Katie and her two bosses 043

Katie and her two bosses 043
Austin

I slowly walk back
to the office, dreading seeing everyone and fielding a bunch of questions. I don’t have any answers to give them. And besides, that’s far from the most important thing on my mind right now.
Maybe my face looks kind of harsh as I enter the work area, or maybe everyone just feels pretty awkward after seeing the picture of their bosses with their co-worker, but no one really looks up at me as I barrel past them toward my office doors. Good. I don’t want to deal with any of them right now.
I fall onto the couch in my office. It’s the place where I first put my hands on Katie’s body, where I held her and kissed her.
It felt good to say out loud that I love Katie, even if it was just to Tyler. It’s true. I love her so much, more than I ever thought possible.
For so long, I thought I’d never love again. After my fiancée broke up with me and canceled our wedding three weeks before the date, I was devastated. Ripped to the core. I pretty much made up my mind to spend the rest of my life alone, because I thought I could never risk feeling that kind of excruciating pain again. I decided I could get my fulfillment from throwing myself into my work, and leave the fun to Tyler and his one-night-stands.
So I built walls around my heart, and refused to let anyone in. But someone Katie managed to tear those down.
And not only did she teach me I was capable of loving again, but she showed me how to live again. I’ve finally learned how to relax a little, loosen up. It felt like a major break-through just to be able to dance a little with her in Santa Fe. For so long I’ve been stuck in my head, denying my body and flat-out ignoring my emotions.
Being in love with Katie has opened me up to live more fully.
I want to tell her that, and to thank her for changing my life.
I send another text: “Please come back. Or at least let us know you’re safe.”
I try to call again, and leave a voicemail, begging her to come back to me, how sorry I am that the picture went public and that a co-worker was cruel to her.
I sigh, putting down my phone.
The last few years I’ve put work before everything else. I thought that business would be where I would find meaning in my life. Now that I have Katie, I realize how completely wrong I’ve been. She gives my life meaning. The love the three of us share gives it meaning.
I think of all the times I’ve put my work before Katie. She wanted to be more open about our relationship, to not hide it. But I insisted on hiding for the sake of the company. And for what? We’re in trouble at work now anyway, despite all the precautions we took.
And worst of all, Katie has disappeared.
I shudder, realizing that she must think she’s ruined everything for the company. What if she thinks she needs to distance herself from Tyler and me to save our reputation in the industry?
That would be absurd. The last thing I would ever want.
Because I’d choose her over the company, hands down.
But I guess I’ve given her the message that the company is the most important thing. Fuck! Of course I did, making her cater to Jack Brice, making her pretend not to be our girlfriend just to protect our reputation. What a selfish idiot I’ve been. I can’t believe how much I’ve fucked this up for all three of us. And even Tyler is having to pay for my selfishness.
Unable to stop myself from texting her again, I impulsively pick up my phone.
“I never meant to put you before the company. You mean so much more to me than everything else.”
I put down the phone and it is suddenly clear what I have to do. As clear and plain as the light on a cloudless day.
I have to give up Tyaus Technology. That’s the answer.
We have to show Katie that we care more about her than selling software. We have to be open about our relationship. No more hiding, no more secrets. I don’t know what our PR department has done, but they can just tell everyone the rumors are true.
Tyler and I have spent so many years building this business up, and it’s been a labor of love. But none of that matters now that we have true love with Katie. We’ll just have to dissolve the corporation. It will definitely suck for our employees, and I hate the thought of putting them on the job market after they’ve been so loyal to us. But pretty much all of them will be snatched up by other companies based purely on their experience with us.
As for me and Tyler, we’ll do all right. We have enough funds that none of us, Katie included, will ever need to work again. Hell, Tyler and I could have stopped working a long time ago, but we just kept doing it for the thrill of it. But if I find myself itching to work in software again, I can always work as a freelance programmer, no problem. Money definitely won’t be an issue.
A peaceful kind of acceptance washes over me. It will be bittersweet giving up the business we’ve created, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Katie with us. I know that deep down she doesn’t want to leave us. She’s sacrificing herself like she always has before. But now she doesn’t need to.
I send her another text:
“We need to talk to you. If we don’t see you before 5, we’ll meet you at your house.”
And then one more – I can’t help it.
“I love you.”
There’s a knock at my door, and Tyler slowly walks in, his face betraying his confusion and devastation.
I look up at him, take a deep breath, and tell him my plan.