, that is. Staying at the hostels was a lot of fun.”
I know I’m babbling, trying to avoid the other topic.
“Yeah, but I’m talking about someone special. Come on, Ella, you know what I’m talking about. Do you want me to spell it out for you? Fine. Did you hook up with anyone in the last six months?”
I look Gigi straight in the eyes and say, “No,” firmly.
“Oh.”
“You look disappointed.”
“I guess I am. I was hoping you would have met someone who could take your mind off all the other stuff.”
“You mean like a rebound?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
I roll my eyes at her.
“Gigi, you know I’m not going to have a one-night stand with someone random.”
She sits back with a thump but she doesn’t take her eyes off me. Now that she’s glaring at me, I feel like I have to tell her something. Just to make her see that I’m not as hung up on Rodney as she thinks I am.
“Well…there was this one man. We didn’t sleep together. We just kinda hung out and talked.”
“Oooh. At the hostel?”
“No, I met him at a bar.”
“That sounds even more intriguing. Meeting a sexy European stranger in a bar.” She giggles and I smile. I can’t get the image of Reed out of my head now. He definitely was a sexy stranger.
“He wasn’t European.”
“Oh?”
“American. Rich, I think. Had a sophisticated accent and expensive-looking clothes. He was much older than me. In his forties, I think.”
“Sexy?” Gigi asks, and there’s more giggling.
“Very sexy.”
We’re both smiling at each other.
“And then what happened?”
“We hung out and then I walked away.”
“What. Why? Have you like exchanged phone numbers or anything. Do you know if he’s back in the States?”
“Gigi, I literally don’t know anything about him. I don’t even know his last name. I can guarantee you he’s already forgotten about me too. He wouldn’t recognize me if our paths crossed on the streets. It was a magical night. I had fun. We made out. Twice. He was an amazing kisser, but that’s it.”
“So you’ll never see him again?” she tries to confirm like she still can’t wrap her head around it.
“I don’t think I will. I’m not counting on it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past six months, it is to let go. No matter how good it is and how much I want to hold on to it. I’ve learned to let go and just live in the moment. No regrets.”
Gigi is watching me closely like she doesn’t believe me. But I’m confident I’ve moved on. Reed is nothing but a distant memory to me now.
3
Reed
I’ve been away from Chicago for the past six weeks. First Shanghai, then Berlin, and back to Silicon Valley before making another quick trip to Hong Kong. Before that, I spent a few longish weeks in my house in London. This year has been a busy one but good for business. I’ve been able to invest in some really lucrative startups in the tech industry that I know will generate some serious income in the coming months.
Now I feel like I can finally take a break and let the company run on autopilot for a few months. Besides, there are a few personal things I want to take care of.
It’s my first morning back in the city and my assistant, Tom, is waiting for me in the kitchen with a list of phone calls I have to attend to.
“Mr. Silvers, are you going to the office today?” he asks while I hunt down all the ingredients I need for my breakfast smoothie.
“No, I have no intention of going to the office for a few days, actually. I have some other matters I want to focus on.”
“Right. Okay. What can I do?” Tom asks, pulling out his notebook for notes. Hiring Tom was probably my best business decision yet.
“Ella Davies. Write that down,” I say while I peel bananas. Tom does as he is told, but I can see his brows are furrowed deeply.
“Okay. Who is that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sorry, Mr. Silvers, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I want you to work your magic and find out everything you can about her.”
Tom nods, making more notes on the page.
“Any clues you can give me?”
“She’s very beautiful,” I say with a grin. There’s a smirk on Tom’s face too, but he quickly wipes that away. I don’t think I know a more professional person than him.
“So, you want me to find her?”
“Yes, just find her. Don’t get in touch. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. She is American, by the way. And she likes slushies and arcades.”
Tom writes those down too but I know it’s of no use to him. In fact, I’m starting to lose hope of ever finding her.
“I’ll find her, Mr. Silvers,” Tom says, looking up at me. He’s just a few gestures short of giving me a military salute.