The Swan 2: Taking Flight

Chapter 4: Boundaries

Milo's POV:

"She has a boyfriend," I said to Josiah.

"I'm sorry, sir, he just walked past," Josiah's secretary said, following after me and shooting me a dirty look.

"It's all right, Taylor," he reassured, gesturing for Taylor to leave. Taylor gave me another dirty look before going out the door and shutting it behind him.

Josiah looked up from his desk and sighed, gesturing to the salad in front of him. "Milo, we talked about this. You can contact me anytime, but you can't just show up at my office without an appointment."

"You said in case of emergencies, I could come," I reminded him. "This is an emergency."

Josiah narrowed his eyes slightly and set his fork down, setting his elbows on the desk and folding his hands together, resting his chin on them. "All right, let's set the terms for what is considered an emergency. Are you in danger?"

"No," I sighed.

"Is someone else in danger?"

"No."

"Are you having the dark thoughts and seriously considering doing something about them?" He asked.

"No," I said, darting my eyes away.

"Then this is not an emergency," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Do you see the difference?"

"I suppose," I sighed.

"All right," Josiah said. He stared at me a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "Don't get used to this," he said, gesturing for me to sit. "Because we just talked about boundaries, didn't we? This is a boundary, Milo."

"I apologize," I said, setting my hand on the chair. "I was... Upset."

"So I see," he nodded. "And drinking."

I sighed and looked away. I'd been doing better with not relying on that and it was frustrating that one thing could set me off.

"I'm not drunk now," was all I could say.

"Oh I know, I've seen you drunk," he said, gesturing for me to sit. "I can just tell you're nursing a hangover. It's okay, Milo. Everyone has slip ups. Are you planning to let it continue happening?"

"No," I said firmly.

"Then let's not hate ourselves for one mistake too much," he said, picking up his fork. "Sit. I'll let the showing up unannounced slide today, but you have to let me finish lunch while you talk. So you talked to her, then."

"Yes," I said, sinking down into the seat. "And it was going well, or I thought it was, until I heard someone talking in the background and then she told me she had a boyfriend. I hoped it was someone she met there and once she leaves Europe, that would be that, but apparently he lives in Chicago."

"He lives in Chicago?" Josiah asked after swallowing a bite of salad. "Did she know him before?"

"She said they met once at a performance shortly before she left and then she ran into them while she was there," I explained.

Josiah nodded slowly, his brows furrowed.

"What?" I asked, wondering why he seemed confused.

"It's just odd, isn't it?" He asked, picking up his water bottle. "Isn't it odd that she met someone in Chicago and then they ran into each other again on a completely different continent?"

I frowned at his question. I was so upset she was with someone, I hadn't thought of that.

"It is odd," I agreed, tapping my fingers against my leg. "What are you saying?"