Updated Nov 6, 2025 • ~10 min read
The call came Wednesday afternoon.
Garrett was in his office reviewing quarterly reports when his cell rang—a number he didn’t recognize but with an area code from Seattle.
“Garrett Hawthorne.”
“Mr. Hawthorne, this is Michael Stratton, VP of Operations for Pacific Crest Resort Group. Do you have a moment?”
Garrett straightened in his chair. Pacific Crest was one of the biggest luxury resort chains on the West Coast. “Of course.”
“I’ll get straight to the point. We’ve been following your work at the Oceanview Grande for some time, and we’re impressed. We have an opening for Regional Director overseeing our Pacific Northwest properties, and we’d like to discuss the opportunity with you.”
Garrett’s expression shifted—surprise, then something more complicated. Regional Director was two levels above his current position. It would be a massive career jump.
“That’s—that’s very flattering. Can you tell me more about the role?”
“You’d be based in Seattle, overseeing operations for six luxury properties from Portland to Vancouver. Significant salary increase, full executive benefits package, company housing allowance. Essentially, you’d be building the team and systems to expand our presence in the region.”
It was the kind of offer most hospitality professionals dreamed of.
“And the timeline?” Garrett asked.
“We’d need someone in place by the first of next month. I know that’s quick, but we’re prepared to make it worth your while to expedite.”
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course. We’ll send over the formal details. But Garrett—we really want you for this. Name your price.”
After he hung up, Garrett sat in his office staring at nothing.
Seattle.
Regional Director.
Everything he’d worked toward for years.
He pulled up a blank document and started typing out pros and cons, the way he approached any major business decision.
Pros:
- Regional Director – the position he’d been working toward his entire career
- Oversee six properties – real impact, real leadership
- Salary increase that would set him up for the rest of his life
- Seattle – new city, new start, away from everyone who knew about him and Layla
- Hours away from her father, which meant months or even years before the inevitable confrontation
- Layla could come with him; Pacific Crest would snap her up for a senior role
Cons:
- Leaving the Oceanview Grande, the property he’d built his reputation on
- Leaving the coast, the only place that had felt like home since his divorce
- Asking Layla to uproot her life to follow him
- Looking like he was running away from facing her father
- Starting over would mean…
He stopped typing.
Starting over would mean escaping consequences instead of facing them.
Just like he’d done with his marriage. Just like he’d almost done three months ago when the investigation started and he’d nearly pushed Layla away.
His phone buzzed. A follow-up email from Pacific Crest with the full offer package. The numbers were even better than he’d expected.
Name your price, they’d said.
And the price was leaving behind everything complicated and starting fresh somewhere clean and new.
It was tempting. God, it was tempting.
But Layla’s voice echoed in his head from their last serious conversation: “I need to know you’re choosing things because you want them, not because you’re scared.”
Was he scared? Yes. Terrified of facing her father, of the judgment, of losing the friendship that had sustained him through his divorce.
Did he actually want this job? Or did he just want the escape it offered?
He needed to talk to Layla.
That evening, they met at their usual restaurant an hour from the resort.
Garrett waited until after they’d ordered to bring it up.
“I got a job offer today.”
Layla’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. “What?”
“Pacific Crest Resort Group. Regional Director for the Pacific Northwest. Based in Seattle.”
“Seattle.” She set down her fork carefully. “That’s—that’s six hours away.”
“Five and a half with good traffic.” He reached across the table for her hand. “It’s a major career move. Exactly the kind of opportunity I’ve been working toward for years.”
“But?”
“But it would mean leaving here. The Oceanview Grande, the coast, everything.” He paused. “It would mean leaving you. Unless—”
“Unless I came with you,” Layla finished, understanding dawning in her eyes.
“Yes. Unless you came with me.”
Layla pulled her hand back, sitting back in her chair. “You’re asking me to move to Seattle with you?”
“I’m asking you to consider it. Pacific Crest has properties throughout the region. I could get you a position easily—Senior Events Manager, maybe even Events Director. You’d have my support without the complication of working at the same resort.”
“And my father?”
“Would be hours away. We wouldn’t have to face him every day. We could take time, let things cool down, build our relationship without constant pressure.”
“It sounds like you’ve already decided.”
“I haven’t. I wanted to talk to you first.” Garrett leaned forward. “Layla, this could be perfect. Fresh start, new city, no history or complications. Just us.”
“Or it could be running away from everything we said we were going to face.”
The words hung heavy between them.
“Is it running away if it also happens to be an incredible opportunity?” Garrett asked.
“I don’t know. Is it?”
They stared at each other across the table, the unspoken question between them: What do we really want?
“Tell me honestly,” Layla said. “Are you considering this because it’s the right career move, or because it’s the easy escape?”
Garrett opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. Because the truth was—he didn’t know.
“Both?” he finally admitted. “It is a great opportunity. But yeah, part of me is thinking about how much simpler everything would be if we just left.”
“Left before telling my father. Left before dealing with everyone’s opinions. Left before really proving that we can make this work where we are.”
“Yes.”
Layla was quiet for a long moment. “What did you tell them?”
“That I’d think about it. They want an answer by end of week.”
“End of week. That’s—that’s three days.”
“I know.”
“And you want me to decide in three days whether to uproot my entire life and move to Seattle with you?”
When she put it like that, it sounded absurd.
“I want us to decide together what’s best for us,” Garrett said. “If that’s Seattle, great. If that’s staying here and facing everything head-on, that’s great too. But I’m not making this decision without you.”
Layla’s expression softened slightly. “At least you learned that lesson.”
“I’m trying.”
They ate in tense silence for a while, both thinking.
“Can I tell you what scares me about this?” Layla finally asked.
“Please.”
“It feels like history repeating. Like you running from your marriage instead of fighting for it. And I don’t want to be another thing you run from when it gets hard.”
The words stung because they were true.
“I ran from my marriage because it was already over and I was too much of a coward to face it,” Garrett said quietly. “I’m not running from you. I’m trying to find a way for us to be together without all the complications.”
“But the complications are part of this. My father, your friendship with him, the age difference, the work situation—all of it. And if we run to Seattle to avoid dealing with it, we’re just postponing the inevitable.”
“What inevitable?”
“The hard conversations. The judgment. The proving to everyone—including ourselves—that this is real and worth fighting for.” She leaned forward. “Garrett, I love you. And maybe Seattle would be amazing. But we were planning to tell my father this weekend. We were finally going to stop hiding and face things. And now you’re offering an escape hatch right before the hardest part.”
“So you don’t want me to take it.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m saying we need to make this decision for the right reasons.” She took his hand. “If you genuinely want this job, if it’s your dream opportunity, then we figure out how to make it work. But if you’re taking it to avoid telling my father—that’s the wrong reason.”
Something shifted in Garrett’s expression—recognition, maybe guilt. Like he’d been so focused on the escape route that he hadn’t really considered whether he actually wanted the job.
“I need to think about this,” he said.
“So do I.”
They finished dinner with lighter conversation, but the weight of the decision hung over them.
That night, alone in his empty townhouse, Garrett pulled up the formal offer email Pacific Crest had sent.
The numbers were impressive. The role was everything he’d worked toward.
But as he imagined telling Sienna he was leaving, telling his staff goodbye, packing up this house and moving to Seattle—none of it felt right.
Because the problem wasn’t the Oceanview Grande or the coast or even the situation with Layla’s father.
The problem was that he’d spent his entire adult life running toward the next achievement instead of building a life where he was.
And Layla was right—taking this job would just be more running.
His phone buzzed with a text from Layla.
I can’t tell you what to do about the job. But I can tell you this: wherever we are, we’re going to have to face hard things. Geography won’t change that. So make this decision about what you want for your career, not about avoiding my father.
Then, a minute later:
Also, I love you. Seattle or here, that doesn’t change. But I need to know you’re choosing whatever you choose because you want it, not because you’re scared.
Garrett stared at the message for a long time.
Then he opened a new email and started typing.
Friday morning, he had his answer.
He called Layla before heading into work.
“I turned down Seattle,” he said when she answered.
Silence. Then: “Really?”
“Really. You were right—I was looking for an escape. And while the job was great on paper, it wasn’t what I actually wanted.”
“What do you actually want?”
“To build something here. To face your father this weekend and prove we’re serious. To stop running from hard things.” He paused. “And to be with you. Wherever that happens to be, but preferably not six hours away from your support system and the career you’ve built.”
“Garrett—”
“I’m done running, Layla. From my past, from complications, from fear. I’m staying. We’re staying. And we’re doing this right.”
He could hear her smiling through the phone. “I’m proud of you.”
“Don’t be proud yet. Ask me again after we survive telling your father.”
“We’ll survive it. Together.”
“Together,” he echoed.
And from the relief in his voice, Layla could tell he finally believed he’d made the right choice.
Not the easy choice.
But the right one.
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