Hearts Like Ours | Red View Romance #1

🍎 Nineteen

Layla stayed in her room all the way into the afternoon, pretending to work. She made an attempt to, but only ended up sitting at the small desk and staring out at the orchard thinking about what happened in the kitchen. One minute she was applauding herself for doing the right thing by getting out of there, and the next she was furious with herself for leaving. 

Of course, she didn't have to guess what would have happened. But now she'd never know how it would have felt. She'd spend the rest of her time here wondering what it would have felt like to kiss him, to let everything else go just for that moment.

It was around four when her phone rang, jolting her out of her daydreams. To her surprise, Colin's name lit up the screen.

They'd texted a bit since her first night, just pleasantries about her making it there okay and if she liked where she was staying. She decided not to mention that she was staying at the orchard instead of the lodge in town—it was a detail that he would no doubt scrutinize for its lack of professionalism.

She picked up the phone with a furrowed brow. "Hello?"

Not exactly the lovey-dovey greeting that one might expect from an engaged couple, she thought bitterly. If it wasn't so depressing, it would almost be funny how un-couple-like they were.

"Layla." His voice was steady, but hesitant. "Hi."

"Hi," she greeted again, her body prickling with anxiety at the apprehension in his tone. It was strange enough for him to call, but now she knew for sure that something was wrong. "What's up?"

It wasn't five yet,  which meant he'd still be at work--even if he didn't need to be. Being a workaholic was basically the one thing they had in common. "Just... checking in."

"Oh." She decided to play along, even being almost certain that curiosity wasn't the reason for his call at all. "Well, everything's great here. Kenzie and Marshall are really happy with their progress." When he stayed silent, she prodded, "How are things there?"

"Well..." There was a long pause, then a sigh. "That's actually why I'm calling."

She sat up a little straighter, the worry in her gut doubling at the confirmation. Was it something with her parents? Did something happen to the gym? Or had the merger gone sour? "What is it?"

"It's..." Another sigh from Colin had Layla rolling her eyes with impatience. "It's this, Layla. It's the bootcamp. My parents sat down with yours this morning, and it's just not gonna work."

"Wh—" Her anxiety turned to anger in a quick, hot flash. "I haven't even finished the test run! How the hell can anyone say if it'll work or not? They haven't seen the results, they haven't seen the numbers!"

"They don't like it, Layla." His tone was stern, words sharper than they had been a moment ago. "It's as simple as that. It's too much of a diversion, it takes away from the focus of the business."

"I was under the impression that the focus of the business was helping people get healthy."

"You know what they mean. We're gym based. Our focus should be on more gyms, more classes, more products. They don't think we need a random venture tacked onto the business. They don't want to go that wide. It's not personal."

She didn't reply—she knew the words that came out of her would be ones she could never take back.

"They wanted me to tell you, so that you weren't disappointed when you came back."

This time the venom came pouring out of her before she could stop it. "If I wasn't disappointed, it wouldn't feel like home." 

With that she hung up, tossing her phone onto the desk. She shouldn't have been surprised, and she knew that. It was crazy of her to think this ever would have been approved, but she did. She let herself believe in miracles again—without even realizing. And look what became of it, she thought.