05 | So Far Away (II)

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A / N

So your girl's just finished a brand new novella in two weeks! If you follow me on instagram, you'll know that it's called If The Shoe Fits, which is the spin-off to Slow Dancing, and the 4th book of Universe #1! Updates for Miles Away will not cease, but if they're delayed to once instead of twice a week, now you know why.

Speaking of Universe #1, where're my Slow Dancing readers at? If you're one, well, you might be familiar with where Miles Away is going...

And now for Miles.

x Noelle

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0 5

S O   F A R   A W A Y

(part two)


IT HAD ONLY been two weeks since Brielle left me in charge of Sereinn, but it felt much longer than that. With the year coming to a close, there were many things to do. Year-end bonuses needed to be given out, new staff would be coming in and there were still the bids to settle. By the end of the second week, I was certain of one thing—I could help Brielle manage Sereinn for awhile, but a long-term desk-bound job would never be for me.

The following afternoon found me in the main office with the other employees. Fridays at Sereinn were my favorite because it was dress-down day. Even the prim and proper staff from HQ wore shirts and jeans to work.

And brought doughnuts.

I didn't really enjoy the company as much as I did the food, so I'd perched on the edge of Jessa's desk, far away from the thick of gossip. With a cinnamon-glazed doughnut in one hand and a document in the other, I tried my best to read but their conversation grew louder by the second.

"—and then I told him that I was more interested in his date than him!"

"No way!" I didn't have to look to know that Heather's eyes were opened wide. "Were you?"

"Of course. We're talking about Alexia Grant here. I mean, apart from our boss, she's easily the hottest woman in this whole damn town."

I snorted in amusement, mentally filing this titbit to laugh about with Brielle later, and returned to the document at hand. I was going to finish this stupid proposal if it killed me. Nibbling on the doughnut, I blocked out the laughter and focused on reading. I'd made it through two-thirds of the file when someone nudged me.

I didn't look up. "...hm, what?"

A sharper jab to my ribs had me almost falling right off the table.

"Ow, what was that—" I finally glanced up with a glare.

But a wide-eyed Jessa simply hissed and jerked her head towards the administration desk. It was then that I noticed a hush had fallen on the room. I followed the direction of Jessa's gaze, and felt my chest tighten when I saw the familiar figure striding in.

"Oh, shit."

Miles looked the same as he did the other day. Grim-faced and determined, clad in a dark gray coat that hung to his knees. His eyes narrowed when he spotted me seated on Jessa's desk, but he made no move to enter the main office. Instead, he stood in front of the admin counter and met my stare with a levelled gaze.

"Is that...?" Heather's words jolted me into action.

"It's nothing." I waved her curiosity away and hopped off the table. "Get back to work, everyone."

I had barely stepped out of the office when excited whispers broke all round. No doubt I'd return to rumors of Miles being my baby daddy, or something equally ridiculous. Not that I was entirely opposed to him being my baby daddy, of course, but...

Shut up, mind.

I shoved that stupid thought aside and stopped in front of Miles. "Hi." My voice was hesitant, but my smile was bright. "What're you doing here?"

"Do you make it a habit of sitting on desks, or is that how you normally work?" he asked without preamble. I opened my mouth to reply, but he shot a glance past my shoulder and his lips thinned. "Not that it matters. I need to have a word with you—in private."

I glanced behind, only to find half the office watching us with avid interest. "Of course."

We headed to the door on the right, which led out to the balcony. An icy breeze stung my cheeks, and I immediately regretted not having grabbed my jumper earlier.

Miles shot a glance my way. His hands rose, as though to remove his coat for me. But then he seemed to rethink it. His grip tightened on the files that he'd been carrying, and he glared down at me. "Do you want to tell me what the hell this is?"

I blinked at the files in his hands. These were the ones I'd left at Caverly the other day, and I'd planned to retrieve them later in the afternoon. He'd beaten me to the punch and...

I bit my lip. "Did you read them?"

He ignored my question and flipped the first file open. "Population of Caverly; number of businesses and amenities. Percentage of economic growth since the establishment of Sereinn, increase in tourism and residents over the past year..."

"There was supposed to be a presentation to go with that," I mumbled. "The slides were really aesthetic, too."

"Unnecessary. I know exactly what you're doing."

I lifted my gaze to meet his. "Do you?"

"You're trying to change Nate's mind about Caverly through sentiment," he spat that word out like it disgusted him. Damn him. He'd actually figured that out. His gaze hardened when I continued to worry my bottom lip, and he added, "It won't work."

"And why not?"

Miles stared at me steadily for a moment, before his lips curved into a smile. But it wasn't one I'd ever seen on him before. This was calculated and cold, and his eyes gleamed with something dark. It made me shiver to see just how much he had changed.

"Let me refresh your memory," he started, his tone mild. "Where did we first meet?"

I didn't know where he was going with this, but I knew the answer like the back of my hand. "At Wavelength, by the beach. It was a Tuesday, during the summer holidays, and you came to the shack right after the lunch crowd."

His eyebrow rose. "For someone who ended a relationship, you sure remember the beginning of it well enough." I frowned at his snide remark but before I could reply, he took a step closer. "Now, tell me, why did we meet?"

This, too, was something I remembered with absolute clarity. "You were in trouble. You'd been stripped and dumped on the beach by—" I stopped as I suddenly realized where Miles was leading me to.

His smirk grew. "—by a fraternity called Corvus," he finished. "A bunch of jocks and assholes who made me suffer through ten weeks of absolute hell. From a school that treated them like they were gods who could do nothing wrong. In a town that stood by and laughed and did nothing to help. So let me ask you, Evers, why should I have any sentiment towards Caverly?"

Each word felt like a fresh stab to my chest. I knew, of course, that he was right. He had suffered terribly through his younger years. One of my biggest regrets was that we had not met earlier so I could protect him from everything. By the time we'd met, he was twenty-one and had been a victim of this town's bullies all his life.

But didn't I mean something? Anything? I took a deep breath and met his gaze squarely. "Because it's where you met me."

He blinked and took a quick step back, as though my words had surprised him. Then he looked away, his jaw tightening. "Yes," he said quietly. "My biggest mistake."

"It wasn't—"

"It doesn't matter now. You can use all the sentiment you want to persuade Nate. But I'm the one in charge of these projects and I make the final decisions. So unless you convince me, this town will not see the last of Hale & Co." He stepped closer and, when he spoke, his voice was low. "But why would I be convinced by you when I won't ever believe anything you say again?"

His words cut straight to my heart; it felt like he'd taken a bat and swung it right at me. It took everything in me not to blurt out what I really wanted to say. Instead, I swallowed and wordlessly took the files that he shoved at me.

"See you around town, Evers," was his parting remark, as he let the door swing shut behind him.

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