by Durano, Liz
* * *
After everyone leaves, Parker does more than just wait. Over a lively discussion about Auburn Springs’ hiking trails, Parker and Jim tidy up the living room and kitchen while Lisa and I help Mom settle in her favorite armchair in front of the TV. The party pretty much tired her out and it shows even though she keeps telling us she’s staying up to watch her favorite show.
“It’s already set to record, Mom,” I say as I rest a blanket over her. “You can always watch it tomorrow.”
Mom eyes me suspiciously. “Actually, instead of fussing over me, you should go and join your boyfriend out there. Maybe go out and do something fun, just you two.”
“Mom, he’s not my boyfriend.”
She chuckles. “The Nile is a river in Egypt, you know.”
“Mom, it’s not like I’m staying home for good or he’s moving to New York or something. We’re just friends.”
“Who’s saying anything about moving out or staying for good?” She asks, the smile fading from her face. “All I’m saying is that you two should have some fun. You two look great together, and everyone at the party pretty much agreed.”
I sigh. “It’s just happening so fast, that’s all. Besides, I came home to take care of you, not fool around with the town’s new doctor.”
“What’s this about fooling around? Is that what you two are doing? Fooling around? But even if you were, it’s none of my business,” she says. “Besides, you’ve always taken care of me, honey. Actually, you take care of everyone, even that boss of yours who takes all the credit. Maybe it’s time to take care of you.”
“Mom, but you just had a–”
“A what? A fall that led to a hip replacement?” She sighs. “That’s life, Ava. Things happen, and even though I was scared when it happened, we can only do so much. Besides, I’m not getting any younger and if I’m really honest with you, I want you to be happy. I want to see you in love.” She pauses, smiling softly. “I even want grandkids.”
My throat tightens but I don’t say anything.
“Yet look at you,” Mom continues. “Instead, here you are trying to convince yourself that you’re going to be a good daughter no matter what, even though that man out there is so into you that he hasn’t even bothered to look at any other woman the whole day. Live your life, Ava. I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”
I look at her, the woman who raised a precocious ten-year-old on her own after her husband left her. For so long, I’d made it my goal to do everything I could to make her life easier even if it meant moving across the country to find the best opportunities.
But I’m stubborn. I’m also scared.
“Basically you’re telling me to go and get laid?” I ask as Mom sighs.
“No, Ava, although if that’s what rocks your boat, then go right ahead and jump the guy. Everyone in town already agrees that you two are perfect for each other. But do you know what makes me even happier?”
I narrow my eyes. “What?”
“You haven’t looked at your phone all day.”
Chapter Twelve
Parker
“Sounds like you two are going on a hike or something,” Ava says as she returns to the kitchen. “I overheard you guys talking about that hiking trail off Wilson Street? Isn’t that the one that goes to that old mining shaft?”
She looks beautiful, her brown hair falling loose over her shoulders. When I received her invitation to join her and her mother for the annual Easter egg hunt-slash-picnic, I would have moved heaven and earth to attend it. Luckily, I don’t work on Sundays.
“One day, yeah, although I doubt I’ll be able to catch up with this whippersnapper here,” Jim replies as he switches on the dishwasher. “Parker has pretty much tackled most of the hiking trails already and to think he just moved here six months ago.”
I grin. “Can’t be surrounded by hospitals walls forever, not when I’ve got the Sierra Nevadas right outside my doorstep.”
“Maybe you two can do it together, Ava.” Jim turns to look at me. “Ava used to hike a lot before she moved to New York. In the winter she even snowshoed although I don’t know if she still does. It’s been awhile since she’s been home.”
“Don’t worry, Jim. I’ll come back in the winter and we can go snowshoeing,” Ava says.
“Is Lisa with your mom?” Jim asks and Ava nods. “I’ll join them then. That show we’re all hooked on is about to start. Never was into dragons but your mom got Lisa and me into it by the second season after they killed the damn hero in the first one.” He turns toward me and shakes my hand. “Really great talking to you, Parker. Guess you guys are off to do something more interesting than standing around the kitchen talking about hiking trails?”
I glance at Ava. “It depends on Ava. She must be tired.”
“Backing out already?” She teases, her eyes narrowing. “I’m game if you are.”
Jim clucks his tongue, grinning. “Well, I’ll leave you two to whatever it is you do then.”
As he leaves, I pull Ava toward me and wrap my arms around her. “Hey you.”
“Hey yourself. I can’t believe you thought I forgot about our plan earlier,” she says as I kiss her softly on the lips. “By the way, thank you for helping with the clean up. You didn’t have to but I appreciate it very much.”
“You’re welcome. Less work for you and your mom,” I say, kissing the tip of her nose.
“Want to go for a drive?”
Her smile broadens. “Does this drive happen to end with spending the night with you?”
“Of course.” I kiss her on the lips, breathing the scent of her skin and her hair.
“Thought you’d never ask, Dr. O’Neill.”
Ten minutes later, we say our goodbyes to her family and walk to my SUV. As I pull open the passenger door for her, Ava grabs the collar of my jacket and pulls me toward her, our lips pressing together. She tastes of strawberries and hometown charm, a reminder of the afternoon we just spent together coming back to me amidst all the other emotions hitting me. I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I arrived at the party, wanting nothing more than to pull her in some dark corner and do all the things I’ve been dreaming of doing to her since we last saw each other.
“I’m tired of being a good girl,” she whispers when she pulls away.
“Then be bad.”
She giggles. “That’s my plan. What’s yours?”
“I want to be just as bad as you want to be.”
She bites her lip as she studies my face. “Then what are we waiting for?”
I step back, still holding her with one hand, my other hand reaching for the door handle. I don’t see the car until its headlights are right on us and a door opens.
“What the hell, Ava? Is this the real reason you haven’t answered my messages? Because of him?”
“Ryan! What are you doing here?” Ava steps away from me, looking shocked as she stares at the man standing outside the Mercedes parked behind us, its engine still running.
“I’ve been trying to reach you since last night but you never answered my calls or messages.”
Ava rests her hands on her hips. “That’s because I’m on family leave, Ryan.”
“Family leave? You said your mother broke her hip,” Ryan says. “Instead, here you are fooling around with some guy.”
I don’t care if this guy is Ava’s boss but none of my bosses ever showed up at my house when I was on personal leave. I stand in front of Ava, blocking Ryan’s attempt to reach for her. “If you can’t talk to her with respect, I suggest you leave.”
Ryan glares at me. “Who the fuck asked you?”
“I’m Parker O’Neill. And you?” I reply but he doesn’t answer, his gaze on Ava before he faces me again. “You could at least start with telling me who you are instead of harassing Ava in public.”
“Parker, it’s okay,” Ava says as she tugs at my arm.
“No, it’s not okay, Ava,” I say, my eyes still on Ryan. “You may be her boss,
but if she is on leave, she’s on leave. You shouldn’t be here.”
Ryan scoffs, eyeing me up and down. I almost want to deck him but I don’t. “I may be her boss, man, but I’m also her boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend,” Ava says angrily. “We broke up last year, remember? I can’t believe you’re pulling this crap, Ryan.”
Ryan exhales. “Look, I’m here because I promised you that promotion and you’re getting it. For real.”
Ava stares at him. Disbelief registers on her face followed by suspicion. “You’re just saying that.”
“Babe, I wouldn’t have come all the way here to tell you myself.”
“You could have just called,” Ava says, her frown deepening.
“I know, but I’m not doing the meeting without you,” Ryan says. “I want both of us there. Actually, the whole team is going to be there except for you. But without you… your leadership, it won’t feel right making the presentation. I mean, we spent the last five months on this, Ava.”
“But I’m on leave. My mother fell off a ladder.”
“I know and I’m sorry. But you’re the reason the project got done,” Ryan replies. “Hell, you’re the reason we got the account in the first place and now, two campaigns back to back. And that’s why they want you to do the presentation. You’re the reason they took on Pearson Media, Ava. Because you’re the best they’ve ever seen.”
Still glaring at him, Ava crosses her arms in front of her but I can see her expression soften. “But the presentation is tomorrow. That’s too soon. I have to book–”
“The company plane can fly us back,” he says. “As soon as you pack your bags and come with me.”
The front door opens and from the corner of my eye, I see Ava’s mom and Lisa step out.
“Is everything okay?” Her mother asks and Ava doesn’t answer, the expression on her face seeming to reveal how torn she feels.
I take her expression of uncertainty as my cue. I know how bad she’s worked for her dream and I’m not about to stand in her way of getting it, not when it’s so close.
“Ava, I’m going to go,” I say, squeezing her hand. “Thanks so much for inviting me to the party. I had a great time.”
“Parker, I …” her voice falters, her grip on my wrist loosening.
“It’s alright.” My chest tightens when I see it, the expression on her face similar to the one that had probably been on mine when I knew I’d completed the last day of my three-year residency. After nonstop eighty-hour work weeks, I finally earned the distinction of being a specialist of neurology.
For Ava, it’s the promotion she told me about that night when I caught her typing away on her phone at three in the morning. It’s that corner office with the Instagram-worthy view of Manhattan, the one that has everyone who knows her so proud of her for making it in the Big Apple.
And right this minute, it’s within her grasp.
And really, for a guy she only had a one-night-stand with, who the hell am I to stand in her way?
Chapter Thirteen
Ava
It’s been three weeks since that night when Ryan showed up outside the house in Auburn Springs, three long weeks since Parker drove away. I could have stopped him. I could have told Ryan to go to hell and Parker and I could have gone for that drive.
But I didn’t.
Instead, after watching Parker leave, I told my mother that Ryan and I had a meeting to present in the morning and I had to leave. I can’t forget the way she, Lisa and her husband looked at me with disappointment in their eyes. After all, I’d come home to take care of Mom and make sure she’d be okay after returning from the hospital. I was supposed to stay for another week and make sure she had everything else in place, from her physical therapy sessions to her medication.
But in the end, my ego won. My ambition was too strong, that desire for recognition and success.
It was lame, I know. I’d told myself that Lisa and Jim were with her every day so I wasn’t really abandoning her. She wasn’t exactly alone.
And since the client we were presenting the marketing campaign to was the very client I’d convinced back in Las Vegas to go with Pearson Media over everyone else, I needed to be there. It didn’t even matter if the client wanted me to head the presentation. I wanted everyone to know that the whole team worked together for months to get everything perfect, in accordance with the client’s goals. And if we nailed it, I wanted to find out for myself.
And so I was there for the presentation and Ryan didn’t even attempt to take full credit. It helped that I’d been shooting daggers at him throughout the entire flight for having the audacity to come to my house to get me. Even worse, for lying about still being my boyfriend when we haven’t been together for over a year. For a guy who couldn’t admit to anyone that we even dated officially, there he was announcing it to Parker.
But what’s done is done and to be honest, it didn’t turn out too bad. The client was impressed and the marketing campaign got its official start yesterday. This morning, I received my promotion to Creative Director and I finally get to admire the view of Manhattan from the corner office I’d always wanted.
I could take pictures of the view and post them all over my social media. After all, how does that saying go again? Pics or it didn’t happen.
But I don’t post any pictures. I don’t even take any. It’s a concrete jungle out there and I’d made it to one of the top rungs with more to go.
“You alright? For someone who just got a big promotion, you haven’t been celebrating like everyone else out there,” Bailey says when she enters my office. With my move, she now has a bigger desk right outside my door. She also has her own assistant who can get her coffee.
“Just admiring the view,” I say, looking out at the bustling city below. Outside my office, everyone in my department is celebrating the launch with cake and coffee. After work, I’ll be meeting them for dinner.
“Your mother is doing well, I hope?” Bailey asks and I nod.
“She’s healthy, and that’s what matters.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to spend as much time as you would have wanted with her,” she says. “Ryan was a mess while you were gone. The poor guy had no idea what to do after he accidentally deleted one of the project files.”
We both chuckle as if sharing an inside joke although I’ve been wondering if the joke is on us in the end. Because of our project’s success, he was promoted as Social Media Manager, managing all social media platforms of Pearson Media and its affiliate businesses.
I’ve heard that Ryan’s father had known all along Ryan wasn’t cut out to be a Creative Director. But seeing Ryan willing to go to any lengths to get the job done was enough for Craig Pearson to decide that his youngest son was no slacker. He may be terrible managing a team of creatives, but he’d do anything to get the job done no matter what. In the end, you got to do what you got to do.
In the end, I got the promotion I’d spent the last seven years busting my ass for. I also got the corner office.
There’s a knock on the door and Bailey and I both turn around to see Jack, one of our interns, bringing a bouquet of green and white flowers arranged in a white ceramic vase. Two delicate curly willow branches curve perfectly amidst the blooms.
“This came for you, Miss Turner.” Jack sets the vase on the desk.
“That’s absolutely gorgeous,” Bailey says, her eyes wide. “ It’s so… so California.”
“Probably from my mother,” I mutter as the heady combination of scents from the hyacinth, hellebore, amaryllis, and gardenias fill the room. I pluck the card nestled amidst the blooms and open the envelope.
Funny, I’d told my mother not to send me any flowers when I broke the news about my promotion this morning. But of course, she’s not about to listen to me.
But as I see the note written on the card, I realize it’s not from her. I do, however, imagine her telling everyone she knows about my promotion.
It makes the send
er of the flowers make sense and one that he probably did out of courtesy. After all, I allowed myself to be vulnerable with him. I just don’t understand why he’d still want to talk to me after my actions that night made it crystal clear that relationships came second to my career. I’ve never even tried to call him since I left. Honestly, I’m too embarrassed.
Ava, congratulations on your promotion. Your mother told me this morning and I’m very happy for you. Really happy. I hope the view from your corner office is just as you’ve imagined it to be, Parker.
“He must be someone special,” Bailey says as she makes her way to the door.
“Why do you say that?” I tuck the note back in its envelope and lean in to smell the gardenia.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile since you got back. Like, really smile,” she says. “And after knowing you all this time, the Ava I know would have been out there giving everyone the pep talk about the next project in the morning. Instead, she’s hiding in her office wishing she were somewhere else.”
“I’m just tired, I guess,” I say. “It’s been a crazy week since I got back. One minute, I was in Auburn Springs and the next, I’m here in my very own corner office with a killer view of Manhattan.”
I sigh, the conviction of my words missing from my voice especially since it’s been three weeks since I got back. Even Bailey doesn’t look convinced.
“I understand the change,” she says. “I just wish you were happy about it.”
“I am.”
“Anyway, I’ll be right outside if you need me,” she says, opening the door to the laughter of my team outside. “I’ll make sure to reserve a slice of cake for you.”
“Thanks, Bailey.” As she shuts the door behind her, I tuck the note back into its envelope. Picking up my phone, I take a picture of the flowers, the view of the city in the background. I take a deep breath and text it to Parker.