Alan felt lighter than ever until he saw Shirley walking in his direction. He could feel his confidence slipping away as he headed towards her. He gripped the final ounce of bravery he still held and was about to call out to her when he noted the look on her face. Something was wrong. Carl came around the corner. Neither saw him.
"Shirley. Shirley!"
"There's nothing more to discuss, Carl."
"You never answered my question."
"I can't believe you even asked me that." She whipped around, facing the tall gentleman.
"After what I saw and how you're acting, I should be asking that. We are getting married after all, or at least I thought we were."
Shirley's jaw dropped. "Carl!"
"You were supposed to stay in Boston briefly to clean things up and then return to New York, but you stayed. Was he one of the reasons why?"
"How dare you." She spat back. She wanted to slap him. "I came here because this office was a mess and needed to get back in order. Edwin ended up in a mental institution, and then there was Denny. Paul needed help, and I stepped in. It's my job as a Senior Partner…the Senior Partner, it was my duty to see this firm was functioning smoothly, and it wasn't."
"Yet from the reports we kept receiving, it started running smoother at least a year ago, and you were still here. You weren't exactly rushing back to New York or rather back to me."
Shirley couldn't deny that one. As much as she loved Carl, she hadn't found ways to be reunited with him or even patch up their relationship. She didn't even call him in after a year, asking him to join her in Boston. She also didn't tell Alan or anyone she was in an on-again-off-again relationship to keep them at a distance or shut down any advances. She requested him four years later and never once hinted at the idea of him joining her.
"It took you four years to call me." Carl softly stated.
"You needed to be in New York. I could manage things here." Shirley slowly replied, choosing her words carefully.
"Managing things. Like Denny shooting people, taking guns into a courtroom, and making a spectacle of himself as usual, marrying gold-digging women again that nearly bankrupted the company, fist fights between Jeffery and Brad, your kidnapping and held hostage by one of your employees, and then there's Alan causing an array of problems that HR probably has an entire off-sight storage facility dedicated just for all of his actions. Some of them illegal."
She gave a wicked smile. "Exactly why I've been here for four years. Everything you just stated and many other issues were the very reasons why it took me longer than expected to join you in New York."
"Yet you still didn't call me to help. A named Senior Partner ended up in a mental facility, and it was just you and Paul running everything. Next question, did anyone know about me? About us?"
Shirley inhaled a sharp breath. "No." But then again, no one knew about her and Jeffery either.
"No. So you didn't call me, you weren't finding ways to return to New York, and you never told anyone about me or our relationship, even if it was on and off at times. Why is that?"
"We weren't sure what we were at that point. I didn't think it was worth mentioning something we were unsure about."
"Really?" Carl bit back.
"Really," She warned.
"I see. So what would you have done if Alan were serious about you? As you claim that he isn't." He scoffed.
"For a man of facts, you have this horrible habit of creating unrealistic scenarios about something that never happened or will happen. Alan doesn't care about me like that. Why are you so obsessed with Alan suddenly and a simple dance?" Shirley argued.
"Not from what I saw. You know very well why I'm asking, and it's obvious after that simple dance! And that is a fact." Carl roared. Shirley nor Alan moved. She gazed at him in utter shock. Carl subdued his anger and reached for her hand.
"Shirley, I love you. Marry me tonight. If he really means nothing to you, what's stopping you from grabbing your dress, meeting at the courthouse, and marrying me tonight? We could even elope to Maine if you want. You love Maine."
Alan's heart stopped.
"Carl…" She didn't know what to say. "What about all of the planning? The guests? The catering?"
"We can still have the wedding and the reception with everyone. But marry me tonight." His eyes pleaded. "If there truly is nothing between you two, let's go." Carl waited with a racing heart. Alan couldn't watch anymore and quietly slipped away undetected.