“Damn. Is he doing okay?” Cole asked.
“He’ll be fine,” I told him.
“Sorry I missed it. Getting used to this new job is a little more complicated than I thought.”
“How is it going for you?” I asked.
“Really well. I’m enjoying it. It’s just getting used to how different it is than actually being in the classroom. I have to approach everything in a totally different way. I never really thought about how I’d have to change my approach to just about everything because I wasn’t going to be in the classroom with the people,” he told me.
“I can imagine that would take some getting used to,” I said.
“How about you?” he asked. “How are you doing?”
There was something more behind that question than it sounded. I knew he was trying to get at something but didn’t want to come right out and ask.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You think I just forgot about what happened last weekend at the bar?” he asked. “We never talked about that.”
“Do we need to? You saw it.”
“Come on, Q. I know you. That wasn’t just some sloppy drunken kissing. What’s going on between you and that social media girl?”
“Merry,” I corrected quickly, and he gave me a knowing look. I let out a sigh.
There was no real point in trying to avoid it anymore. He was going to figure out a way to get it out of me at some point anyway. If there was anyone I needed to be honest about the situation with, it was Cole. He knew me better than anybody other than my brothers, in some ways, even better because he was there at times when my brothers were away from home or I was. He would listen to me without judgment and tell me the truth.
Tossing aside the newer version of what happened between Merry and me, I laid it all out, telling him everything from start to finish. I didn’t go into extreme detail, but it was enough for him to know everything he needed to. When I was finished, I leaned back in my chair, waiting for his reaction. He stared back at me without a change in emotion.
“Well,” he finally said. “You had to fall at some point.”
“What?” I asked.
“This was going to happen and, frankly, it’s about time. Don’t let my bad experience or, hell, your own bad experiences, stop you from trying for more,” he said.
That hit me hard, and I let it sink in. Somehow, he knew exactly what I was worried about, exactly how I was thinking. But it didn’t matter. No matter what I was thinking or feeling, I didn’t think it could go anywhere. Merry and I already agreed it was a one-and-done thing, and I had to accept that.
26
Merry
Saturday didn’t seem like it could come fast enough for me that week. Quentin told the crew they could take half days on Thursday and Friday, which meant the complex all but cleared out by noon. There really wasn’t much reason for me to stay there at the office when everybody else was taking off. Mine was the kind of work essentially made for doing remotely. There was a ton for me to do following the race. I needed to post the pictures, follow up on the live stream of the celebration, and gather feedback for the tailgate event. From there I could determine which parts of my campaign had been successful so far, which could be tweaked further, and what I could add. It would also help me in planning future events. Since I was the one who suggested the party, the bulk of putting it together fell on me. Minnie was there to help, but it was an added responsibility I didn’t really sign up for but enjoyed taking on.
No matter how much I needed to do, though, it didn’t really require me to be in the office. With the exception of having meetings with Minnie or Quentin, I could do everything from my living room couch with my tablet in my lap and my laptop on the table in front of me if I really wanted to. Since both of them left the complex late in the morning, there were no meetings to keep me there. The only thing that had me locked in place at the office rather than heading home was knowing I probably wouldn’t be able to focus at home. I was still struggling with everything that happened, and now that Brandon was sharing my apartment, it would be far more difficult to actually concentrate on what needed to be done. Honestly, it was far more likely I would end up in stretchy pants eating popcorn and getting lost in daytime TV under the guise of researching what interested our demographics than it was I’d get everything done the way I needed to.
So, I stayed at the office. All day Thursday and all day Friday, I sat behind my desk in the strangely quiet office building, straining for the sound of the mechanics or anyone else at the complex. It was a little eerie for it to be so still, but it forced me to delve into what I needed to do. And by the end of the day Friday, I was exhausted and more than ready for the weekend. Olivia and I were going to get together, and I was looking forward to that. We hadn’t been able to have as much time together as we usually did, and I was missing her.
I had every intention of having her over to the house for a long day of hanging out, baking cupcakes, and girl talk. But that wasn’t to be. I wasn’t even out of bed Saturday morning when I heard Brandon’s angry voice coming from the kitchen. It was so loud and intense I thought for a minute someone was there. I threw on my bathrobe and rushed out to check on him but found him pacing through the living room on his phone. Now that I was in the same room with him and could more clearly hear what he was saying, I knew he was talking to his ex. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. And it didn’t sound like it would be ending anytime soon.
Going back into my room, I took a shower, got dressed, and put on my makeup. I was trying to give him time and privacy, but he hadn’t stopped by the time I was finished. When I got into the living room, he wrenched the phone away from his ear and stared at it in disbelief.
“What happened?” I asked.
“She hung up on me,” he said angrily. “She says she’s coming over here.”
“What?” I asked, shocked. “Why would she do that?”
“Apparently, she’s pissed about what I got from the house. She wants to come over here and talk about it, and says we need to talk about the divorce.”
“What is there to talk about? You already filed papers,” I said.
“There are a bunch of steps that have to be taken, and she wants to control all of them. I’m sure that doesn’t come as much of a surprise,” he told me.
“Do you want me here when she comes?” I asked.
As much as I wanted to see Olivia, if my brother needed me, he would have to come first. This was an extremely hard time for him, and I wanted to give them as much support as I could. But he shook his head.
“There’s no need for you to get wrapped up in this. I’m sure it’s not going to be a warm and fuzzy reunion and having you here would probably just make her really defensive. If it’s all right with you, I’d rather just be here by myself,” he told me.
“Sure. I’m going to hang out with Olivia. I’ll probably be gone most of the day, but if you need me, just call. I’ll get back here as fast as I can,” I promised.
I headed out of the house worried about my brother and thinking about what I was going to tell Olivia. Spending time with her was about relaxing and having some fun, but it was also my chance to get the whole situation with Quentin off my chest. I needed to get it all out and let her help me work through my conflicting feelings. It seemed like she already knew something was happening in my head as soon as I walked into the small local coffee shop where we agreed to meet.
“I ordered you a latte,” she said when I sat down. “What’s going on?”
“You’re not even going to pretend to start with small talk, are you?” I asked.
“Nope. We don’t need small talk. It’s you and me. We’ve had enough small talk to last for the rest of our lives.”
“True.”
“So, what’s going on? Because I can see that look on your face. The gears are grinding around in your head. What’s bothering you?” she asked.
“It’s about my boss,” I fin
ally said.
She took a sip of her latte.
“Quentin?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What about him? Is he causing trouble because of the kissing thing?” she asked.
“Not exactly. I…” I sighed, not sure I even wanted to put a voice to the words, but knowing I needed to. “I think I might have gone ahead and caught feelings for him.”
“What?” Olivia asked, sounding more confused than startled like I was expecting her to be. “You said it was just a stupid thing because you drank too much that night.”
I cringed. “I know. It’s all really confusing. I feel so conflicted. Ever since that night, I’ve been trying to just push it away and ignore it, but there are definitely feelings building. They just crept up on me, and I’m really not happy about it.”
“So, that’s it? You’re just struggling with feelings for your boss? That’s not that big of a deal,” she said. “I mean, I know it probably feels really strange and might be kind of freaking you out, but I’ve known a lot of people who had crushes on their bosses. And Quentin is super hot. And rich. You could do a lot worse, so it makes sense you would start crushing on him, especially after he kissed you like that.”
Hearing her put it out there like that both helped and made me more confused. This didn’t feel like just a crush. It wasn’t just a slight attraction. But she didn’t know how far it had gone. I needed to think about it more before I went any further with the story.
“That makes sense,” I said.
Olivia nodded. “So, how is Brandon?”
I couldn’t help but smile at the question. She had always liked my brother from the time she met him but being married was obviously a deterrent to her letting him know how she felt or doing anything about it. I didn’t think she was going to try to jump on the opportunity now, but it was cute to see her worrying about him and taking more interest.
“He’s not great, to be honest. Just trying to get through this whole divorce thing and not fall apart. He’s actually at home right now waiting for his ex to come over and talk about stuff,” I told her.
“I hate that for him,” Olivia said. “He’s such a good guy. He really deserves somebody who will be good to him and show him how special he is…”
“I slept with Quentin.”
Well, there went thinking about it some more. I didn’t mean it to, but it just kind of popped out of my mouth.
“You what?” Olivia asked, now finally sounding shocked.
“I had sex with Quentin. At work. In my office,” I told her.
She gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.
“I think this requires some fresh air,” she said after a few seconds.
We finished our drinks and headed out to walk to a nearby park where we could talk openly without anybody listening in. I didn’t tell her the lie Quentin came up with. When he first said it, it made sense and I was willing to go along with it. But now that I was actually standing here with my best friend, it didn’t seem right. I wanted to tell her everything. She needed to know why I was grappling with my feelings the way I was. I spilled out the whole story, and as soon as I was finished, I felt so much lighter. Even with my best friend scrambling to find the right words, it felt better to have said something.
“You don’t really need to say anything right now. I’m still trying to figure it out myself. The thing is, we already agreed it wasn’t going to happen again. It would only happen one time because it was a mistake, and that we have to just put it behind us. That’s why the feelings are so inconvenient. Now that I’ve told you about it, though, I think it’s going to be easier to deal with.”
“Good. And you know I’m sworn to secrecy. Whatever you’re going to do, you need to do it without anyone interfering. So I’m going to keep my opinions to myself for now. How about we go find some fun?”
I laughed. “That sounds like a really good idea.”
She grinned and linked arms with me. We made our way through the rest of the park, then headed for our favorite outdoor mall. We spent the rest of the day shopping and chatting about breezy, inconsequential things that let me keep my mind off everything. Dinner at a seafood restaurant was the perfect end to the day, and I went home feeling much better.
27
Quentin
My first meeting of the day Monday morning was with Brandon. I scheduled it right after he was hired, intending on going over his work and checking in on him. I liked to keep up with my employees and make sure they were settling in well when they joined the company. I never had to do that with an accountant before considering Artie was always with us, but that didn’t really matter. Whatever role he was playing in the company, I wanted to make sure he felt comfortable and was a good fit. I was always in the belief that it was better to catch problems or inconsistencies early so they could be taken care of rather than letting them get worse and having to do damage control later. Besides, after the time we spent together the day he was hired, I already liked him and wanted to get to know him more.
Of course, that was before everything happened with his sister. Now it felt a bit on the awkward side to sit down across the desk from him and talk about how he was settling into the team. I decided not to use my usual line about wanting to keep things in the family. That was uncomfortable now, considering everything. And as I sat there listening to him talk about numbers and tell me anecdotes about his first week on the job, I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew what had happened. It was obvious Merry and her brother were very close, so it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of expectation that she’d told him the story we came up with. Especially considering he was there the night we were caught kissing at the bar.
I’d already had that conversation with my brothers. They came over for our usual Sunday night time around the bonfire, and I made a point of pulling them aside so I could talk to them without my parents overhearing. Giving them a quick rundown of a made-up story was one thing. Telling my parents was something completely different. My brothers were guys, I justified. They’d been there before and knew what it was like to get wrapped up in a woman. Maybe they hadn’t gone quite as far as I had. As far as I knew, none of them had ever had sex with a woman at work, especially a woman they weren’t in a relationship with.
But as the oldest brother, I figured it was my job to set that precedent. Maybe.
I didn’t really have any expectations for how they were going to react. The possibilities were spread far across the spectrum, so I just had to take each one as it came. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad. They weren’t delighted with my impulsivity by a long shot, but it wasn’t so much the sex in the office they were concerned about. Instead, it was who I’d chosen. Each of them went straight for the warnings, reminding me how good Merry was for the company and that everyone liked her. Even Vince and Nick liked her, and they had only encountered her briefly at the races. But they knew well enough to know she was good for the team and was doing fantastic work for the company. Losing her wasn’t an option, according to all four.
Which was good, because I didn’t want to lose her, either. I wanted to keep her. Except I was thinking about it in a different way than they were. While my brothers worried about her leaving the company, I was only thinking of how much I wanted to have her as a much closer part of my life. But that wasn’t an option. Having her stay at the company was the most I could ask for, and that meant staying out of her way and not causing any more trouble.
The longer we talked, the more I thought Brandon seemed to have no clue what happened. He didn’t look at me or speak to me any differently than he had before. And he definitely didn’t mention it, which would have been so awkward I might not have been able to live through it. He just talked and updated like nothing was different, and finally the meeting was over.
It was a relief to close the door behind Brandon and be in my office alone for a while. It wasn’t him. I liked talking to him and hoped eventually I’d be able to be in the room with hi
m without immediately thinking of his sister. Right then, it was really anybody. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I had press release stuff I needed to finish up and send to Merry to post; then I needed to respond to a slew of emails I’d put off for a couple days. After that, I was seriously considering spending the rest of the day in the garage. There was work to be done on the bikes, including two new ones we’d just bought. Getting my hands dirty might be just the thing I needed to help with the restless feeling under my skin.
Responding to the emails took longer than I expected. There was some interest from new sponsors, but I had to weed through the spam offers and strange attempts at creating partnerships to get to them. Merry had already told me I’d probably be hearing from people who would try to present themselves as internet celebrities or influencers who could get the company’s name in front of their legion of followers. With sponsored posts, of course, and with the expectation of other perks and privileges to go along with it. Those aggravated me, both because of their arrogance and because they wasted my time.
Finally, I was finished with my emails and had nothing else to do that required me to be in the office. At least, nothing I couldn’t comfortably leave until the next day. I was ready to go down to the garage and spend some time with my brother and father, blast music, and let my mind go for a while.
As soon as I walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water to bring with me outside, I knew I wasn’t making it down to the garage unscathed. Standing at the counter over a pan of fresh cornbread was my mother. She turned on me, and the look on her face told me everything I needed to know.
She knew. I don’t know how. I don’t know who told her or what version they told her. But she knew.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, trying to slip out the door.
She was too quick for me and cornered me.
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