by Ella Sparkle
“I can do that,” I said confidently. “I'll see you there in an hour.”
“I am pleased to hear that, Nick and I know the other investors will be as well. See you in about an hour.” Clive hung up the phone.
I let out a big sigh. Heading up to the property was about the last thing I wanted to do, but if that was what it took to land the project, then I was going to do it. I started rolling down the sleeves on my button-up shirt to cover my tattoos and grabbed the blazer I kept stashed on the back door of my office.
I walked out of my office and into the reception area at the front of the building. Janet was sitting at her desk doing... I'm not really sure what she was doing, but she didn’t look too busy which was concerning given the amount of stuff going on at the moment. “Janet, I'm going to go up and meet a couple of investors at the Rickson Estates property. Sounds like it is just a little meet and greet, but if I am not back by five o’clock, go ahead and lock up, please.”
“It is at least an hour and a half of drive time there and back, boss. You're definitely not going to be back by five.” Janet chomped on the big wad of gum she had in her mouth. I had asked her to stop with the gum several times already, but she really didn’t seem to give a fuck what I said. I had a feeling Janet wasn’t going to work out as my assistant long term – great, another project.
“Well, hopefully, I can just meet quickly with a couple of the investors, turn around, and come right back.”
Janet raised her eyebrow at me. “Whatever you say, boss.” She held out the keyring to a company truck with an annoyed expression on her face.
Yeah. Janet was not going to work at Blaine Construction much longer. “Thanks,” I said, trying to arrange a smile on my face, as I took the keys and headed out the front door.
The drive was pleasant and took almost exactly forty-five minutes. When I rounded the corner to the plot of land that had been purchased for the building site, my stomach sank. There were at least half a dozen pickup trucks parked there and at least twice that many people out milling around.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself as I pulled up. “This is not going to be quick at all.”
I parked next to the other trucks and got out as a man with a big white beard and a cowboy hat waved at me from where he was leaning against another truck. I walked over to him and he extended his hand for a handshake. “You must be Nick. I'm Clive. When I put the word out you were going to meet us here, everyone wanted to come.” He chuckled as we shook hands. “With all of us here a few questions and concerns have come up. Why don’t you come on over and I can introduce you to everyone and you can answer some questions we have for you."
Fuck, fuck, fuck, I thought to myself. It was not at all what I thought it would be, but Blaine Construction really needed to land the project. I put on my most professional smile as I looked Clive directly in the eye and said, “Sounds great. How about you lead the way and I will follow you?” I gestured for him to lead the way, making sure my head was in the game for the investor meet and greet.
Chapter 33
Jenna
“Hey! Are you the first one here? Where's Nick?” Cassie asked as she slid into the booth next to me. A group of us from work were meeting up for dinner at a local restaurant before going to see the new summer blockbuster together. Since I was the first one, I went ahead and got a table for all of us. Depending on how the night played out, we'd also talked about going out for drinks afterward. We didn’t have a whole lot of time left to hang out as a group before I left and we wanted to make the most of it.
“He texted me a little while ago that he had to work late. He said to go ahead and order food and that he would be here as soon as he could.” The message he sent was vague and had just come in a few minutes before Cassie arrived. I was hoping he would get there in time to grab something to eat before the movie.
“How are things with the two of you?” Cassie asked as she reached for a menu.
“Good, we just haven’t seen each other for a few days. He's been really busy with some new development proposals and I worked a bunch of night shifts in a row.”
“Have you two talked about what you are going to do when you leave for law school?” I had really been hoping Cassie would not bring that up. It was on my mind a lot but with Nick so busy, there wasn't a good time to talk about it with him and I was so nervous about it already.
I avoided eye contact with her as I mumbled, “No. Not really.”
“Jenna! Seriously? What the hell? Don’t you start class in a few weeks? Wait, you are still going, right?” Cassie eyed me suspiciously.
I sighed. “Yes, I am still going. The school actually called this morning to confirm I would be there and gave me some updated information.”
“Why haven’t you talked to Nick? You have had weeks to do this. Wait, does he even know you are leaving?”
“I feel terrible and have been worrying about it non-stop. Things are going so well that I don't want to do anything to ruin it. Then, when I finally worked up the nerve to have the conversation, he got busy at work and I had a few extra shifts. Now, we haven’t seen each other for a few days.” I nervously played with the napkin in my lap. “I'm turning into a mess about it. He knows about law school. I was upfront about it when we first met and I have brought it up, casually, a few times. I just don’t know what's happening when I leave.”
Cassie drummed her fingers on the table. “Isn’t he going to find it totally suspicious when all of the sudden your apartment is packed up and you are gone?”
“Who is suspicious? Are we talking about Nick? I don’t see him here.” Mike slid into the booth next to Cassie and she turned to give him a look like he needed to stop talking.
“Good grief, Mike! What is it with you and butting into other people’s conversations? So rude!” Kimmy exclaimed as she sat down next to me. She was followed by Steven.
“Where is Nick? He is still coming, right? Would be a bummer for him to miss the movie since we've been planning this for weeks,” Steven said as he reached for a menu.
“He'll be here soon, there's nothing to worry about. He just got held up at work.” Cassie looked right at me as she was speaking. That girl knew me too well. My mind had instantly wandered back to all of the times we had something planned and my ex Brett suddenly couldn’t make it. With Brett, it turned out that his ‘I have to work late’ or ‘I'm suddenly not feeling well’ and ‘this thing came up last minute’ were really code for ‘I am banging a whole bunch of other women behind your back.’ He was the worst.
My insecurities started to run wild. Nick wouldn’t do that... would he? No! No, he would not. “He was just held up at work and will be here as soon as he can,” I told everyone, trying to quash the thoughts threatening to take over.
I could feel myself starting to panic and an all too familiar and unwelcome tightening in my chest. “I need to use the restroom. I'll be right back.” Kimmy moved out of the booth so I could slide out and I quickly dashed away from the table.
When I got to the restroom, I stood by the sink and took a few deep breaths before splashing water on my face. I had my eyes closed when I heard a soft voice call out, “Jen, are you in here?”
“Yes, over here,” I said between deep breaths.
I opened my eyes and saw Cassie standing next to me, her face etched in concern. “Oh, honey,” she said softly, “Was it a panic attack?”
I closed my eyes again. “Yes. I could feel it start to happen and I just had to get out of there. I think I'm feeling better already getting some air.”
Cassie started to rub my back as I leaned over the sink. “It's been months since something like this happened. You know Nick is not Brett, right? Is that what started it?”
“I don’t know. I just started thinking about all the times Brett said he was working late and—" my voice was starting to get high pitched when Cassie interrupted me.
“I am going to stop you right there. Nick is not Brett. Nick cares about you. I ca
n tell by the way he looks at you and the way that he treats you. He kissed you on a freaking Jumbotron in front of a whole stadium of people for goodness sakes. Brett is a no-good, low-life, piece of shit who needs to rot at the bottom of the ocean.”
I took a deep breath as I turned to look at Cassie. “I had one when Nick took me on the picnic.”
Cassie looked surprised for a moment. “A panic attack? Why didn’t you tell me? How did Nick react?”
“I was embarrassed. I hadn't had one since the break-up, once Brett was out of my life. Nick actually helped and was really great.”
“See! Totally different from Brett the bastard! What do you say we get back out there and have some dinner before we hit the movie?” Cassie gave me an encouraging smile. “I'm sure Nick will be here soon.” She knew just what to say to comfort and reassure me.
I nodded my head. “You're right. I am totally overreacting. I'm sure he'll be here soon.” I tried to return Cassie’s smile even though my mind was still racing. I really wanted to believe Nick was just held up at work. He knew that tonight was important to me so he would be there... right? Yes, I told myself as we walked out of the bathroom. Nick cares about me and he would be there. He had not given me any reason not to trust him... but then again, in the whole grand scheme of things, we had not known each other very long. After that night at the club, everything just happened so fast between us. No. I was not going to let my mind wander round and round. I needed to stop jumping to conclusions and just wait for Nick to show up.
Cassie and I went back to the table and ordered our food with the rest of the group. I couldn’t help but check my cell phone multiple times throughout dinner. No new messages. It wasn’t like Nick to not respond at all.
When the waiter cleared our plates and brought our checks, Steven looked over at me as I was once again checking my phone. “Have you heard from Nick?” he asked. “Since all we have left is to pay, does he want to just meet us at the theater?”
“Good question.” I scrunched up my face as I saw there were still no new messages. I quickly typed one out to Nick. “Hey - hope everything is OK. We just finished dinner and are headed to the movie. It starts in about 30 minutes. See you at the theater?”
I pushed send and stared at my phone. No response. Not even the little bubbles showing he was typing something. I sighed and put my phone in my purse. My heart was starting to feel heavy.
“Ready to go?” Cassie asked.
I looked up from my phone. “Yeah. Don't want to miss the movie.” I gave Cassie a weak smile and she put her arm around me as we walked out of the restaurant.
“Don’t jump to any conclusions. Has Nick given you any reason not to trust him?” She said to me quietly as we walked.
“No,” I answered honestly as I glanced down at my phone again. Still no new message from Nick.
“Let's go see what everyone is saying is the best movie of the summer,” Cassie said in an overly cheerful voice. I appreciated that she was trying to distract me.
When we got to the theater, I quickly sent another message to Nick. “We are at the theater and the movie is about to start. We are going to go in, but I went ahead and bought you a ticket. It's waiting at the ticket counter for you. See you soon?”
I quickly shoved my phone in my purse as the lights dimmed for the movie. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel. I didn’t want to believe Nick had just blown me off, but part of me couldn’t help but have a really terrible feeling about it all. If he didn’t want to come out for a night, there was no way he would want to make things work once I left for law school. It had only been a few days since we last saw each other and it felt like I was already ‘out of sight out of mind’, if that were the case, then I clearly was not as important to Nick as I thought. I tried to focus on the opening credits and forget about Nick. Though, I knew there was no way I would ever be able to forget about Nick.
I should have known it was all too good to be true.
Chapter 34
Jenna
The five of us were standing outside the theater after the movie. The night air was cool and I rubbed my arms as I pulled out my phone to see if there was a message from Nick. Nothing. I could feel the hot sting of tears starting to prick behind my eyelids. I tried to blink them away. I was not going to cry.
I typed out a quick message to Nick. “You missed a great movie. Really worried about you. Just send me something to let me know you are OK.” I hit send and quickly shoved my phone into my purse.
Cassie came over to stand next to me. “I am so sorry, babe. I don’t know what to say.”
I gave her a weak smile. “Me neither.”
“I knew there was a reason to be worried about him!” Mike jumped in.
Cassie immediately spun around to him, her tone laced with anger. “Oh! You did not just say that! Please tell me that you—”
“Seriously, Mike! Shut up! That is not helpful” Kimmy snapped at Mike, interrupting Cassie.
Even Steven weighed in, “Yeah, dude. That was a shit thing to say. We don’t know what happened. Give the guy a break and don’t be an ass to Jenna.”
Mike looked at me sheepishly with flushed cheeks. “I'm sorry, Jenna. I just never wanted to see you get hurt by him.”
I knew Mike was just trying to be protective of me and I appreciated that. I waved my hand in his general direction. “It's fine, Mike. Listen, I know when we planned this we talked about going out to drinks after the movie, but would you guys mind if I rain-checked? I think I'd like to just head home.”
“Of course! We'll see you at work tomorrow!” Kimmy said as she gave me a big hug and then motioned for Steven and Mike to follow her. “Come on guys! Steven, you have the keys. We are going to give Mike some sensitivity training on the way home.”
“I am sensitive! I have four sisters! I just was trying to look out for Jenna!” Mike protested.
Kimmy rolled her eyes and started to walk towards Steven’s car. “Yet you still say stupid, insensitive shit!” she turned and shouted over her shoulder. I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt so grateful for my friends.
Cassie walked up to Mike and stuck her pointer finger into his chest. “Just so we are on the same page, I don’t date people that upset my best friend, so get your shit together.”
“Wait? We’re dating?” Mike’s face broke into a huge grin. “Did you hear that everyone? We’re dating! Cassie and I are dating! Best. Day. Ever!” He shouted.
Cassie put her hand on her hip. “Not if you are going to act like a giant, insensitive Neanderthal. You need to go now before I change my mind about you, Mr. Mike, and cut you off from all of this redheaded goodness.” Cassie moved her hand from her hip and waved it down the length of her body.
Kimmy let out a low whistle from where she was standing a few feet away, by Steven’s car. “Wow! That was harsh!” She said, laughing a little.
Mike was still grinning ear to ear. Cassie rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. “Meh. He'll get over it. Or not. Anyway, I can’t deal with him right now. I have other, more pressing things going on.”
“Good night!” Kimmy waved at us before she climbed into Steven’s car.
“Night!” Steven had rolled down the window and was shouting his goodbyes from the driver’s seat.
Mike was still standing next to us. “Good night,” he said to me, then he turned to Cassie. “I will see you tomorrow, Cassie,” he said with a huge smile plastered across his face. At least someone had come out of tonight with good news. Cassie shooed Mike away with her hand which only made him chuckle a little through his giant smile. Mike turned back and looked at her again giving her another smile and a wave before he got into Steven’s car. When Cassie thought I wasn’t looking, she gave Mike a small wave and blew him a kiss.
The idea of them together still seemed just this side of totally crazy.
“Well, sister, it looks like it's just you and me. Let’s get out of here,” Cassie gave me a wink.
“Cass? Can I st
ay at your place tonight? I don’t want to be alone.” I didn’t feel like I was in a good headspace and the idea of going back to my quiet apartment alone didn’t sit right.
Cassie wrapped her arm around me as we started walking towards our cars. “Of course! Lucky for you, I have a bottle of red wine that has just been begging to be opened. Sound like a plan?”
I leaned into Cassie, relieved to have her there with me. “Yes, that sounds like a very good plan,” I sighed.
When I got into my car, I pulled my phone out and looked at it again. Still no response to the messages I had sent Nick. The last message from him was at the start of the evening when he told me he had to work late. I typed out one last quick message before turning my phone off and shoving it deep into the bottom of my purse.
“Good night, Nick.”
***
“Good morning sleepy head.” I slowly blinked my eyes open as I looked around the room and remembered I was at Cassie’s house. “I know I'm not nearly the same morning eye candy as he-who-shall-not-be-named-right-now, but I come with coffee.” Cassie climbed up on the bed and handed me a large, steaming mug. “How did you sleep?”
I inhaled the delicious coffee scent and took a large drink of it before I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Meh. I’ve had better.”
Cassie clasped her hands together, “Oh! You just lobbed me a giant softball! So many inappropriate comments I could make, but, I can tell from your eyes you were crying last night, so I'll hold myself together and let this opportunity pass. It just seems like you might not be in the mood for inappropriate jokes.”
“Thanks, Cass. You really know how to read a room.” I took another sip of coffee and let it warm me from the inside out as I pulled my knees up to my chest.
“Talent, darling. It's called talent.” Cassie pretended to take a small bow while still sitting on the bed. “All joking aside, how are you doing this morning?”
“I didn’t sleep well and I don’t know what to think about anything. Other than that, I am just great,” my voice was thick with sarcasm.