The Fate Date (Glengarry Curse #1)

33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Sabrina

“ I just need to drop something at the office for Ian. You don’t mind, do you?” Melanie signalled her turn into the IM Securities parking lot.

Yes. Sabrina very much did mind. She knew Gavin no longer worked there, but it was easier to carve every connection to him out of her life, just to be safe. However, considering Melanie had offered to both drive her to the salon and squeeze her in for a haircut, it’s not like she could protest. Her hair was at that awkward stage where she resembled a little boy and not a successful small business owner. Maybe she could wait in the car?

She’d received a couple of texts from Gavin, asking if she’d be willing to talk, which she had ignored. Or tried to. Alright, she’d composed several lengthy paragraphs in response, detailing her successes and how she didn’t need him interrupting her big protagonist moment at the worst possible time. The crowdfunding for her planner was poised to be launched, her business was thriving, and she was about to commit to breakup bangs. Her irritatingly soft heart refused to delete the messages. But her pride refused to let her respond. And the tiny romantic part of her that hadn’t been squashed maintained that maybe this time it would be different. And so, she remained in this heart-wrenching limbo where she wouldn’t give in, but she couldn’t quite let go. Little cobwebs she needed to sweep out of the corners of her heart as soon as Venus moved into Capricorn. Or at least that was what she told herself .

Melanie grabbed a lunch bag from the backseat and poked her head forwards. “Come on up, Ian would love to see you. Nila and Yves will be there too.”

“I don’t want to interrupt—”

“Nonsense, it’s lunch time. Besides, if you keep the others distracted maybe I’ll get lucky.” She waggled her eyebrows at Sabrina.

Sabrina exited the car. She knew Melanie was playing at her friendship heartstrings, but it would be nice to see everyone. Sabrina pulled her handknit cap down further on her head, lamenting the fact that they hadn’t dropped by after her haircut, but it’s not like she was trying to impress anyone. All her dirty secrets had already been broadcast to IM Securities. Epic embarrassment had some perks, she supposed.

The elevator dinged at the fifth floor, and she followed Melanie into a large conference room—that wasn’t empty. The board was there, which seemed odd, considering it was the middle of December. Not only that, but many of the spouses were assembled as well. Aidan gave her a shy nod, and Bethany rushed to give her a hug.

None of them looked surprised to see her.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, pulling her spine stiff. A gruff, familiar voice came from behind her. “Thanks for meeting on such short notice, everyone.”

This wasn’t a quick pit stop. This was an ambush.

***

W ell. She hadn’t gone screaming from the room.

The glower Sabrina sported was the median expected response, so all things considered he wasn’t off to a bad start. “I don’t want to keep you long. I have a few things to say that I didn’t get to explain at the retreat. I’ve prepared a brief presentation and there will be some light refreshments following the meeting.”

A sea of eyes feasted on Gavin with varying expressions: vindictive, curious, hurt. “I recognize I said and did some reprehensible things to you all. One of you in particular.” He looked towards Sabrina, and his colleagues’ heads swivelled too. She crossed her arms tighter across her chest. “And although I don’t expect your forgiveness, you nonetheless deserve, at the very least, an apology and an explanation,” he said to the group at large. “I’ll keep it brief, strict boss and all.” He motioned towards Ian, which elicited a few chuckles from the group.

“I’d like to start with the board members. You are not, in fact, idiots, as was bellowed across the breakfast room at the retreat. I’ve also learned the very hard way that feelings are just as, if not more important, than tangible results. The truth is, I regard you all as mentors. My words and actions that day were offensive and I apologize. You’ve shaped my career to date, and my words do not reflect my gratitude for your trust and advice over the past ten years.” He tried to look them all in the eye as he said this. Heartfelt declarations weren’t exactly his strong suit, but he tried to convey his sincerity the best he could.

“I’d also like to apologize to the gathered significant others. Although I didn’t insult you directly, I still lied to you and the people you care about. You attended the retreat to support the company. Every single one of you greeted me with an open mind, despite the—no doubt accurate—stories you’d heard about me. I apologize that was thrown back in your face, because I enjoyed meeting each of you.”

Some of the faces were starting to soften, which bolstered his resolve as he continued with the next bit. “It’s not an excuse, but the venom you heard was recorded at a very inopportune time for me. I’d discovered my feelings for Sabrina were not as simple as I had planned. I was confused by them. Evidently, I was caught off guard on how to handle them. And coupled with the fact I was trapped in a vehicle with my little brother— the human equivalent of Jar Jar Binks—I said some things that were the opposite of the truth. They were made worse when spliced together in a tirade, henceforth to be referred to as the Remix of Stupidity.” He hadn’t intended to be funny, but even Leslie chuckled at the moniker.

“To make it absolutely clear, Sabrina and I were a couple at the retreat.”

He wasn’t going to go all Ross and Rachel with the definition. He’d attended the retreat with the intention of asking Sabrina out afterwards. There was no “if” about his feelings, and he didn’t think there was for her either. They hadn’t explicitly agreed on their relationship status, but there had been an understanding, and he was going to roll with that nuance.

“But as many of you have gathered, our relationship didn’t start as conventionally as we’d said. I asked Sabrina to be my fake date at the retreat, because, like you, I was charmed from the moment I’d met her. However, being a total Slytherin, I sought to use her unique skillset to win over the board. My voluminous ego didn’t even consider the fact that I might just fall for her myself in the process.”

His earlier humour was gone and the tension crept back into the board room. He turned to her. Her face was pale, and it looked like she was forcing her eyes to narrow to avoid letting them pour with tears.

“Sabrina,” he rasped.

This was the hardest part. If his predictions were accurate, the best-case scenario was that she would walk out of here. The worst would be an excruciating public takedown that he definitely deserved. But none of those possibilities would stop him.

“I’ve said it already, but I will reiterate, I am so sorry. Obviously, the things I said were cowardly lies spewed from an emotionally constipated imbecile. You gave me much more credit than I deserved in recognizing that from the outset. All you asked in return was an answer, a secret. One I’m ashamed to admit. ”

He began coughing again. It was even more awkward as people watched on. He dug through the pockets of his coat, but the puffer the doctor had given him wasn’t there. He tried clearing his throat to get rid of the worst of it.

“Excuse me, sorry, very anti-climactic. Where was I? Right, life’s regrets, rotten secrets and all that.”

He looked right at Sabrina who was frozen to the spot, mouth open, eyes wide.

“My father wasn’t the only one who gambled.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. She looked adorable like that, as she tried to figure out just how black his soul was. “And when I asked him for money to pay my debts three weeks before he died, I re-invigorated his problem gambling. I believed the stress of this may have contributed to his heart attack and for ten years, I hid the truth from everyone.”

He listed the items as facts, watching the shock turn to confusion, followed by comprehension.

Gavin opened his mouth to continue, but the heaving coughs re-emerged. His throat seared with pain, his chest gasping for breath. His eyes hurt from the pressure, like they were going to pop out of their sockets with the force of his spasms. As the attack subsided, he sensed Sabrina beside him, rubbing his back.

“Sorry, folks, still recovering from a bout of pneumonia. That’s all I had hoped to say.” He cleared his throat, still not quite able to rid himself of whatever was irritating it. “TLDR—I brought apology donuts.” He gestured to the back before his coughing resumed and he darted out of the conference room, Sabrina trailing behind him. He beelined it for the elevator, covering his mouth with the elbow of his suit jacket, fumbling for the lobby button with shaking hands. A tiny hand with neon pink nail polish found the button first.

“Breathe, Gavin,” she said .

He shook his head. He was trying, but he couldn’t. It felt like his throat was swollen shut. He forced his voice to work. “Sorry, I—” A fresh fit erupted. This wasn’t how he planned his speech to end, hacking all over her. He gasped in air, to no avail; his lungs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves. He sank against the side of the elevator, hand fumbling for the rail. Sabrina’s face appeared in his blurring vision.

“Gavin?!” Her cry sounded like it was coming from underwater.

The walls of the elevator sparkled. He heard high-pitched sounds but couldn’t make out the words. His chest was being crushed and he dropped to his knees as the world went black.