I wanted to argue with her, I really did. But instead, I agreed with her. Because she was right. I spent several weeks crying over the fact that what she really, indirectly, had said was I was boring. I never mentioned that to her, but it’s what I’d heard. Took us a while, but our friendship held on and grew stronger, and now she was one of my closest confidantes. Weird, I know.
Leanne grabbed a seat and watched me eat for a moment before asking, “So what’s new?”
I shook my head, savoring a bite of soup before swallowing it, a little surprised I could even taste it but grateful that I could. “Just busy.”
“It’s that time of year for you, and I’m sure you’re working way too many hours, which is why you’re sick now.”
“Yes, Doctor. I’m aware.”
“You need to pay more attention to what you eat, Lace.”
“I know.”
I was saved from further scolding by a loud sound that shook the floor, like something very heavy had fallen. Leanne’s eyebrows went up just as I heard a muffled, “Sorry!” come from the other side of the wall. Alicia, I was pretty sure, and I didn’t mean to, but I grinned.
“What the hell was that?” Leanne asked, turning in her chair.
“My new neighbors.”
“They finally filled that office, huh? I didn’t think they ever would. How long’s it been empty now?”
“Over a year. Year and a half, maybe?”
“Who moved in?”
“A marketing and graphics company. A loud one. They’re young and hip and they like to work to music and make smoothies and they eat like pigs. And they’re loud. It’s like Google moved in next door.”
Leanne just blinked at me for a beat before asking, “What are you, eighty-seven years old? They sound fun. I want to work there.”
With a groan, I let my head drop down a bit. “I know. I’m so bad.”
Leanne’s chuckle made me feel the tiniest bit better. “No, you’re not. You’re just routine and set in your ways, my friend. You don’t like change.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Leanne’s expression looked almost like a dare, and I shut my face. She was right and we both knew it. Which didn’t mean I was unfun. Did it?
My intercom buzzed and Mary told me my next appointment had arrived.
Leanne stood to leave, shaking her head with a grin. “That intercom still cracks me up. She’s literally right there.”
“Hey, we run a professional operation around here. Intercoms are professional.” I snapped the lid back onto the now-empty bowl and handed it to her. “Thank you so much. I needed that.”
“You’re welcome.” Leanne took the bowl and kissed me on the head. “Don’t work too late tonight. Go home and get some rest.”
I almost said, “Yes, Mom,” but that was never a thing that went over well with Leanne, as she was fifteen years my senior—another aspect of why we didn’t work—and had never found it funny to have our age difference pointed out in jest. Instead, I smiled and said simply, “I will.” I followed her out and greeted my next clients, the Carlsons, a newly married couple who’d come directly from their jobs, judging by the business attire they were both wearing. I directed them to head into my office and have a seat as Mary stood and donned her coat.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she told me, then added as an afterthought, “Oh. Leo is next door.”
My eyes flew open wide. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, he loves that redheaded woman. What is her name again?” She gazed at the ceiling.
“Alicia,” I supplied.
“Yes! Alicia. Every time Alicia comes to borrow the bathroom key, he runs right over to her. She says he’s got great energy. He followed her out earlier, and when I called him, she said not to worry, that he was fine and she’d bring him back later. She’s so nice. I like her.” With a little wave, she was out the door, leaving me standing there absorbing the fact that my neighbor had “borrowed” my dog without my permission.
I marched my ass right out into the hall, down it, and stopped in front of the closed door of Just Wright Marketing & Graphic Design, which had been painted a bright and cheerful red in the past day or two. I could see through the glass, around the logo. Four people were seated around a table in front of the enormous whiteboard. Alicia was standing in front of it, pointing with a marker and saying something I couldn’t hear. Leo was in her arms and looked stupidly happy to be there. Alicia said something, Leo gave a little yip, and the people seated all laughed. I couldn’t help it. I smiled.
“All right,” I said to the empty hall. “It’s okay.” I could admit to myself that I was a little jealous Leo was so happy at Just Wright, but he’s a social guy who loves to be around people, and people love him. And I had the Carlsons waiting for me. I headed back to my office, making sure to leave all the doors open so I could see straight out into the hall from my desk chair. I sat down, shot one last glance toward the hall, then turned my focus to my clients.
Two hours later, I had made it through both client meetings and had at least made a small dent in the pile of work I needed to finish by the weekend. But I was exhausted. Leanne’s chicken soup was long gone, and I knew I should eat something—should have eaten something way before now—but my stomach again felt a little wonky. I set my pen down, propped my elbows on my desk, and let my face rest in my hands.
When I registered the gentle tap on the doorjamb, it took me a moment to comprehend whether I’d actually fallen asleep. I didn’t think so, but wasn’t totally sure. I looked up at Alicia Wright in her black-rimmed glasses, Leo in her arms. I could see his tiny nub of a tail sticking out from behind her bicep, wiggling like crazy.
“Well, hello there, my tiny guy,” I said, ridiculously happy to see his furry face. Alicia set him down and he ran to me—the best feeling in the world, really. He leapt up into my lap before I had a chance to bend down and grab him, and he put his front paws up on my chest so he could lavish my face with his kisses. “I missed you,” I said to him, devolving into baby talk before I realized it. “Yes, I did. Yes, I did.” A couple moments of this went by before it occurred to me that Alicia was still here. A glance in her direction showed me that she was leaning against the door frame, arms folded across her chest, an expression of sheer amusement on her face.
“I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed him,” she said. “Mary said you wouldn’t, so…” She let her voice trail off. “He’s just so adorable and was terrific for our brainstorming session.”
I continued loving my dog as I listened. “I was a little surprised,” I said honestly. “But it’s fine, as long as you keep your door closed. Otherwise, he might bolt.”
Alicia said, “Oh,” and gave a quick nod. We both sort of blinked at each other for a beat until she pushed off the door frame, stood up straight, and said, “Come have a drink with us.” It was as though she’d blurted out a secret, because we both looked kind of surprised.
“I’m sorry?”
She jerked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of her office. “We’ve had a long day over there and we’re going to go out for drinks. A lot of times we do that right in the office, but we all feel like we need to get out of here, you know? You’ve been here as long as I have today. Come with us.”
“Oh, no,” I said immediately. “I’ve got more work to do. And then I need to go home.” I unintentionally punctuated that with a cough. “Thank you, though.” Was that an expression of disappointment that zipped across her face? I wasn’t sure.
“You do sound pretty stuffy. I bet a shot of whiskey would help.” She gave me a wink.
“So would a shot of NyQuil,” I responded with a grin.
“Whiskey would taste a hell of a lot better.”
I was shocked to feel myself wavering. “You make a fine point,” I said, although I didn’t actually enjoy the taste of whiskey, so I’m not sure why I said it except…Alicia.
“We’re just going to that place down the sidewalk a bit. Boomer�
��s, is it?”
Boomer’s was a quick two-minute walk, and I could easily lock Leo in the office for a bit. There was something about Alicia, something about her face, her demeanor, that tugged at me. I held up a finger. “One. Only one drink.”
I thought she’d already been smiling but was quickly proven wrong when her entire face lit up. Those blue eyes sparkled; it was obvious, even behind the sexy glasses. “Fantastic! The others already headed down. Let me go lock up and I’ll meet you in the hall.” And she was gone.
“This is a terrible idea,” I said quietly to Leo, as I looked at all the work scattered across my desk. Leo cocked his head at me and I kissed his nose. “But I’m still going. You stay here and hold down the fort, okay? I won’t be long.”
He had everything he needed, so I left the lights on, stuffed several tissues into my purse, and locked both doors behind me.
Alicia came out her own door at the same time and we smiled down the hall at each other. For a brief instant, I had a vision of the two of us in high school, standing at our individual lockers, tossing glances at one another without anybody around us noticing. I tried not to stare as Alicia walked toward me, but I had to force my own eyes away and I pretended to be engrossed by the ring of keys in my hand. So interesting, they were!
“Ready?”
I nodded and followed her down the stairs and out into the chilly evening.
Turned out it was karaoke night at Boomer’s. Which meant it was super loud. The guy singing “You’re So Vain” couldn’t possibly have been more off-key. I actually did a little stutter step in the doorway, as if my head was revolting and physically yanked my body to a halt. But Alicia’s warm hand slid down my arm and closed around my wrist, and she pulled me gently toward her and pressed her lips near my ear.
“Just one,” she said.
I nodded. A) I’d made a promise, and B) her proximity was doing things to me. I couldn’t have left if I’d wanted to. I followed her, noticing she had yet to let go of my wrist, and we stopped at a round table where the rest of Just Wright sat. Alicia directed me into the chair next to Gisele, then headed toward the bar. I watched as she found a spot and squeezed in. The man to her right immediately turned on his stool and struck up a conversation with her. She smiled widely, genuinely, and spoke back.
Fun fact about me: I have zero gaydar. It’s true. Unless somebody is a walking stereotype, I’m never really sure which team they play on, and with Alicia, it was especially difficult because she was touchy. That tended to tip the scales for me. But they could be tipped just as easily in the other direction. So Alicia practically touched her lips to my ear and she almost held my hand on our way in. The scales tip. Then she goes to the bar and a man obviously flirts with her and she obviously flirts back. Scales tip the other way.
“How are you feeling?” Gisele’s voice pulled me back to the table and out of my own head.
“Like my head weighs three hundred pounds.”
“Oh, man. I’m sorry. But I’m glad you’re here.” Her smile was sweet and friendly and it occurred to me that probably nobody ever met Gisele without liking her immediately.
Alicia returned with two whiskeys, neat, and set one in front of me, then sat in the chair to my left. She held up her glass until I picked up my own. “To the end of your cold.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
We clinked glasses and I sipped. I hate whiskey. Did I mention that? It’s awful stuff, like lighter fluid burning its way down my throat. It doesn’t really taste any better than NyQuil, to be honest. But I know it’s good for what ails you, as my grandma would say. And also, the fact that it was suggested by and then purchased by Alicia made it somehow more palatable. Not much, but a little.
Alicia made a face as she swallowed her drink, and I grinned at her.
“Why are we drinking whiskey?” I asked, raising my voice over the girl singing “I Will Survive” so Alicia could hear me.
“Because you’re sick and this is supposed to help.” She held up her glass.
“You’re not sick. Why are you drinking it?”
“I like it.”
I laughed. “No, you don’t.”
“No, I don’t. But I didn’t want you to drink it alone.” Her smile was soft.
“That might be the sweetest thing anybody’s ever said to me.”
Alicia’s eyebrows went up. “You need to get out more, my friend.” She bumped me with a shoulder and suddenly, I didn’t feel so sick.
Wait. No, that’s not true. I still felt sick. But I also felt…happy being out with these people. Happy being out with Alicia. I’d stepped out of my comfort zone of routine and the world hadn’t crumbled. On the contrary, I found myself actually having fun.
“Tell me about how you got Leo,” Alicia said, pulling me out of my head and scooting her chair closer to me. Suddenly, all I could smell was that peaches-and-cream scent of hers.
“Well.” I took another sip of the whiskey because, despite the unpleasant taste, I was starting to feel warm inside and my throat didn’t hurt quite so much. “I’d been single for a while, living on my own. We had a dog when I was a teenager, but he died when I was twenty-three and my parents didn’t want another. I wasn’t ready for one of my own at that time either. But about two years ago, I started thinking about it. I knew I wanted something small—my place isn’t that big—but wasn’t sure where to start. I visited a local shelter just to get a feel for how it’s done.”
Alicia shook her head as she grinned. “Yeah, I can’t do that.”
I furrowed my brow. “What? Rescue?”
“No. ‘Visit’ a shelter.” She made air quotes around the word “visit.” “I would end up bringing them all home.”
“Yeah, well, Leo was there and I had to have him. It was the weirdest thing.”
“Really? How so?”
I thought about it, sipped the whiskey as I tried to recall that day in detail. “It was like he was mine. Like he was already mine and was just waiting for me to come get him.”
Alicia propped an elbow on the table and leaned her head against her hand. “That is so cool.”
“It really took me by surprise.”
“I’m not kidding when I say he has great energy. Everything gives it off, but some more than others, and some have more positive energy than others. That’s why I snagged him earlier. He’s great for creativity. I have no idea why.”
“You have any pets?” I asked, realizing I knew next to nothing about Alicia Wright.
She shook her head and her red hair bounced lightly. “My schedule’s kind of crazy.”
“Yeah, that can make it hard. I lucked out with Leo being okay in my office. Perks of being your own boss, right?”
“Definitely.” Alicia held up her glass and we clinked again, then each emptied our glasses.
“Speaking of, I should go get my boy and finish up some work.” I didn’t want to leave, but the responsible part of me had somehow escaped her binds and gag and was now poking at the part of me that yearned to stay right here, right now, with this woman.
Alicia earned extra points by not trying to stop me. “I’d love for you to stay, but I know you’ve got stuff to do. You promised one, and you kept your promise. Thank you for that.”
That soft smile again. God, she was beautiful.
“Thank you for the invite. Sometimes I need a nudge.”
“I’m making a mental note.”
“Uh-oh.”
Our gazes held as I stood. I turned to the rest of the group and waved my good-byes, feeling the tiniest bit rude for not having conversed with them at all. Next time.
I’m pretty sure I wore a stupid grin the entire walk back to my office, even as I coughed like an organ was about to come up. I hadn’t had that good a time in longer than I could come up with, and I tried to ignore the fact that I was mentally making a list of reasons I might have to see Alicia tomorrow…
Chapter Four
By that Sunday, I was actually start
ing to feel somewhat human again. I lounged on my parents’ couch with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and alternately chatted with my dad and watched him watch MSNBC. Well, mutter at MSNBC was a more accurate description of what he was doing. I rarely caught a whole sentence, but heard lots of “Sons of bitches” and “Hell in a handbasket, this country.”
I sipped my wine, then called out, “Mom, can I help?”
“Nope. You just relax right there. You’re finally feeling better. Don’t jinx it. Drink your wine and talk to your father. I’m fine.” I never saw her—the dining room was in my line of sight, and the kitchen was around a corner from that—but I could hear her just fine, along with the sounds of dishes clattering and pans being moved. I could picture her flitting around the kitchen like a pro in her yoga pants and tunic top, humming to herself or to the little satellite radio she has on the counter. She tended to zero in on one musical artist at a time and then play the crap out of them nonstop until she moved on to the next. She was currently on Adele, which I didn’t mind at all. She actually had a Nicki Minaj phase not too long ago. That was…weird.
“Leo,” I called to my dog. “Are you bothering Grandma?”
“He’s fine,” my mom responded. “Leave him be.”
I grinned and took a sip of my wine.
“You take care of Robichaux?” my father asked, snapping me out of my reverie. His eyes never left the TV, but he was listening.
“Yes. Earlier in the week. That man does not like me.”
“That man doesn’t like anybody. You’re not special.” He glanced at me then, and I caught the twinkle in those blue eyes of his that I am continually annoyed I didn’t inherit. My stupid older brother got them, though. So not fair. “Everything else going okay? You need help? I know you’ve been sick. Don’t let anybody slip through the cracks.”
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