Free The Publicist by Christina George

couldn’t, nor should he. If she really wanted those things, then he needed to let her go so she could find them. It was the least he could do. So they broke up, but it became too difficult to work together so she moved on. Mac hadn’t fallen in love, but he’d been in very deep like. The space she left when the affair ended had left him feeling hollow and more alone than he’d felt in a long time. Since then he’d had a lot of “offers” to see other women but had turned them all down, vying to never go down that emotionally charged road again. Until now. Until he started watching this smart, beautiful, and feisty publicist claw her way into a better position in the company. For years, Mac had passed her in the hall; they’d share some idle chatter but nothing more. Then it changed, gradually at first, but he found himself looking forward to seeing her come into the office and present at sales meetings, and then finding ways to bring a smile to her face.
    “You seem lost in thought, Mac.” Kate finally said, trying to end the obvious silence between them.
    When Mac didn’t respond, she continued, “Can I ask you one more question, Mac?”
    He regarded her with caution and smiled, “Nothing ever good followed a request like that.” He sipped his beer.
    “What’s your story? Why are you here with me instead of at home, with your wife?”
    The word “wife” hung between them. Mac exhaled slowly, a breath of regret, and a cloud seemed to pass over them. Already Kate was sorry she’d let her Cosmo lead the conversation.
    “My marriage….” he paused, not sure how much he should divulge to her. The picture was never pretty and he knew that the entire scene made him look less of a chivalrous guy than he’d hoped to portray. But something about Kate made him want to confess. Finally the words almost tumbled out: “My marriage is not a good one, but I’m not going to sit here and tell you that she doesn’t understand me because she does, probably better than anyone else ever has. Nor am I going to tell you that she’s an evil witch who fights with me all the time because she’s not. She’s probably one of the most kind and gentle people you’d ever want to meet. It just doesn’t work between us and hasn’t for a long time.”
    Kate was startled at his revelation, “Then why do you stay, Mac, you must love her?”
    “I love her, but I’m not in love with her. That ended years ago. It’s complicated, Kate but I stay because I have to, because leaving would kill her even though she and I haven’t been together or married in that sense in over twenty years.”
    Kate felt her cheeks redden; this was far more information than she was comfortable with. How can two people stay in a relationship for over twenty years and not be intimate? And why in the world did he stay? The questions swirled through her mind, desperately wanting to be answered.
    “Relationships are complicated,” she said finally, hoping to end the conversation and push it into a different direction.
    “So what about you, Kate?” It was obvious Mac wasn’t going to let this go.
    “What about me?”
    Mac grinned, “It’s ok, we can change the topic. I’m just curious why you haven’t been snapped up yet.”
    Kate looked over Mac’s shoulder at the painting that hung behind him on the wall. ‘Because I’m always attracted to the wrong men,’ she wanted to say. Her eyes found his again, “Just busy, Mac, you know, with work.”
    “That’s an excuse and you know it.”
    Kate shrugged, “It’s the truth, Mac. Very few men have the bandwidth to deal with a woman who has her own career.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Not really. I mean, it’s one thing to have a job, but this is my career and I intend on doing it for a long time. I’m also pretty damned good at it if I do say so myself and that kind of confidence is intimidating.”
    “It’s not to me.” Mac said in almost a whisper. Where the hell did that come