“Are you sure about this, Lee?” Mandi asked for the fifteenth time.
“Yes, I’m damn sure. A thousand and six hundred and twenty-three percent sure,” I replied as I continued to stuff my suitcase with clothes.
“But all the way to Canada? Are you sure you’ve thought this through? I mean, Canada is pretty far away,” Mandi said in frustration as she watched me pack.
“Far away is good,” I replied, continuing to fill my suitcase.
“You can’t run from Theodore Benson like this, Lee. It’s not healthy. Plus, I doubt it will work.”
“Yes, I can. And it will work.” I finished packing my suitcase and zipped it shut. Then flopped on the bed beside Mandi, releasing a long, deep sigh.
“You know you can’t run away from him forever,” Mandi stated matter-of-factly.
I ignored her last statement. I was determined to leave Theodore Benson behind. “My flight leaves in five hours, and once I reach Canada, I’m going to change my number. I’ll text you the new one,” I said confidently.
“But why are you so adamant on running away? It’s nothing but cowardice,” Mandi said.
“Trust me, running away is the best thing I can do,” I replied.
“I don’t understand. Why is it so important that you get away from him?” Mandi asked.
I sighed in annoyance. “Mandi, it’s weird. He gives off this dangerous vibe, and yet, he makes me feel things…weird things,” I confessed.
Mandi raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Weird how?” she asked.
Mandi burst out laughing. I glared at her, but she didn’t stop giggling.
“Goo—goose—goose-pim—goose-pimply…” She kept laughing, tears streaming down her face.
I could feel my face going red, though I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. “Yes, that’s exactly what I said. It isn’t funny,” I snapped.
“Yes, it is,” Mandi replied. She took a few deep breaths and was finally able to control herself.
“I’m serious, Mandi. No guy has ever made me feel this way before,” I said.
“Okay, let’s break it down and figure it out,” Mandi said. “Tell me everything you feel when you’re near him, or even when you think about him.”
I sighed. So far I had been avoiding confronting my feelings, but I knew I’d never get over them until I expressed them and dealt with them head-on. I turned to face Mandi, hoping she would be able to help me sort through everything.
“When I first walked into Mr. Caldwell’s office and saw him sitting there, I thought he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. And when he looked at me, shivers ran down my spine. I’ve never felt that with a guy before. Then there was our encounter in the elevator… I wanted him, Mandi, then and there, even though he scared me. It’s so weird.”
“You haven’t been with many guys, Lee. Obviously, you feel weird. Theodore Benson is the first guy who makes you feel something other than friendship or just plain nothing. And if you ask me, that is someone you need to hang on to, not someone you run away from,” Mandi said, her voice serious and earnest.
I breathed out an audible sigh. “But he’s dangerous,” I said weakly. “He wouldn’t accept my resignation and chased me down in the lobby. That’s not normal behavior. That’s stalkerish.”
“Yes, I’ll admit that chasing you to the lobby wasn’t a good look for him. But Lee, how did it make you feel to have someone want you so badly that they risked, at best, some serious HR conversations and, at worst, some really bad press?” Mandi asked.
My mind went to the lobby and Mr. Benson’s breath in my ear as he told me he wasn’t giving me up. For the first time in my life, I felt wanted, desired. Almost cherished. “I liked that he really seemed to want me,” I told Mandi.
“That’s a good thing, Lee,” Mandi said. “You’re a beautiful, strong, sexy woman. You should feel wanted.”
“But he’s dangerous, Mandi. You said so yourself. He takes control of companies without them realizing it. What if he does the same thing to me?”
“Sometimes, dangerous is good, and most of the time, dangerous is fun. Don’t live in a shell, Hailey, because life will pass you by and you’ll realize that you never did anything fun, anything adventurous, anything risky. And that is when you’re going to have regrets,” Mandi stated wisely.
I fell silent after that, thinking over her words. Was it true that Mr. Benson was what I needed in my life? It was true that he was the first guy who made me feel alive. He said he felt the same. But did he really feel that way, or did he just want to get in my pants?
What if I did give this a chance? There was no guarantee that I would get a happy ending. What if Mr. Benson used me and I was left to pick up the pieces of my broken heart? I stayed away from danger for a reason—I didn’t want to get hurt.
The chime of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts. I reached to pick it up, but Mandi beat me to it.
“Hey, give that back!” I demanded.
“Ooh, it’s a text from the boss man,” Mandi said cheekily, handing the phone to me.
I unlocked my phone and opened the text.
The good thing was that I would be leaving in a few hours, and then I would be in Canada, away from him. He could take his texts and his orders and slap himself with them.
“What are you smiling about?” Mandi asked.
“He thinks he can tell me to do whatever he wants and I’ll do it. Ha! The sucker doesn’t know that I’ll be in Canada before his five thirty a.m.” I burst out laughing. “I’ll miss seeing his reaction when he comes to the office tomorrow and I’m not there.”
“The only reaction he will have is fury, Hailey,” Mandi said.
I shrugged in response. “His fury be damned. The guy can’t control me, and it’s about time he realizes that,” I replied and stood up. I grabbed my suitcase and my handbag, making sure I had everything I needed, before calling for a cab.
Twenty minutes later, the cab arrived and I hugged Mandi, not wanting to let go. “Take care, Mandi. I’ll text you once I get my new number there. And please, under no circumstances tell anyone where I’ve gone, okay?”
“Okay, you take care, Hailey. And don’t worry, my lips are sealed,” she replied.
Once I was in the cab and headed to the airport, I looked at Mr. Benson’s message again. A feeling of emptiness filled me, and I almost told the cabdriver to turn around. But I needed to do this. Theodore Benson didn’t control my life, and he needed to realize that.
Goodbye, Theodore Benson, forever.
