He Forgot Me on Purpose

Three days into dating my boyfriend, he lost his memory. Me: … I chased that man for three years to get him. I'm done. Burn it down. I don't have another three years of that in me.

I checked. So when he asked me who I was.

In front of his entire family, in a room where nobody was saying anything, I said one thing. "I'm your assistant." And the second it was out, I felt every person in that room let go of a breath.

Including me. Possibly including him. Chapter 1 Julian was staring at me like he expected my face to crack somewhere. I looked back at him and did not move. Please.

That man was hard enough to get the first time. Running it again would have cost me whatever years I had left. I gave it three seconds of costbenefit. Then I decided to quit.

There are plenty of goodlooking men on this earth. I'm not spending another three years on this one. When I started, it was purely the face.

Then I interviewed at his company and got in. I became his assistant, and about a year in I actually fell in love with him, because he had a steadiness in him that I have never had.

Two years in I thought about quitting. He was too cold. But I'd already put two years down and walking away felt like a waste. Year three, I was tired. I was all the way done.

And of course, right as I was about to quit, he said yes. I got three happy days. Then he lost his memory. I laughed at myself a little. Amnesia is great. Amnesia is fantastic.

His brother had stayed to sit with him, and his eyes had not left me since I walked in. I set the folder down in front of Julian. "Mr. Rhodes. Take a look at this contract.

If there's nothing wrong with it, you can sign." His brother's brows came down. "My brother just woke up." I put the pen in Julian's hand. "And? Are we closing the company?

Are we not making money anymore? Should the people who work there starve?" Julian took the contract and read it for a solid fifteen minutes. Then he signed.

He handed it back. "Thank you for handling this." I shook my head. "It's nothing." I checked my watch. "Mr. Rhodes, anything the VP can process, he'll process.

The only things that come to you are contracts like this one, so I won't be back to bother you for a while. I hope you recover soon.

I'm going back to the office." I gave him a very polite little nod, turned around, and left without one ounce of reluctance. "Mr.

Vance." I stopped and turned back. "Was there something else, Mr. Rhodes?" He held my eyes. "You're just my assistant. Right?" There was a beat where I didn't move.

Then I gave him a smile so wide it showed every tooth I own. "That's right, Mr. Rhodes." And then I watched him nod. I didn't say anything else. I turned around and walked out.

The smile stayed on my face all the way down to the parking garage and came off the second I sat down in the driver's seat. If he regrets it, he regrets it. Why put on the amnesia?

I have seen what actual memory loss looks like. His acting is terrible, and the whole routine came off a TV show. It was not convincing for a second.

I opened the tin of candy in the console and put one in my mouth. Life is bitter enough. Have something sweet. The first thing I did back at the office was write my resignation.

I'm not playing with him anymore. Three years.

I have rebuilt that man's calendar a thousand times, memorized the ratio of every coffee he drinks, learned every habit he has in a meeting. And now he wants me to start from zero.

He can ask me first how many lives I have left. Chapter 2 Even if I make it to ninety, I have burned onethirtieth of my life on this man.

No return on it, and I never even got the principal back. Terrible deal. Bad math. Closing the position. I put my resignation into the HR system.

Julian was in the hospital, so I'd moved the approval rights over to the VP. Which meant Julian would never see it. Perry saw it and came running down to my office. "Mr. Vance.

What's going on?" I drank my coffee and lied to his face. "Jules is in the hospital. He needs somebody looking after him, so I've decided to do it properly.

And once he's discharged I'll need to be home, so I can't keep working. His health comes first." Perry is one of the few people who knew we were together.

So one round of that and he bought it. "Is Mr. Rhodes bad?" I waved it off. "Not bad. Physically he's fine. Some memory loss, that's all. If you go see him, don't bring me up.

I don't want him hearing that I quit just to take care of him and getting worked up over it." Perry nodded fast. "I understand. I understand." "So you're carrying things for a bit.

I'll spend the next month clearing my desk, and I'll still be the one going over to the hospital to brief him.

I'll feed it to him a little at a time this month, and by the time I actually leave he'll be able to take it." On his way out I reminded him one more time. "Perry.

Don't forget to approve it in the HR system." "No problem." Once he was gone I let out a breath.

The truth is that back when I was getting ready to give up on Julian, I'd already handed off most of my work.

Then he told me out of nowhere that he wanted to be together, and I stopped the handover. Looking at it now, past me had excellent instincts. The people are already trained.

The rest of it should go fast. I got home that night feeling like something wrung out. I was about to eat when a friend messaged me. Trey: You coming out? Me: Why? Trey: ?

I'm just asking. Every other time I ask, you say no. Me: Then why ask. Trey: In case, obviously. You haven't been to my bar in three years.

Somebody's been asking about you lately, so I figured I'd try today. Me: Where? I wasn't going to be up all night organizing files for Julian anymore.

My schedule had opened right up. Trey: My bar, obviously. There's a new kid, dances like a machine, has a bunch of people talking about back when you did it. Come see.

I picked up my keys. Me: Half an hour. Trey: ok done. I'll get the good stuff out. Five years ago Trey and I opened that bar together. Back then I wanted a life that belonged to me.

He runs it, I take a cut, and the cut is not small. To get the room going in those first months, I got up and danced myself. There was always a fresh crop of people in love with me.

And then I met Julian in that bar. Took one look, and turned around and interviewed for an assistant job at his company. Now that I've quit, I finally get that life back.

I just have to go back to that place first. Three years ago, that is exactly where I lost track of myself.

Chapter 3 I was two steps into the bar when Trey got both arms around me. "I missed you so much. You're over there being some company's mule every day of your life.

Do you know how hard it is to see your face?" I patted his back. "It's fine now. I quit.

I'm on your side of things from here on." The crying stopped like somebody hit a switch. "Quit?

What do you mean, quit?" I laughed once. "We broke up." Trey: "It's been three days." "He changed his mind." Trey opened his mouth and swore in a straight line for a while without using the same word twice.

The general thrust of it was that Julian Rhodes is not a person, that I threw my heart in a ditch, and that he was going to have somebody take care of him.

It took me thirty seconds to get a word in. I got him in a headlock. "Still got that temper. It's fine, man.

Another month and I'm out, and after that he's got nothing to do with me. The only part I regret is that I never even got to kiss him.

You have no idea what the last three years have been. I have been on the longest dry spell of my life." Trey: "You? Look how many people are in this bar. That's a lot of mouths.

Say the word and you can kiss every one of them tonight." He got a real laugh out of me. "All right, enough. Speaking of. That dancer you were talking about.

I want to see whether he's got anything on me." The first time I laid eyes on Jonah, it took something out of me. "There's actually somebody better looking than me." Trey was not impressed. "Man.

Twentysome years and you get more in love with yourself every single one of them." I laughed and clapped his shoulder. "Where'd you find him? He looks young." "Rough situation.

Left school in his freshman year. No money at home, came out to work. He started as a server. Then I saw the face and the build on him and paid for him to take dance classes.

Six months and he's this good, so I gave him a raise. Heh heh heh." My brows came down.

He left school in his freshman year? "When he's done, send him back to my room." Trey's eyes went wide. "What are you planning?

Are you going to trade him something for something?" I kicked him. "Get out." I was drinking when Jonah came into the room.

I raised a hand and put him on the couch. "Boss." I choked on the drink. "Don't. I don't run anything here.

It's Sawyer." Jonah watched me like a man watching a dog he isn't sure about, and sat on the very edge of that couch, halfway to falling off it.

That got me. "What are you scared of? I'm not going to eat you." The corner of his mouth moved. He didn't say anything. "Trey says you had to leave school.

So where does that leave you right now?" Jonah bit down on his lip. "Freshman year. Ran out of money, took a leave.

My family needs money too, so I've just been working." "How long has it been?" "Two years." I leaned back against the cushions. "How much does your family need?" "Eight thousand five hundred.

My brother's in the hospital. The doctors say the surgery runs seventeen thousand. I've saved eight thousand five.

I'm eight thousand five short." Chapter 4 I nodded. "Eight thousand five, I'll cover. Four years of tuition, I'll cover.

You go back to school." His head came up fast. "Sawyer, I can't—" "All you have to tell me is whether you still want to be in school." He nodded. "I want to." "Then go back." "Then I'm borrowing it.

I can work parttime while I study and pay you back." I stood up and straightened my shirt. "Fine. But you pay me after you graduate.

Work parttime if you want to, but don't send me money while you're in school. You're going to need it for other things." "Thank you. Thank you, Sawyer." "Add me.

Send me your account. I'll move it over." Jonah handed me his phone. I sent the money, finished what was in my glass, and walked out of the room with him still thanking me.

I hadn't let go of anything in a long time. I had them cue up music. Then I took off my jacket and threw it at Jonah's chest. In college I ran the dance team for two years.

Fifteen years of technique doesn't just leave. The second the track came in, I was on the stage. I pulled my tie off and opened the top two buttons of my shirt.

Dark red satin under those lights looks like somebody threw a glass of wine across you. I don't dance small. The shirt came out of my waistband on its own.

I turned my head and smiled at Jonah. Kid. Let me show you what it looks like when somebody dances at you.

I laughed low, ran my thumb over my throat, followed the open collar down, across my chest, and stopped at the top of my waistband.

The noise off that floor was going to take the roof with it. The track ended and I came down off the stage. I hadn't danced anything all the way out like that in years.

I took the jacket back out of Jonah's hands and put it over my shoulders. "Well?" Jonah looked like the excitement had gotten to him.

His face was a little red. "You're better than my dance teacher." Trey was applauding beside him. "The god returns. Look at this. The man's still got it." "I'm twentysix.

I am in my absolute prime, thank you." We were still going at each other when my phone rang. I picked it up and looked. Julian? My brows came down. What does he want at this hour.

I answered. "Mr. Rhodes." "Come to the hospital." Me: … I took a breath. "Mr. Rhodes, we're off the clock.

And there's no contract that needs your signature." "Somebody told me you're dancing at a bar." I stopped. Right. I forgot.

This is where he and I met the first time, and he was here with the guys he grew up with. Julian stopped coming after a while. Those friends never did. "I'm at a bar.

Is there a problem?" "You