Thiers, whose actual first name was Gary, made a disapproving noise with his mouth. “No one gets to the top of the food chain without getting a little dirt on their hands.”

I nodded, conceding. But then turned to fully face Thiers so he knew how serious I was. “I want as little dirt on my hands as possible. Because when I do get my hands dirty I won’t leave anyone breathing.”

He nodded his head slowly. “I hear you. Now tell me about your woman.”

And despite the dark mood that had begun to cover me at thinking about my work troubles, a lightness that I only felt when my thoughts turned to Deborah Tate made its way through the darkness.

“She’s coming around,” was all I said.

It’d been a week since I’d taken her out to lunch. The only reason I hadn’t shown up at her office to take her out every day since was because of all of the problems at Townsend Industries. However, I made sure to call her every night. And each time she picked up. It wasn’t lost on me that her so-called boyfriend was hardly ever around.

“Hey, careful with that.”

I glanced down to see what Thiers was warning me about, only to notice that my grip on the water bottle had tightened so much, water had splashed out of the top. The thought of another man so much as breathing the same air as Deborah was too much.

“I need to go,” I stated, standing.

“Go? We’ve still got another hour here.” Thiers held out his hand to the empty boxing gym. We’d paid Buddy a nice amount for a private gym session. We did these sessions weekly. I worked hard to maintain my physique. No longer did I have as much free time to do all of the outdoor sports I loved as a teenager and in college. So now, I took it upon myself to make time when and where I could to get in a good sweat. Not only did it help in keeping me in shape but it aided in reducing stress and keeping my mind sharp.

“You take the hour. I’m going to go see my woman.” I was tired of playing games. Five years of separation had been long enough. And it’d taught me a couple of things. First, it taught me that what I’d dreamt that night at the ski lodge wasn’t just a dream. It had been a glimpse into my future. Me, Deborah, and our four sons.

It also taught me that we likely both needed that time apart. We’d been young, too young, to truly pursue what I knew was our future. We weren’t children any longer. Boyfriend or no boyfriend, Deborah Tate was mine.

****

Deborah

“What the …” My question trailed off, as I peeked through the peephole of my apartment door. I’d only gotten in from work an hour ago after another long day of meetings. And just as I’d gotten settled into a pair of sweatpants and I started warming up a can of Campbell’s tomato soup to have along with the grilled cheese sandwich I planned on making, a loud knock sounded at my door. At first I thought it might be Cohen, but as soon as I glanced through the peephole, I knew I was wrong.