by Haley Travis
Jenna laughed so hard she nearly spilled her coffee.
“If he loves so fast, and so hard, he’s going to be bored with me in a few days anyway,” I said.
“So by not really giving him a chance, you’re protecting yourself?” Corina said.
My head nodded automatically. “Damn you. You’re right.”
“Is it just that things aren’t totally flawless?” she asked. “I know you’re a perfectionist. Finding out your first boyfriend isn’t impeccable might rattle you.”
“He is, pretty much,” I said, trying to make sense of it. “He’s gorgeous, talented, and sweet to me.” I paused, not wanting to mention the shallow part, but feeling that I had to. “And not that it matters, but he’s surprisingly rich.”
Jenna shrugged. “Andrew is crazy rich, but he doesn’t act like it. I think that’s the main thing. He still works hard, and isn’t snobby about it.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Corina turned to look me right in the eye. “His brother is a jerk. That’s not Owen’s fault. Running around with girls when he was young, and looking for excitement everywhere – that’s just what guys do. If he treats you right, you have to give him a chance. If he changes his mind and takes off, he’s a jerk too. But you can’t dismiss a guy on what he might do. You can only judge him on what he does today.”
Jenna and I looked at each other, then back at Corina. She never spoke with such authority before.
“You’re right,” I nodded.
“Plus, your eyes absolutely light up when you talk about him,” Jenna said. “You really do love him already.”
“Give him another shot,” Corina said. “Or if the sex was great, at least jump in bed with him a few more times.”
Our heads swiveled to stare at her.
“What? We’re young. We can have some casual fun just like the guys can if we want to.”
Jenna joined me in laughing far too long and loud. We wouldn’t have expected that from Corina in a million years.
12
_____
Owen
Since Brynn wasn’t answering my texts, I focused entirely on our project Friday morning.
I had all of the footage, and she had sent me the audio of the script she wrote. My lovely girl even picked the absolute perfect voice actor – a woman with the faintest British lilt that made everything sound saucy and brought the words to life.
By early afternoon, I sent a link to a finished edit to Brynn for her comments, and to Joe. He didn’t need to approve the things I worked on, and I’m sure he didn’t care, but since he was currently my boss, I wanted to remain polite.
About an hour later, Joe came into my office and slumped into my extra chair. His jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Your documentary,” he said flatly.
“What about it?”
“It’s incredible.”
“Thanks.” I turned to face him straight on. “Then why do you look so pissed off?”
He sighed, his fingers tapping on his knee. “Dammit, Owen, you’re not supposed to be that talented. You’re supposed to get your act together and help me run this company.”
“I don’t want to. I never have. Remember in the beginning, when I was very clear?”
Joe shrugged. “Yeah, but you change your mind left and right.”
“Not about everything, not about what matters.” He stared at me for a long moment, until I added, “Fine. I’ll repeat it, slowly. I don’t want to run this company. I want to create videos and movies.”
He took a long, slow breath, his brow furrowing. “I never planned on running this place by myself.”
“Then hire someone fantastic to run it. I would never be great at this. You know I hate schmoozing with clients and sitting in meetings.”
“If I hire someone, they won’t be family.”
I cocked my head. “You’d be better off with someone who isn’t family, but who is good at their job.”
“But how will I trust them?”
Joe had always been a bit paranoid about trusting people with money, but I didn’t realize it ran so deep.
“Do what everyone else does,” I said. “Check their references, and give them a shot. You can have them manage everything, and you can keep your fists wrapped tightly around the purse strings.”
To my absolute shock, he nodded. “Dammit, you’re right.”
“Is this why you’ve been such an ass lately?”
He just shrugged, grimacing.
“You were an absolute shit to Brynn. Not only is she a client, a representative of one of our biggest accounts, but you were rude to a lady.”
Joe snorted. “She’s fine.”
“You freaked her out and you need to apologize.”
“What does she care what I think?”
Placing my hands on the desk, I forced myself to resist the urge to throw him to the floor and pin him like I did when we were twelve. Partly because other employees were walking by the open door and giving us strange looks.
“You’ll likely be seeing more of her, and I don’t want it to be awkward for Brynn. We’re...dating, I guess. Assuming you didn’t just ruin everything for us, that is.”
“Really?” He paused for a second. “I would never have guessed you’d end up with a girl like that.”
“A girl like what? Gorgeous and kind and smart? A beautiful woman who is a bit quiet, and...”
“I’m sorry, man.” It was clear from that obnoxious smirk that he wasn’t sorry in the slightest. “I didn’t realize that you were already in love with her.” He was clearly teasing, but he was right.
I shouldn’t want to punch him in the face, but having him joke about my feelings for Brynn was too much. Taking a slow breath, I forced myself to be calm. “Yeah,” I nodded, leaning back into my chair. “I am.”
He rolled his eyes. “Sure you are.”
“It’s none of your damn business,” I growled, trying to maintain my composure, but nearly failing.
“She’s just like the rest,” Joe smirked, pushing his chair back and standing up. “Instead of concentrating on your work, you fixate on some chick with huge tits, and suddenly you shift directions.”
“She’s not some chick,” I roared, on my feet and shoving him against the wall in a blink. “She’s the love of my fucking life, and you’ll never speak about her like that again. You will never be unprofessional with any woman again. You were harassing her, and I won’t stand for it.”
His smirk annoyed me to no end, and I realized in a flash that he’d never change. He’d always want to treat me like a little brother, no matter how old we were.
This wasn’t what I wanted for my career. My life. For Brynn.
“I quit.”
Joe’s eyes were glassy with rage, but he just pushed me away, leaving the room without another word.
Slumping into a chair, I felt defeated. Yet energized. Brynn was my girl. My light. My love. Getting another job or just a few clients would be a breeze. Leaving this company would be a minor annoyance.
A little rustle at the door made my chin jerk up. “Are you alright?” Kathy asked gently. “Can I get you a coffee or anything?”
Smiling at her relaxed me a bit. “No, I’m fine. Thanks, though.”
“I didn’t mean to overhear, but it was pretty hard not to,” she said in her quiet, steady voice. “Brynn is a lucky girl to have you stand up for her like that. She seems very sweet.”
“She really is,” I agreed. She turned to leave, but I quickly said, “Hey, Kathy, what’s something one step down from an engagement ring? Something that says that I want us to be permanent without freaking her out?”
Her warm smile instantly told me that she had the answer. “Be at reception at four, and I’ll take you to visit my mother’s friend.”
Even though I had no idea what she meant, she was so self-assured that I was positive she’d have the answer.
&nbs
p; 13
_____
Brynn
By Friday afternoon, I thought that I should extend an olive branch and send Owen a text. Yet I simply had no idea what to say. Should I apologize for being skittish? For not asking for his side of the story?
After spending a few hours going through prices for an old-fashioned candy store that was co-sponsoring the sweet sixteen extravaganza I was planning, I checked my email and nearly fell out of my chair.
Jonathon had sent a note saying that Owen should now be dealt with directly, and no longer through Teal Dot Media since he was no longer affiliated with them. He said that he had already spoken with Joe, and we were free to hire Owen for any jobs we liked.
Owen had left the company he was with. A rather significant life change. Especially since it was a family company, run by his brother.
Was there any chance at all that he was doing it because of me?
Oh my god.
I didn’t want to be like his other girlfriends – someone he chased. I wanted to be his already, and permanently.
That was totally insane, but the second the thought snuck into my mind, I knew it was right. Games and stress and wondering what would happen next wasn’t my style. I just wanted to know that things were steady.
I wanted Owen.
But I didn’t want him to change anything in his life. It was clear that his brother didn’t think much of me, and thought that I was just passing through like the other girls, but I honestly didn’t give a darn about his opinion.
Did Owen think that he needed to quit his job because I’d be upset if he stayed? My head was spinning.
There were so many questions, but I wasn’t ready to speak with him yet. Even though I missed him terribly.
Every morning I wished that I was waking up in his arms. He made me feel so safe, so loved. Like I truly belonged to him. I didn’t even know that such a feeling was possible, and now I was swimming in it.
Yet my fists kept clenching in anger. I rarely became furious at people, so the brand new feeling was filling me with strange sensations.
I left the office at five-thirty with a plan. Go home, make some dinner, then sort out my feelings and text Owen. I would ask about getting together for a coffee on Monday, when I could politely inquire if he’d lost his freaking mind and quit his job because of me.
Waving goodbye to our receptionist, I walked into the elevator and nearly straight into Owen’s chest. Instantly his arm slid around me, pulling me inside as he hit the button for the lobby.
“What–”
“Shh, just let me hold you for a second.”
I should have pushed him away, but was instantly overcome by his warmth, his strength, the way his arms held me so snugly. Every serious question I had for him melted away.
For once, I was irritated that the elevator ran so quickly, wanting to breathe him in forever. As the doors slid open, he took my hand and led me outside to his car.
My feet planted themselves into the gravel. “I have to go home,” I said quickly, turning toward the bus stop, then pausing.
I didn’t know why, but I knew that if I got into that car, he’d say sweet things to me, and I wouldn’t get a chance to process everything. Since I’d never been this upset with someone before, it didn’t feel right to just turn it off before I had a chance to say anything.
It was always so hard for me to speak up when it was something negative. With Owen’s gorgeous eyes staring at me, I didn’t know if I had the strength.
“Would you like to go to a coffee shop, or maybe get dinner?” he asked gently. “Or if you want to talk somewhere a little more private, we could go to either of our homes. Whatever you like.”
“Oh.” A shiver ran through me. I was in a situation where I’d really have to take charge and speak my mind. I needed more time to figure things out, especially why I was so angry.
“I’m going to take the bus home. I’ll text you on Monday.”
Turning away, I didn’t dare look back, for fear that one glance at those eyes and I’d change my mind.
On the bus ride, I tried to figure out why I was so afraid of showing him I was angry, but still couldn’t make sense of it. My shoulders were tightened, and my eyes kept flicking to my phone, but he didn’t text.
How could I wish that he was perfect when I didn’t know what that meant? I couldn’t even make up my mind about whether I was ready to speak with him.
***
The next afternoon there was a knock at the door while I was washing dishes.
“Just a minute,” I called out, drying my hands. Looking out through the peephole, I expected a neighbor’s kid selling cookies, not Owen with a bouquet of flowers.
My hand paused on the doorknob. Oddly, instead of being upset that he didn’t wait until Monday, I was glad. It felt like he really wanted me. He had given me an evening of space instead of the entire weekend. Was that a reasonable compromise?
I let him in, accepting the flowers with a smile, and setting the vase on the counter as he slipped his shoes off.
It wasn’t until we were seated on my couch that I felt ready to speak.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait two more days to talk to you. You can tell me anything, sweetheart,” Owen said gently, facing me so that our knees touched, but giving me some space. “I’m so sorry that Joe was an asshole to you. For what it’s worth, I informed him of how unprofessional he was as I was telling him off.”
Shaking my head, I stared down at the dark blue and green textured fabric of the couch, trying to figure out why I was so irritated.
“Are you angry with me?” he asked softly.
My chin tipped up and down before I could stop it.
“Can you tell me why?” Owen asked, leaning back as if he was prepared to sit here all night if necessary.
He was so patient. So understanding.
I honestly couldn’t believe that he was so calm after I’d been blowing him off for days while I tried and failed to sort out what the heck I was feeling.
“You’re too much,” I blurted without thinking. “Too perfect.”
He nodded, waiting for more.
“It’s totally insane that you’d quit your job on a moment’s notice, and if you did that for me, I don’t know what to think about that,” I babbled, my voice rising. “I don’t want to be one of those girls you chase, and I don’t want to mess up your career. I wanted to date you, but it was suddenly a real relationship. I can’t tell you that if we’re already in love. Things are happening way too fast, and I wanted everything to be perfect and it isn’t, and now I don’t know what to do.”
I’d never spoken to anyone that loudly in my life, and felt a bit queasy.
Owen simply nodded, then held out his hand to me, smiling slightly when I took it. “Sweetheart, I love that you just yelled at me.”
I nearly rolled my eyes until I saw that he was dead serious. His thumb rubbed lightly over my skin as he stared at our hands.
“Brynn, remember how we were talking about the bright shiny hit song that sold the record, but the b-side was often quirky, with a lot more soul?”
“Yes.”
“I want us to be both, sweetheart.”
Owen looked up at me with absolute adoration shining in his eyes. “We fell in love too fast, and it was too convenient. But now that you’re able to tell me what you’re thinking, we’re going to be filled with so much more. Don’t you think?”
Blinking through a sudden wave of tears, I realized that he really was okay with me speaking my mind, no matter what it was.
“Did you quit your job for me?”
He shook his head emphatically. “No. Joe was an ass for a long time, and I just didn’t want to deal with him anymore. He kept trying to get me to help him run the company, and I don’t want that.”
“What do you want?”
His glance made me melt. “You, sweetheart. And to make movies and videos. That’s it.” His other hand brushed over my knee. “Your turn. T
ell me what you want.”
Nodding, I tried to appear calm. “I want us to be together, but I’m afraid I’m not exciting enough to chase. I’m not going to hold your interest if you don’t need to pursue me.”
“You have more than my interest, sweetheart. You have my entire heart. Everything that happened with other relationships is years in the past. I’m a different person now, and this man is completely in love with you.”