“Tyler?” Katie half whispered in disbelief. Her lips hadn’t made that sound in years, and yet it felt so natural to say his name. Tyler. She had been thinking about him and their life together and here he was, in the flesh. Like a ghost reincarnated. 

“Yep, Tyler June!” Tyler was smiling broadly and still extending his hand. He looked real.

Katie froze, staring at that outstretched, strong hand. The hand that had been on the small of her back a million times. The hand that helped her climb up to that mountain view. The hand that offered her an engagement ring--

“You’re not a hand shaker. I get it.” Tyler finally withdrew his hand with a chuckle. “Just saying, I’m fully vaxxed.” He winked at her, the way he used to. Tyler used winks as currency to get himself out of awkward situations.

Katie always had a clever retort at the ready, but right now she was fully speechless. A million thoughts were running through her head at once. Starting with, “Why is he acting like he doesn’t remember me?” Was it a trick? Was he still angry at her after all these years for ruining his life? 

And then she thought about what the doctor said about brain trauma and memory loss. Katie had convinced herself that Tyler would fully recover from the accident; he was a fighter. But he had not just lost his memory--he had lost his memory of her.

She had imagined this moment a million times, and it never played out like this. In her fantasy, she sent him a beautiful letter confessing all of her lingering shame and guilt. They would meet in the park, and have an emotional embrace, reconnecting, and she would spend hours crying, apologizing, and kissing him. 

In her darkest moments, she allowed the possibility that Tyler’s memories of their relationship would be gone. But she never imagined she’d have to face him as a stranger--and especially not in her too-cold office, wearing a blouse with a fresh stain from her breakfast sandwich, in full view of all of her colleagues, whose respect she had worked hard to earn... And who didn’t know the deepest, most hidden secret of her past.

“Tyler,” Katie started, a tremor in her voice. “We’ve actually…”

Just then, her boss, Henry Miller popped his head in her door. Henry was in his 60s, charming, sharp, and reminded Katie of her dad-- or at least who she thought her dad might be. Her real father disappeared when she was still in kindergarten. Henry was generally well-meaning, and a good businessman, but a bad listener. 

He had been a true mentor to Katie as she worked her way up from intern to Junior Executive, and she went to him frequently for advice. Katie liked him and liked working for him, but right now, his presence was more than unwelcome.

“Katie, are you working on--” Henry stopped himself when he saw Tyler. He pointed at Tyler casually.

“Oh the new intern, right? I see you’ve met Katie-- I hope you made a good impression, because she’s hard to dazzle.” Henry smiled to indicate he was only half joking.

“Yes, sir. Tyler June, nice to meet you. And I enjoy a challenge.” Tyler snuck a sly look at Katie and extended his hand to Henry, who shook it warmly.

Henry continued. “Katie is also one of our success stories-- I knew she would be the minute I hired her as an intern not that long ago.” And then Henry’s eyes lit up with an idea. Katie knew that look. Something complicated always followed that look.

“In fact, I think you should report directly to Katie instead of me. She knows this place inside and out. Shadow her, learn from her. And if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get hired after your internship too and work alongside her.”

Oh no.

Katie started to protest. “Honestly, Henry, I have so much work right now, I’m not sure I can also supervise an intern--”

Henry cut her off. “You’re a great multitasker. I trust you.”

Henry turned his attention back to Tyler. “I have a good feeling about this! I’ll let you two get back to getting to know each other. Katie, send over the draft of that proposal we discussed as soon as you can. The clients are getting anxious.” 

And Henry was gone, leaving a mess in his wake he didn’t even know he caused.

Tyler and Katie looked at each other. Tyler shrugged as Katie searched his face for any sign of recognition. Nothing.

“So, boss. I think you were saying something when Henry came in?” Tyler asked.

Katie didn’t know how much Tyler had retained or lost of their time together, but she made a decision. She should keep things professional between them. She had to. At least for now.

“Yeah, I was saying we’ve actually got some work to do on your first day.” She grabbed a stack of paperwork from her desk. “Start filling these out so I can get them over to HR.”

“Yes ma’am.” Tyler took the papers and made an awkward salute. He headed to the door.

“I really am looking forward to this,” he said before he headed out. “I’ve heard great things about you.”

“Yeah, me too.” Katie managed a small smile. “It’s gonna be great.”

Tyler walked out of her office and closed the door behind him, just as Katie’s knees buckled. 

Katie picked up her office phone and dialed her best friend, Grace--who also happened to work in the office next door. Katie looked through her window and could see Grace painting her nails. The phone rang two, then three times as Grace ignored it. 

Katie didn’t want to knock on the window and attract Tyler’s attention, so she started waving, wildly. When that didn’t work, she tried jumping jacks, getting her whole body into the act. Grace was still intensely fixed on her manicure, however.

Sighing, Katie softly knocked on the window to get Grace’s attention. Still nothing. Katie pounded on the glass, causing Grace--and the whole office--to turn toward her. Katie grimaced and pointed to the phone receiver, indicating Grace should pick it up.

Grace slowly rescrewed the cap on her polish and gingerly picked up the phone. “Happy Monday! Can you believe this color, I love it! It’s called Homewrecker.” Grace flashed her nails at Katie through the window and smiled wide.

Katie couldn’t bring herself to smile back. “Grace, can you come in here, please? I have to talk to you about something.”

“Be there in a sec,” Grace said. “Are you ok? You look...weirdly sweaty.”

“Just get over here,” Katie said, eyeing Tyler through the window as he filled out his paperwork at the desk. “I have a problem.”