Acquiring Hearts by S. Donahue

really had a relationship lately. He’d been working so hard on his project and Gia barely had any time available due to her job. They were not able to communicate as often as they originally expected. He missed her so much but he was starting to think that she didn’t feel the same way. Brad had been trying to get home to see her but it hadn’t been in the cards for him.
     
    Lately, she’d been acting strange as if something was going on that she didn’t want to talk to him about. He thought about asking Rachel, but he didn’t want to drag her into the middle of anything. They were becoming friends due to their close working relationship.
     
    “Wow that flew by quickly,” Gia text him back.
     
    “ I miss you.”
     
    “ Me too”
     
    “ Are you ok?”
     
    “ Ye s ”
     
    “ You don’t seem ok.”
     
    “ I’ve been so tired lately and I’m having some work issues.”
     
    “ Do you want to talk about it?”
     
    “ No, it’s ok. I’m probably just going to go to bed early. I have a busy day tomorrow.”
     
    “ I wish you’d talk to me. Are you mad at me or something like that?”
     
    “ No, Why?
     
    “ You seem off. I respect your privacy but I’m concerned. I’m trying to get home to see you. Hopefully, next week.
     
    “ Ok, let me know.”
     
    “ I’ll text you or call you to let you know what my plans are.”
     
    “ Alright, good night.”
     
    “ Good night, Baby.”
     
    He couldn’t take this anymore. They needed to talk and sooner rather than later. Brad needed to figure out what his next move was going to be. For now, he decided to go down to the bar to get a couple of beers. He didn’t want to go to the bar by himself but all of his buddies were back home in Philly.
     
    The bar he decided to go to was a local bar. Just because he was a CEO of a company didn’t mean he had to go to top notch places. When he was in college, he went to local bars all the time with his friends. He didn’t feel the need to change who he was just because he ran a company. He sat down at the bar and ordered a Yuengling Lager. He wanted to catch the baseball game on television because the Phillies were playing the Marlins. It did feel a little awkward being in the opponent’s city. The bar wasn’t very crowded probably because it was Tuesday. He talked with the bartender a little bit and then his phone started vibrating on the bar. He was hoping it was Gia, but it was Holly, his project manager.
     
    She was reminding him to be at the site at nine am tomorrow morning. She was starting to get under his skin. All she did was shoot demands at him and flirt with him every chance she could. He had told her on numerous occasions that he had a girlfriend. She just didn’t get it or take no for an answer. He didn’t want to fire her because her father was a great businessman and he had come to respect him. He just dealt with her and hoped that his time in Miami would go quickly.
     
    Brad assured her he would be there. Then, he let her know that he was going home on Saturday and wouldn’t be returning until Wednesday.
     
    She responded right away, probably within seconds. “I don’t think that is a great idea. The team needs you down here. I need you down here.”
     
    “I need to see my girlfriend.”
     
    “Maybe you can postpone it. I’ll call you.
     
    Before he could respond, his phone was ringing. “Bradley Roberts,” he answered.
     
    “Hi Bradley, its Holly.” She went right into what she wanted to say. “I don’t think it is a good idea that you leave Saturday.”
     
    He really didn’t think he needed to keep explaining himself to this woman. “Well, that’s not your decision. If you need anything while I’m gone, you can contact my assistant manager, Rachel. If it’s extremely important you can always email me or call the0 Blackberry.
     
    “At least I’ll have a way to contact you if something goes wrong. Are you at a bar? I hear all noise in the