Un-Selfish - Ch 1
12 de junho
I'd like to introduce you all to a new short series that was recently commissioned. This is the first chapter and I'm excited to share it with you. This series is something fresh for me and I appreciate getting to work on it.
Enjoy.
Chapter 1
Scott stared at the last slide of his quarterly earnings presentation, fingers hovering over his keyboard. He was done. But he couldnât get himself to commit. To finalize the presentation and send it. Usually, this wasnât a problem. Overconfidence was a trait Scott had in spades. Itâs what had gotten him up the corporate ladder so quickly. But it was also a costly trait.
He sat back, the ergonomic chair leaning back perfectly. Outside the floor to ceiling windows, the sky was dark, the stars drowned out by the city lights. New York really was the city that never slept. Lights always on. Cars always on the road. People swarming along the sidewalks, going to and from places unknown. Scott let his eyes drift over the city as he absently twisted the gold band on his ring finger. Even after two years, he was still wearing it. Hell, heâd never taken it off. Usually, just like his arrogant confidence, he had no trouble letting things go. If it wasnât something that helped get him to the top, then it should have been easy to leave behind.
But Jean wasnât someone you let go of easily.
Looking back at his computer, the screen bathing his face in a pale light that made him look like a ghost, he quickly saved his presentation and attached it to the email for tomorrow. He hit send before he could overthink and turned away from his computer. On his desk sat the invitation that had thrown off his normal concentration. It was thick cardstock, cream-colored with ornate calligraphy declaring the nuptials of Megan and Thomas. They were inviting him back to his old hometown in Indiana. He may not have been back for two years, but it was still home.
His house was there. The one he shared with Jean. The house he was still paying the mortgage on, even though he didnât live there.
Jean and he were separated by verbal agreement. No paperwork. No official declaration. Just a mutual decision when they couldnât reconcile their differences. A fairly classic story when it came to estranged spouses.
He could still see the overgrown garden that Jean always said she was going to trim. The peeling paint on the porch. A solid home that theyâd fallen in love with the moment theyâd seen it. A home with multiple rooms. Enough for a home office and maybe room for another. For a little one.
Scott shook off the weight pressing against his chest, picking up the invitation and turning it over. It was requesting his presence. The wedding was in a month. But Thomas and Megan were never ones to do things simply. They wanted him to be part of the bridal party, or rather, Thomas wanted him to come and stand up on the stage with him as the best man. They were planning lots of fun activities for the wedding party two weeks before the actual big day. He didnât have to attend, but he was being highly encouraged to join in the festivities.
The invitation mocked him. Not because âhis old friends were getting happily married and wanted him to be a part of that happiness. It was because one of the bridesmaids was Jean. It felt targeted. Like Thomas and Megan were trying to force him to confront his wife. To force them into the same room. Or⌠maybe he was just looking too deeply into what amounted to a thoughtful invitation by some long-time friends he hadnât seen in years.
He tapped the card on the desk thoughtfully, staring at the QR code to RSVP.