So yeah, that's where things stand. Life is good, work is great, Quinn is... Quinn is really great, actually. And Lena is learning that the grass isn't greener. It's just different grass. And sometimes that grass has rent to pay and no one to split it with.
Still not unblocking her, though. That bridge isn't just burned. It's been demolished, and they're building a highway over where it used to be.
Okay, life update first. I'm official with Quinn now.
We made it Facebook official last month, which felt weirdly adolescent, but also kind of nice.
She's been absolutely incredible. Supportive without being overbearing, independent without being distant.
Her friends are great, too. I've been absorbed into this whole social circle of people who actually do things. Hiking, rock climbing, trivia nights. It's a completely different energy from my old life.
Work is phenomenal. They officially promoted me to Senior Director of Project Development 2 weeks ago. It came with a raise that's frankly absurd, and an office with an actual view of the mountains.
The team I'm building is solid, and we just landed this massive mixed-use development project.
5 months ago, I was sitting in an apartment wondering why my girlfriend kept choosing someone else over me. Now I'm leading projects I used to dream about. It feels kind of surreal.
But on to why I'm really writing this.
Last Tuesday, I was in the office around 11:00 a.m. on a conference call with some contractors. My assistant knocked on my door during the call and handed me a note.
"Woman in lobby asking for you. Says she's an old friend. Name is Lena."
My stomach dropped a little, not going to lie.
I wrapped up the call and went downstairs, with my assistant following. And there was Lena, standing in our lobby, looking rough.
She saw me and immediately started talking.
"Peter, please, I just need 5 minutes. I drove all night to get here. I know I messed up. I know I took you for granted. Seth was a mistake. The whole thing was a mistake. I miss you. I miss us. I miss what we had. Can we please just talk?"
I was trying to figure out how to handle this professionally, since we were in my office lobby. But then Quinn walked in from the parking garage.
She stopped when she saw the scene, immediately understood what was happening, and walked over to us.
Lena looked at her, then at me, then back at her. "Who is this?"
Quinn extended her hand. "Quinn Hawkins. I'm an architect here. You must be Lena. Peter's mentioned you."