Needing to get out of the office, I decided to make my way down to PR to talk to Janette. She was good at her job, but there were a few things I needed to set straight with her before she made any more announcements on my behalf.
"Seriously, Dane. You look like hell. You should go home, get some more sleep, and come back tomorrow. Don't worry … after spending the weekend in jail and dealing with Gabi being in the hospital, no one will question your absence." She didn't even wait for me to take a seat at her desk before offering advice that only served in beating me down.
"I spent most of yesterday afternoon cleaning up the mess Gabi had made of the place. By the time I got to bed, I couldn't sleep. And then my morning routine was interrupted by getting Gabi admitted to the clinic."
"Okay … so go home."
I hadn't given it any thought until now. Aside from the few times I had to leave early to tend to Gabi when she was distressed and couldn't handle life on her own, I'd never missed work. The thought never crossed my mind to take a sick day, and the more I contemplated it, the more resolved I became to the idea.
"I just might do that. But before I go, I need to talk to you about a few things. I understand the need to portray me as some worried fiancé and to paint Gabi as my wife-to-be, but at some point, you're going to have to set that record straight. And I don't know how it'll look if people believe I left her after all this."
"I don't know what you mean, Dane. I wasn't aware you two weren't together."
I nodded and waited a beat before explaining. "I ended it with Gabi, and then Eden and I decided to try to make a go of things. But now with what happened this weekend, with Gabi trying to kill herself and now needing treatment and therapy, Eden has decided to cool things off."
"So what do you want me to do with that information? To be honest, I'm pretty sure without charges being brought against you, the story will die. I don't expect to have to make any more statements about it, so there's really no need to set anything straight."
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on calling her my future wife or anything again. In the event Gabi hears it or reads it somewhere, I can't risk it planting any seeds in her head."
"I'm confused. Does she not know it's over?"
I rolled my eyes, but decided to answer her anyway. "Yes, she knows."
"Would you leaving her for another woman have anything to do with why she went to the hospital?"
"She doesn't know about Eden." I realized that while I didn't owe Janette an explanation, giving her half of one wouldn't benefit me either, so I decided to offer her more. "We had a fight and I left. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but that night she tried to commit suicide. It was more than just me leaving her, but she had no idea I was with anyone else after I left."
"Dane," she said with a tsk. "Please don't tell me you were involved with your assistant prior to that."
"No. Actually, I wasn't. We'd grown close at work and I'd seen her a few times outside the office. She lives down the beach from me, and occasionally, I'd see her there-unplanned. And we ended up developing feelings for one another. Neither one of us ever admitted them or even acted on them until last week after I left Gabi."
She was quiet for a minute, absorbing what I'd admitted. Then she leaned forward and clasped her hands together in front of her on the desk. "And this thing with you and Eden … is it still going on? I'm only asking so I know how to handle the situation in the event it causes issues at the office."
"No, it's not. She made the decision yesterday to put it on hold until I have everything figured out with Gabi. I'm still taking care of Gabi financially until she can get on her feet. I don't think it's right to throw her out there all alone with no help, and Eden is worried I'll change my mind and stay with Gabi once she's better."
She nodded, and her silence continued.
"And while we're on the subject of Eden. Can you please explain why you didn't call her when I asked you to? I used my one phone call to contact you and then you didn't do as I asked." This had been eating away at me and I hadn't had a chance until now to confront her over it.
"My heart went out to Gabi, so I didn't call Eden. I knew there was something brewing between you and Eden, and I wanted to protect you. I'm sorry, but it's my job to uphold your reputation, and I couldn't do that while you had a fiancée in the hospital and a girlfriend on the side. I figured Eden would find out at work today."