“No, Paul. I don’t. My life is full, and I don’t have room for the past—especially a past built on a mistake. I’m not that girl anymore.”
“You’ve gotten cold, Val. Just because you’ve got money now doesn’t mean you’re better than the rest of us.”
“It’s not about money, Paul. It’s about character. I learned that the hard way. We’re at my stop. Here’s the fare, and a tip. Keep the change.”
Valerie handed him the cash and paused for a second. She thought about telling him about Will—about the son he’d never known. But she looked at him—bitter, stagnant, and still looking for an easy way out—and realized he didn’t deserve to know. He had forfeited that right a long time ago.
“Take care of yourself, Paul. Don’t get lonely.”
She used the exact words he’d said to her nine years ago. She stepped out of the car and shut the door with a firm click. She walked up the steps of the glass-and-steel skyscraper without looking back.
Paul sat in the car, watching her go. He’d hoped she’d look back, hoped for a sign that he could still get close to her. She was a VP now, an executive. She probably made more in a month than he did in a year.
