And that’s when it sank in—I was out of options. Out of a job. Out of time.
No more stalling.
The island, the beach, the recording studio. The place where I fell head over heels in love… my time here was over, and the abrupt end to such an important period in my life left me in shock.
I didn’t cry as I rolled my suitcase out of the conference room. My eyes were dry as my co-workers looked on in confusion while I was escorted from the resort. No tears came as I climbed into the back seat of the SUV that would take me away.
Pure desperation and denial kept me thinking Aiden would come charging in at any moment. He’d stop the vehicle, demand I stay, hold me until everything was all right.
But that didn’t happen.
The last face I saw before we drove away was Trisha’s. She was standing on the polished stairs, slack-jawed, while she watched me disappear.
When we got onto the road and I saw the tall trees flying by outside the window, I started to shake. My eyes stung. My throat ached from the rising lump in my esophagus.
Knowing I only had about a mile before I lost cell service, I quickly dug my phone out from my pocket and dialed Aiden’s number.
It went straight to voice mail. I was about to leave a message when the signal cut out and the call ended.
No.
My last hope was gone.
Drowning in helplessness, I scowled at the zero bars on the screen.
Then the dam broke and I cried.
AFTER EATING LUNCH AT A cantina on the other side of the island, Theo and I brought Twila back to the resort. We walked her to her room, then we went in search of Ross.
What we found—who we found—was way better. Abe Garner was walking toward the lounge when we intercepted him in the lobby.
“Abe.” Theo approached the NTT executive and shook his hand. “I wish I could say I’m glad to see you, but we have a serious matter to discuss.”
Abe held up his hands in a defensive gesture and glanced at me with guilt in his eyes. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? There’s nothing I can do.”
“Nothing you can do?” I asked incredulously. “That’s unacceptable.”
“This is just part of the business. Nothing personal.”
“A lying, cheating, predator on my set is pretty personal to me,” I practically shouted, anger getting the best of me. “I refuse to be part of a network who stands for this.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Abe cocked his head to the side.
“Sexual harassment,” Theo replied. “Ross has been relentlessly propositioning Twila Jamison and he rigged yesterday’s competition when she wouldn’t sleep with him.”
Aghast, Abe stepped back. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Theo and I said at the same time.
“Do you have proof?”
I was about to tell him that Twila’s word was proof enough, but another voice to our left stopped me.
“I do.” Trisha approached us with a solemn expression on her face. “I have the conversation recorded. This morning, I was listening to the audio from last night to see what we got before the power went out. Ross must’ve forgotten Twila still had a mic on, and I heard everything he said.”
Abe ran a hand over his face, punched a button on his phone, then lifted it to his ear. “Ross. I need you in the conference room, stat.” After he hung up, he eyed the camera crew hanging out by the event room and motioned for us to follow him down the hall in the opposite direction. “We don’t need to make a scene.”
“Aiden,” Trisha whispered, before I could get too far. “I need to talk to you right away.”
I watched Theo and Abe enter the small room, then turned back to Trisha to give her my full attention. There was a sense of urgency about her, the way she wrung her hands and chewed the inside of her cheek.
Seriously, what now? Had Ross come onto her, too?
“I know you’re dealing with a serious issue,” she started. “And I don’t want to put my job at risk by overstepping my boundaries… but I’m going to ask you something and I need you to answer it honestly.”
“Okay…”
“Are you involved with Corrie?”
“Wha—I—um—” I wasn’t prepared for that question, and I wasn’t sure how to answer it without betraying Corrie’s trust. She and Trisha were friends, but as far as I knew, Corrie hadn’t told anyone about us.
“That’s what I thought,” Trisha said, taking my stuttering as a yes. “And it makes sense now.”
I was so confused. “At least it makes sense to one of us, because I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
“Corrie’s gone.”
Two words. Just two little words took this crappy-ass day and kicked it off the edge of a cliff down to Shitsville.
“Excuse me?” My voice was much calmer than I felt on the inside. “What do you mean she’s gone?”
Distressed, Trisha threw her hand out. “Ask Mr. Garner. I think he fired her. All I know is I heard her asking for you and then I saw her leaving, and it didn’t look like she was willing.”
She wasn’t even finished with her sentence before I was charging away. I crossed the threshold of the plain room lit by florescent lights.
“Where’s Corrie?” I barked out.
Theo, confused by my outburst, furrowed his eyebrows. But Abe knew exactly why I was asking.
He held his hands up, just like he had a few minutes earlier, and this time I recognized it for what it was—an apologetic stance. “After the evidence Ross brought to me, it was obvious she wasn’t conducting herself appropriately. She had to be dismissed.”
“What evidence?” I growled.
“There was a journal,” he replied, his tone soft the way someone would talk if they were consoling a child. “And Miss Harper admitted to her association with you.”
“Where is she?” I demanded again, harsher.
“On a flight back to the states.”
Theo stepped between us and focused on Abe. “I’m the head producer. Why wasn’t I aware of this?”
Abe swallowed hard. “Ross said he already cleared it with you. He said you told him to handle it.” His words were quiet and flat, realizing he’d been duped.
“Well, he’s a fucking liar.” My hands balled into tight fists, and I seriously considered taking a swing at the executive, which was a terrible idea.
He was my boss. An old friend of the family and a key player in my future.
But I still wanted to hit something.
Ross chose that moment to stroll through the door, and if Theo hadn’t pushed me behind him, I would’ve decked that asshole right in the face.
“Shut the door,” Abe commanded, and Ross complied.
None of us sat down. There was no point when this was going to end fast.
While Abe went into a spiel about serious allegations, my gaze zeroed in on something sticking out of the right-side pocket on Ross’s suit jacket.
Oh, hell no.
I pointed at it and interrupted the unconvincing denial currently pouring from his mouth. “That’s mine.”
Without hesitation, he handed it over—smart move on his part—and I opened it. I needed to make sure all our words were still there. I turned the pages, combing through every entry.
It wasn’t until I reached the last page that the full weight of today’s events crashed down on me.
My chest ached with longing when I read the note Corrie wrote to me last night. She was so optimistic and happy, letting her heart bleed through the ink as she talked about all the memories we were going to make in the future.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Thinking it was her, I almost ripped the fabric of my shorts in my haste to grab it and check the screen.
Well, it was her. But the two texts she sent were from hours ago.
Too late.
She’d tried to reach me, and I failed her.
Dialing her number, I paced in a small circle while praying I’d hear her voice on the other end. No
ringing—the automated voice mail came through the speaker and I hung up.
I tried again. Same result.
I hung my head.
Corrie really was gone.
“Aiden?” Theo snapped his fingers in front of my face. “You okay? You’re looking a little pale.”
I couldn’t seem to make my tongue move to answer him. Was I okay? No. I promised Corrie this wouldn’t happen. Promised I’d protect her.
Theo scooted a chair away from the table and pushed me down into it.
While the conversation between Abe and Ross became heated, I came to a conclusion: I couldn’t be here. Not on this island. Not without Corrie.
Silently, I got up and walked from the room, leaving the commotion behind. Several crew members were hanging around the fountain, within hearing distance of the drama.
So much for not causing a scene.
I snatched the SUV keys from behind the front desk and headed outside, taking a left toward the parking lot once I got down the stairs. Gravel crunched rhythmically under my sandals and the warm wind ruffled my hair.
It was a sunny day. Perfect weather for the beach. The calm after the storm.
But I couldn’t find joy in it.
I heard footsteps approaching quickly behind me. I didn’t care who it was. Didn’t care about anything other than getting to my girl.
“Where are you going?” Theo asked when he caught up.
“Home.” Not home, home. Corrie-home. I’d go wherever she was.
Theo kept up with my quick pace. “You’re not done here yet.”
“I quit.”
He sputtered. “You can’t quit.”
“Try to stop me.” I ripped open the driver’s side of the vehicle, got in, and stuck the keys in the ignition. Theo hopped in the other side, and I gave him a challenging look. “What are you doing?”
“Going with you.”
“You’ll lose your job.”
“I’ll lose it anyway if the star of the show goes MIA.”
His comment made me pause, because this wasn’t just about me. It wasn’t just about him either. There were so many people depending on Stranded with a Legend.
If I left, there would be consequences for everyone, but the distressed mental state I was in made it difficult to care about anyone but myself.
“Fuck.” I hit the steering wheel, then shifted into drive, peeling out as I pressed the pedal to the floor. “I have to go to the docks. Maybe Corrie didn’t get on the boat. Maybe she’s still there, waiting for me.”
Theo didn’t argue. Strapping his seat belt on, he didn’t say anything at all. The fifteen-minute drive to the other side of the island was quiet and tense.
When the pier came into view, I skidded to a stop on the road, too impatient to find a parking spot.
Leaving the car running, I jogged to the sailor’s post. It was a small square building, no bigger than a one-car garage. Trips to and from the island stopped around three in the afternoon, so I’d arrived just in time.
I spied a man behind the sliding glass window. It was halfway open, letting in the breeze. I didn’t bother with pleasantries when I got there.
“Is there a girl here?” My tone was abrasive, and I was out of breath from running.
“Excuse me?” the man drawled, not looking up from the fishing magazine his gaze was glued to.
I knew he wasn’t a local because his accent sounded Texan. He had white hair and tan skin, leathery from years of sun exposure. And apparently, he had no fucks because he couldn’t even remove the toothpick dangling from his mouth to give a coherent response.
“Lotsa girls come through here,” he mumbled.
“Hey.” I banged my palm on the laminate countertop. “This is important. A woman was here earlier today, and I need to know where she is.”
Slowly, he lifted his head. Either he couldn’t see the panic in my eyes, or he didn’t care. That toothpick stayed trapped between his incisors. “Can you describe her?”
“She’s thin, short, pretty.” I was being too vague. “She has purple hair.”
Recognition lit up the man’s face, and he nodded.
“Oh, yeah. I seen her. Dropped her off on the mainland myself right after lunch. I’m about to close up for the day, though.” He raised his arm and glanced at his wrist as if he was checking the time, but he wasn’t wearing a watch. “If you wanna get over that way, you’ll have to find a boat to borrow or wait until tomorrow.”
What if Corrie didn’t get on the plane? She could be on the other side of the water. It was a hopeful thought, fueled by desperation, but I was a desperate man.
I was about to demand he take me there—or bribe him with a buttload of cash—when a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked over to see Theo with pity in his eyes.
“Let’s take a walk, bro.” He didn’t give me the chance to protest, because he slung an arm around my neck and tugged me to one of the long wooden docks nearby.
“You can’t keep me here,” I grumbled.
“I know.” Letting me go, he didn’t stop walking, and I followed behind him on the wooden planks.
Sailboats floated in the harbor on either side of us, and I briefly considered hijacking one of them. I’d taken sailing lessons with my dad when I was a teenager, so I knew how to get from point A to point B.
Once we reached the end, Theo took a seat, his legs dangling above the water. “I’m asking you to stay, Aiden.”
“Because you need this job,” I concluded.
He glanced up at me and shook his head. “No, because you do.”
I plopped down next to him. “No, I don’t. I have money.”
“It’s not about the money. You can do anything you want, and this is your dream. I haven’t been a good brother to you in the past, but I won’t fail you now. And that’s why I can’t let you leave. You’ve worked way too hard for this career to just toss it away.”
“What they’re doing to Corrie—it’s bullshit.”
“I agree with you, but that bullshit is still in her contract. Give me some time to talk to Abe and the other execs. Ross really fucked things up, and they know he’s not trustworthy anymore. We’ll get it worked out.”
Pointing across the water, I said, “What would you do if it was Hadley?”
“I’d go after her,” he replied, no hesitation. “But you’re smarter than me. You have way more potential. Not to mention, Twila and Stan. What happens to them if you bail?”
I huffed. “I hate it when you make sense.”
He chuckled. “It’s annoying, isn’t it?”
Nodding, I gazed out at the water.
We sat there for a few minutes in silence, and begrudgingly, I came to the decision to stick it out. It was only two more days. I was still pissed as hell, but I couldn’t let people down.
Corrie wouldn’t want that. She’d want me to see this through.
“It’s not true, you know.” I glanced sideways at Theo. “The thing you said about me being smarter, having more potential. I’m not better than you.” He grunted out a noise that sounded a lot like a protest, so I continued, “I’m serious. Mom and Dad made you feel that way, but I realized something the other day.”
“What’s that?” He was studying his hands in his lap, going for nonchalant, but he couldn’t fool me. He cared about our parents’ opinion, and he cared about mine.
“The way they treated you—it was never about you. Not what you did or didn’t do. Not what you looked like or how much you accomplished. I think one of the reasons Mom clung to me so much was because, subconsciously, she felt guilty for the unjust resentment she had toward you. Did you know she used to dress me up in little suits and bowties? Then she’d cart me around to all her friends’ houses to show me off, like she was mother of the year?”
Scratching his temple, Theo nodded. “Yeah. I thought you picked out those outfits.”
“I was five,” I deadpanned. “I had no sense of style. That was all her. All the gifts I got, all the
luxury she showered me with… I think she was overcompensating for her guilt, and Dad just went along with whatever she wanted. What I’m saying is, they were the problem, Theo. Not you.”
His frown turned into a smile and he bumped my shoulder with his. “Told ya you’re smarter than me.”
COMING HOME DIDN’T BRING ME the comfort it used to. The air was too cold, too dry, and it didn’t smell like the sea. Instead of the soothing sound of waves, all I heard was traffic from the highway nearby.
I was very aware of the four unchecked voice mails burning a hole in my purse as I trudged up my driveway in the dark.
Light from the front window lit my path; my parents always left the lamp in the living room on at night for me, even when I wasn’t home. Habit, I guess.
I could assume the messages waiting for me were mostly, if not all, from Aiden, but I was holding off on listening to them until I could break down in the privacy of my own room. I didn’t think my Uber driver would’ve appreciated having a sobbing basket case in his car on the twenty-minute trip from the airport.
My keys jingled in my hand as I stepped onto the porch and unlocked the front door.
“Mom? Dad?” I dumped my luggage next to the coat closet in the entryway when I got inside. “I’m home.”
Two seconds later, my mom came thundering down the stairs, her pink slipper-covered feet pounding on the wooden steps. She was dressed in her usual pjs—a baggy purple T-shirt from her elementary school PTA fundraiser and flannel pants. Her face was makeup-free and her light-brown hair was in a ponytail.
It was past eleven, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was already asleep, but I was glad she was still up.
“You’re back early.” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around me in a vise-like hug. “Dad and Carson are out cold. Want me to wake them?”
“No, don’t do that. Carson has school tomorrow.”
“We all missed you so much.”
Tears sprang to my eyes.
I’d held myself together during most of the traveling but being hugged by my mom made me feel safe to cry.
I sniffled, and she took it the wrong way. “Oh, honey, did you miss me that much? You could’ve called more. We’ve barely heard from you.”
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