Let Him Go, page 1
Let Him Go
Love Comes Again Book 2
LuAnn K. Edwards
Copyright © 2020 by LuAnn K. Edwards
Published by Forget Me Not Romances, an imprint of Winged Publications
Editor: Cynthia Hickey
Book Design by Winged Publications
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Piracy is illegal. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, Places, incidents, and dialogues are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
or events is coincidental.
All scripture is from the New International Version.
ISBN: 978-1-952661-10-5
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my husband Kenn.
Your love and encouragement continue to bless me.
And to my Bible study ladies.
Thank you for being you.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
A story of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26
Chapter 1
Mid-November
Nashville, Tennessee
B
lake Conner stood inside our office suite and near my desk when I arrived on Monday morning—our first day back in the office after a business trip together. A lovely mixed bouquet in a clear glass vase sat on my desk.
“They’re beautiful.” I bent to smell them, straightened, and whispered. “Should you have sent these to me here? I thought we were going to keep our new friendship quiet?”
He frowned. “They’re not from me. They were on your desk when I arrived.” He sounded frustrated. “I’d give you roses.” He crossed his arms. “Maybe they’re from Wes. I’ve expected as much.”
I stepped over to our office suite door and closed it. “Wes is not your concern. I worked with him in the IT Department, and now we eat lunch together on occasion. That’s all.” Blake accused me of spending too much time with Wes in the past. I resented him bringing the topic up yet again. I shook my head. “Leave him out of this. They’re not from him.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “How many other admirers do you have?”
I responded in an irritated tone. “Perhaps I should open the card to find out.”
I grabbed the note from its holder and read to myself. “Keedryn, would you agree to double with Jenny and her husband?” At the bottom, the man included his cell number.
Careful not to react in front of Blake, I showed no emotion and said, “They’re from a man my daughter knows from her church.”
Blake took a step closer, his tone filled with displeasure. “You dating him?”
“I only met him once—at Jenny’s on my birthday a couple of months ago.” I pressed my lips together and tried not to smile. But looking at Blake and seeing him watching and waiting for my reaction was rather humorous. “I need to run downstairs and talk to Tauni about your presentation.”
I reviewed Blake’s PowerPoint slides before we left on our business trip to Albuquerque. He wanted another pair of eyes and called upon Tauni Fisher—an administrative assistant. But when Blake presented at the healthcare conference, he found his slides had been tampered with.
His mouth twitched. “What does the card say?”
I tapped my foot and crossed my arms. “Nothing important.”
“Right. Not with that smirk on your face.”
“He asked me out.” I handed the card to Blake. “Here. Take it.”
“Are you going on a date with him?” He flipped the card from front to back.
I sighed. “I’m not interested.” I walked behind my desk and placed my purse in my bottom drawer. I hurried past Blake, still staring at the card, and zipped out into the hallway.
Tauni greeted me with a smile. I stood inside her dull, gray cubicle and scanned the photos tacked on her wall. One was of her with her new boyfriend. She said the others were family members.
She asked me about the conference and congratulated me on my new promotion. I would soon become Boden Combs Healthcare’s new Admin Services Manager.
Tauni stood and hugged me. “I’ve applied for your current executive assistant position.” She pulled her long, blonde curls behind her ears. “I hope I have a chance.”
“I need to ask you something.” I lowered my voice. “The slides you reviewed for Blake the day before we left—did anyone else have access to them?”
“I don’t remember anything like that.” She peered toward the door that led to the hallway. “Wait. Wes stopped by to chat on his way out that afternoon, and he asked whose PowerPoint I was reviewing.”
“Wes? Did he ask anything else concerning it?”
“After I told him the presentation was for Blake, he said ‘goodbye’ and left.”
“Did you ever leave your desk while the PowerPoint was open?”
She fiddled with her necklace. “Yes, when Miranda Franks came by.”
“Why did someone from HR stop by?”
“She wanted to know which department managers planned to attend the holiday party this year.” Tauni shifted her weight to the opposite leg. “She asked me to check right then and there.”
“Odd she didn’t walk back and ask your manager herself,” I said.
“I thought that too.”
“How long were you gone?”
“Maybe a couple of minutes.” She tilted her head. “Why? What happened?”
“Blake’s presentation didn’t run smoothly.”
“Does he think I did something to it?” Tauni twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. “I didn’t change anything. Everything looked perfect to me.”
“I assured Blake you wouldn’t sabotage him or his presentation.”
We discussed how long it took her to read through the slides and what time she completed her review.
Tauni slumped into her chair. “Will this ruin my chance for the executive assistant position?”
“No,” I said, smiling. “I think you’re good.”
“Do you suppose Wes was jealous of you going with Blake to New Mexico?”
Oh, not the accusations about Wes again. In a firm tone, I said, “Wes and I are just friends.”
“Couldn’t be Miranda. What would she gain?” Tauni picked up a piece of paper from her desk, tore it in half, and tossed it into the trash. “Blake will think I messed up.”
I touched her shoulder. “Blake and I will figure everything out. I’ve got to run. I’ll see you later, and don’t worry about this.”
~
I returned to our office suite. Blake sat at his desk and typed away on his keyboard. “Can we discuss Tauni now?”
He motioned for me to come inside and take a seat at his round, mahogany conference table. He sat next to me and placed the card from my flowers on the table in front of me. “I called that guy for you and told him that you weren’t interested.”
I stiffened and stared at Blake. “You did what?”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to you.” He glanced over at his office door and leaned closer. “Will you join me for dinner tonight?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s wise. We just spent four days together, and I’m more comfortable with the slower approach.”
Blake and I agreed to proceed with caution at the office and keep our friendship between us. He told me that he didn’t want me to feel pressured if I wasn’t ready for a relationship, and we could move as slowly or as quickly as I felt comfortable. Although he preferred the latter, I was opting for a snail’s pace.
“Besides,” I said, “you’re still planning to come to my house, Thursday, for Thanksgiving dinner, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” He leaned back and nodded. “I look forward to meeting your family.”
“Back to Tauni. Two people stopped by her desk while she worked on your PowerPoint.” I picked up the flower card and placed it in my pocket. “Wes—”
Blake sat upright. “That’s it. He didn’t like you going off with me to New Mexico. Jealousy will cause a man to crack and sabotage a PowerPoint over the woman he loves.”
I wilted in my chair. “That’s the best you can do?”
“He’s IT. He could’ve easily found the file and destroyed it.” He tapped his finger on the table. “Who was the other person?”
“Miranda.”
His eyes widened.
I told him that she’d asked Tauni a question that took her away from her desk, which would have given Miranda enough time to find the path on the server for the presentation.
“Why would Miranda mess with my program?”
“You said it yourself. Jealousy?”
“I still think it was Wes.”
I placed my hand on my chest and jumped up. Oh, no. “I’ve got to go.”
“Where?”
I bolted out of his office, hollering over my shoulder. “I’ll be back.”
I raced across the hall and stopped in front of Beth Davis’s desk where she sat working at her computer. She was the assistant to our president, Chad Warren, my best friend at work, and my prayer partner during struggles with Blake. Before I left for the conference, I’d asked Miranda to offer the promotion to Beth first. I valued our friendship more than an increase in responsibilities and salary.
“How are you today?” I asked.
“Fine.” She stared at her monitor.
“Did everything go okay last week?”
“Why wouldn’t things be good?” she said in a snooty tone. “Do you think everything falls apart when you’re not here?”
“Miranda didn’t talk to you, did she?”
Beth glared at me. “Concerning what exactly? Was she supposed to tell me you were getting another promotion? You and Blake must be getting along well for him to get this position for you.”
My mouth fell open.
“Was climbing the corporate ladder your main goal when you came to work here? Or Blake? Playing like he was annoying and arrogant when all the time you two were hitting it off extremely well.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “You know how tough this has been for me.”
She stood and walked to the front of her desk. “I know nothing except the lies you’ve been telling me these past several months.”
“I don’t understand what’s happened.” I glanced around her office suite. “Miranda said she’d offer the job to you, but if you refused, she’d give the position to me.”
“You expect me to believe that?” She clenched her jaw and took a step closer to me. “You’ve done everything you could to climb over me and everyone else to get what you want.”
“Call Blake and ask him what happened.”
“Why should I believe him?”
“Call him and ask him to come over here now” I picked up her phone. “I won’t have a chance to prep him.” I put the receiver back in the cradle. “Or let’s go to his office and ask him there. I won’t go inside.”
I’d never seen Beth this upset. The situation I tried to prevent happened anyway. I hung my head, my thoughts bouncing between getting back at Miranda and proving to Beth she was wrong. I picked up the handset from her desk phone and called Blake myself. I asked if he was available. He said he’d be right over.
“Why are you using my phone?” Beth pulled on the cord. “If I wanted to talk to Blake, I would’ve called him.”
Blake showed up in less than a minute, smiling. “Ladies?”
I turned to face him. “Miranda never talked to Beth.”
Beth placed her fists on her hips. “Miranda talks to me all the time.”
I clenched my teeth and faced her. “She didn’t talk to you regarding the promotion.” I pursed my lips and shook my head. “I’m going back to my desk.” I looked at Blake and spoke in a frustrated tone. “Please tell her about our conversation last week.” I left the two of them to talk privately.
I would not allow Miranda to set me up for failure or interfere with my life. I wrote a short email to her. “I’ve decided not to accept the offer as Admin Services Manager.” I copied Blake and hit send before anyone tried to change my mind.
When Blake returned to our office area, he told me Beth was in our main conference room waiting on me. “She’s upset, but after I confirmed you wanted Miranda to offer the job to Beth first, she felt better. Chad came out and got involved too. He assured her that he would investigate the matter.” Blake rubbed his chin. “I saw your email pop up on my phone. I support you 100-percent.”
I nodded and stood.
Blake walked toward his office, stopped midway, and pivoted toward me. “I checked to see when my presentation was last saved on the server—Wednesday at 4:37 p.m.”
“And you loaded the PowerPoint on a flash drive after that?”
“Yes. Around 6:00. A few minutes before I left.”
“I’ll be right back.” I hurried into the conference room.
Beth wiped her eyes when I entered. “I should’ve known better and believed you. I’ve brooded over this since the article about your promotion posted on Thursday.” She frowned. “I wish you’d told me before you left.”
“I should have. Things got busy. And I was sure Miranda talked to you because she told Blake she would.” I plopped into the chair next to Beth and exhaled. “When she offered me the position officially, I assumed you knew and weren’t interested.” I drew my eyebrows together and smoothed out a wrinkled in my skirt.
“A good promotion. I know you’ll do a great job. I don’t think I would’ve accepted it.” Her shoulders drooped. “But it would have been nice to know there was a position available.” Beth folded her hands on the table and stared at them.
“I’d asked Miranda to post the job internally, but she said there wasn’t enough time. If I wasn’t interested, she said she’d post the position externally.” I reached over and touched Beth’s hands. “I guess that’s what she’ll do now.”
Her head shot up and she peered at me. “What do you mean? You’re not accepting the job?”
“I sent her an email a few minutes ago and told her that I changed my mind.”
“I didn’t want you to do that. I hope you won’t resent me for this later.” Tears formed in her eyes again.
“Not at all. Before I came into the office today, I sensed the Lord cautioning me about the position.” I shrugged. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
~
I returned to my office and zipped in to see Blake. “I think all is well with Beth.” I sat in the chair in front of his desk.
I related Tauni’s information and how she’d completed her review and sent it back to him at 3:50. “Someone else saved it at 4:37. If Miranda, she had plenty of time for sabotage.”
Blake cleared his throat. “I know you and Wes are friends, but I still think we should consider him. He could easily find the slides on the server.”
“He doesn’t seem as likely to me, but I suppose he’s a suspect too.”
He raised a brow. “Suspect? How are your detective skills?”
I beamed. “I found Andy.”
Blake’s son, Andy, disappeared five years earlier after his mother’s death. He blamed his dad for her accident. While in Albuquerque, we found Andy. I helped in reuniting the two men. Before we flew back to Nashville, Blake met with his son and explained the events that led to his mother’s death. Andy realized he’d been wrong about his dad. I was still in the dark regarding the circumstances because Blake’s daughter needed to be told before he shared the story with me.
Blake’s eyes sparkled. “Maybe you should take the promotion and move downstairs. That might be better for us.”
I looked at him with wide eyes. “Us?” He talked like we were already a couple. “We’ve just started our friendship. Nothing else. Right?”
He leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair. “Whatever you say.”
I leaned toward him. “I don’t want the position. I need to uncomplicate my life, not make it more challenging. If I take this promotion, Miranda becomes my boss.”
“Consider accepting it. Chad’s suggestion.” He winked.
“Chad? So Beth won’t apply?”
“I think it has more to do with what he perceives as our new friendship.”
“And what does Chad know about that?” I grinned.
He blushed and turned toward his computer.
Chad was probably right. But what if I changed positions and ended up with one I hated? Blake and I had experienced difficulties in the past, but we worked through our challenges and seemed to be in a good place. To work with Miranda could be a nightmare.
Soon after I returned to my desk, I received an email from her. “I’ll be there in a few minutes to talk with you. Reserve the main conference room.”
I checked the calendar. The room was no longer available. Miranda arrived before I could find another place to meet. I glanced up from my computer and said, “Chad’s in there now.”
In a snippy tone she said, “Couldn’t you find something else?”
“I was checking when you walked in.”
