I had no idea what the game-plan was.
Tell Mom and probably Vickie and try not to scream or flinch or cry.
Be a grown-up.
I swallowed. It was much easier said than done when my body was already starting to react to an attack it hadn’t received yet.
“You should take that nice sweater off.” Mom cocked her head, and I watched as West’s muscles tensed. He had a gray v-neck t-shirt underneath. “You wouldn’t want to get it wrecked.
“No, of course not,” West replied, tipping on his heels.
Vickie blinked at him, and I wondered if she was checking him out secretly. Bile rose in my mouth. West was an attractive man — the same age as Bobby would be; her son would be. I could hear my pulse rushing in my ears, and then the words slipped out.
“West did a piece of art for me to remember Bobby by, and if I’m not mistaken, ones for Adam, too.”
Vickie seemed to have a reality check, and a blush crept up her cheeks at the mention of her sons. She breathed in through her nose. “Really?”
West’s brows deepened over his eyes as he looked at me.
“I can show you.” I lifted my chin.
I could do this.
“Really? You have a picture on your phone?” Mom asked, leaning towards me.
I fought the urge to move away as I slipped the sweater off. “Not quite.”
Mom’s eyes flicked to my forearm, and her jaw clenched. “Another one?”
I locked eyes with West. His face was white. I turned so she could see the butterfly on my shoulder.
“This one is for Bobby.”
Mom coughed into her hand, her head swaying back and forth as I slipped the sweater back on. She licked her lips before looking over at West.
“You’re a tattoo artist?” she asked, her voice low.
West twisted the watch on his wrist. “Yeah.”
“A world famous one,” I added, and my eyes went to Vickie.
Her eyes flicked over West’s face, and her voice cracked as she asked, “What did Adam get?”
“A hockey stick crossed with a guitar. It’s on his forearm where Riv has the arrows,” he replied, and his eyes moved to mine as my jaw dropped. He shook his head as if to say no, I didn’t know.
It’s a crazy coincidence.
“I thought you and Adam weren’t speaking?” Vickie asked as she turned to me.
“We haven’t since I left, but West and Adam are good friends. I knew West knew Adam, but West didn’t know I did.” My chest loosened as I saw the softness in Vickie’s eyes.
Her lips parted. “So you each have Bobby with you all the time.”
“Yeah, that’s the point.”
Vickie pressed her fingers to her mouth. “I may not love tattoos, but I can appreciate that.”
Mom’s mouth went slack as she stared at her best friend. She opened her mouth and then closed it before looking at West. He pointed to the kitchen.
“We should get on those dishes.” West slipped his sweater off and handed it to me. Mom’s head jerked back as she eyed him in all his tattooed glory. I saw Angela practically fall off the couch out of the corner of my vision, and I pulled my lips into my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Now, that’s David Beckham,” Vickie said.
I laughed. “Yeah, his nickname is Beck.”
Vickie squeezed my elbow. “I’m going to head home now. It was good seeing you.”
“You too,” I replied, and I meant it for the first time in what seemed like my life.
I looked at Mom, and she had her tongue pressed into her cheek. She blinked hard at me, and I stepped forward.
“Look, you have a right to your opinion, but I expect you to reserve your judgment for when we’re not around and respect us enough to treat us with dignity,” I said, and her eyes widened.
“Okay,” she replied, and I gave her a smile before heading into the kitchen to help West.
Dad turned as I came in the room, and I nodded over my shoulder. “You might want to check on Mom, maybe bring some Aspirin.”
Dad chuckled as he walked past and handed me the drying towel. I bumped my hip into West’s or tried, but since he was so much taller than me, it was more like his thigh.
“How much does your mom hate me now?” West asked, and I could feel the anxiety coming off him in waves.
I leaned up and turned his chin to kiss him. His body relaxed against mine, and I pulled away. “To hell if I care.”
“Oh, what a rebel you are,” he replied, and I wiggled my eyebrows.
“I always told myself I didn’t give a shit what she or Vickie thought.” I dragged my lower lip through my teeth. “But I did. I cared so much.”
“And now?” West asked, handing me a casserole dish to dry.
“I actually don’t. I’m happy, and I’m not going to let them or what they think about the things I love change that,” I said, and the air caught in my lungs as I froze, dish halfway into its cabinet.
Things I loved; West included.
My hand started shaking against the weight of the dish and I put it in its spot, keeping my back turned as I slowly closed the cabinet door. I couldn’t turn around. I didn’t know if West caught what I’d said, and I didn’t want to know what his expression said about how he felt.
Or did I?
His hands found my hips, and his chin went into my shoulder. “Things, huh?”
“Some things more than others,” I replied, turning and putting my arms around his neck.
He arched a brow. “What things?”
I let my hands slip down to his biceps, and then into the back pockets of his pants. He rolled his eyes.
“Can’t you just say it?” he asked, and his green eyes bore into my soul, cracking it open and sealing it closed at the same time.
“Can you?” I asked, and his head jerked with a silent laugh.
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. “I love you, River Ahlers.”
Chapter 14
I thought that going back to work on Monday would suck, but West seemed to be accomplishing his goal of making all of the bad memories good again. I smiled to myself as I headed into the conference room for the team meeting. Charlie winked at me as she slid a Boston Creme donut across the table towards me.
“Sucking up?” I asked, tilting my head at her. “Is there something I should know about that happened while I was on vacation?”
Charlie’s face turned a little red. I already knew they’d missed deadlines, but what they didn’t realize was that I always set their dates to before the real drop dead was. Some of them where efficient, my eyes tipped towards Mark, and others, like Charlie, were great at their jobs as long as you babysat them.
I bit into the donut, and then took a sip of my coffee. The room had been buzzing before I walked in and now it was silent.
“Am I that much of a tyrant?”
Charlie burst into a fit of nervous giggles. “No, but you’re the epitome of efficient, so we figured you’d get right to it. You know, handing some of us our asses.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a tyrant.”
Charlie went red again. I put my hands up.
“We all get behind on things sometimes. Right now.” I glanced down at my to-do list. “I’m behind on approving your designs.”
“But you were on vacation,” Mark said.
“And some of you had a mini-one while I was out,” I replied, and I felt Charlie’s foot begin to tap beneath the table. “It’s fine. We’ll all get back on track now. We’re a relatively new team, and this is the first time we’ve worked together that I’ve taken a vacation.”
The tensed bodies around the table relaxed, and I smiled before clapping my hands together. I was becoming like Jesse, who just happened to be smirking on the teleconference screen up in front of me. I narrowed my eyes at him quickly before turning back to the team.
“How many of you have heard of the MITX Awards?” I asked, and a few hands went up. “Ch
arlie?”
“It’s the largest competition in the country for digital marketing and technology innovation.”
“Exactly, and we’ve aimed to be disruptors in this field. We make people follow us instead of us following someone else. I’d like to enter one of our portfolios in the Integrated Media Campaign category.” I pressed my palms together as I stared at the project leaders at the conference table. “We’re going to have a little internal competition. Each team will select their best portfolio for this year and present it to Jesse and me by the end of the week. We’ll then select one of them to be entered into the competition based on the criteria of creativity, integration of elements, unique brand proposal, and unique marketing approach. Whether or not we win, we’d like to give our internal winner a special treat on us. Your team’s choice, within reason. You’ll need to meet with your team and choose the portfolio. I’m sure that we’ll make it to the finalist circle with the teams we have here. Questions?”
“Do we get extra points if your photography was used for the campaign?” Charlie asked and a blonde eyebrow arched.
I blinked at her, my lips in a stern line as I contained a smirk. “Good try. I’m completely impartial to my photography, despite what you might think. It’s probably a better idea not to.”
Her red lips tipped up at the edges, and for a moment my mind drifted to Tara. She loved red lips, and she rocked them better than Charlie. I shook the thought from my head.
“Any other questions?” I asked.
“What’s considered within reason?” Joe asked, leaning forward and scratching his finger over his mustache as his eyes drifted to the window.
Such a hipster. Another thought I probably shouldn’t have.
“First, it has to be something that wouldn’t make anyone else in the office feel awkward. As far as from a monetary perspective, think a few hundred dollars total. About sixty dollars per team member.” I looked around the table. “Anything else? Great, so meet with your respective teams and have your best proposal prepared for next Monday’s team meeting. You’ll pitch it to Jesse and me like you would a client.”
I watched as the team dispersed, talking amongst their teams about potential projects to pitch. Of course, I’d seen all of them already, but I was interested in what they felt they did the best. My eyes moved to Jesse still on the screen, and I took another bite of my donut.
“Yes?” I said after swallowing.
Jesse made a steeple of his fingers, closing his eyes. “And the student becomes the teacher.”
I shook my head. “I knew you would say something like that.”
“I don’t get why you’re still having me remote in for these meetings. You have this, Riv. I trust you.” He leaned back. “Now, you just have to trust yourself.”
I exhaled through my nose. “I’ll get there.”
“It’s still my job to teach you. So after this contest we’re having, I’m off these meetings unless there’s something company-wide we need addressed. Okay?”
I forced a smile, wiping my already sweating palms against my slacks. “You got it, Boss.”
Jesse rolled his eyes. “Now, how was your vacation? Did you eat a ton of turkey? Meet the parents?”
“Yes, and yes.”
“And I’m taking it went well?”
“His parents seemed to love me.” At the mention of love, my face burned red, and Jesse’s eyebrow hitched up.
“You’re definitely good for each other,” Jessie said, and he didn’t push on the subject. “So how are you doing? I know this is a rough time of year. I was surprised you wanted to take a vacation. I was even more surprised when West started posting pictures of you two all over Boston. I have to say I’m glad you took an actual vacation.”
“West is making sure the bad memories become good ones.” My gaze drifted to the window across the way, knowing that just down the road there’s was an orange Audit TT. I looked back up at Jesse. “I’ll be making sure to take all my vacation time from here on out.”
Jesse tipped his head back and laughed. “Exactly what I wanted to hear. I can’t wait to see the results.”
My brow furrowed. “The results?”
Jesse tapped his desk. “You’re impressive running on empty. I doubt I’ve ever seen you fully-charged. Vacations are like outlets to plug your battery into, especially when you have someone to spend them with. So where to next?”
I looked at the ceiling, leaning back in the chair as my body tingled. “My dad mentioned that Las Vegas might be a good place to hit next.”
Jesse choked on his water. “I didn’t think you were much of a gambler.”
“Yeah.” I smirked up at him. “But I’m starting to see there are certain things worth doing — even if there’s risk involved.”
“Very true. Sometimes the greatest risks have the best rewards.”
We smiled at each other, and I knew, in true Jesse fashion, neither of us was talking about losing money.
Chapter 15
Jesse turned in the chair to look at me, his trouser riding up to show a hint of his tattoo as he tapped his fingers on his knee. His eyes moved upwards, and I followed them to see West coming in the entrance.
“Lunchtime?” Jesse asked.
“No.” I leaned sack and crossed my arms. “Not until you help me pick our winner.”
Jesse put his hands up. “They’re all great, Boss.”
I inhaled, letting the air stagnate in my lungs. For two hours we’d been going back and forth like this. I’d been trying to get Jesse to hint at who he’d select, but he kept avoiding it.
West knocked on the glass door and Jesse waved him in, his eyes still on me.
“Hey.” West leaned down and kissed my cheek. Jesse and I continued to stare each other down, and West stepped back looking at us. “Something going on here?”
“He won’t help me select the winners for the competition.”
“The one you came up with?” West asked, and my eyes moved up to him. “You did!” He sat down across from me and leaned back. “Boss.“
My eyelashes fluttered against my cheeks. “You’re in on this.”
“Well, I am hungry,” West replied.
Jesse tapped his fingers again. “Me too.”
My face burned red. “Seriously? I knew I shouldn’t date someone who was friends with my boss.”
Jesse’s shoulders rose. “I did warn you against him.”
“Okay.” I bit the inside of my cheek as I looked at the papers in front of me. I flipped through each, landing on my favorite. My stomach twisted as I turned the paper and slid it across the table to Jesse and West.
They both leaned forward, and then looked at each other.
“What do you think?” Jesse asked West.
“I think she’s incredibly smart and should stop doubting herself.” West patted Jesse on the shoulder. “You taught her well.”
“Good choice,” Jesse replied, giving me a nod. “Now, burgers?”
~~~
“I’m sure you’re all excited to see who won our internal competition.” I paused looking around the table and pressing my lips tight to keep from smiling. The team leaned forward against the conference table, eyes wide in anticipation. “Charlie’s team of Maggie, Claire, Tony, and Veronica won with their Webs Bank integrated plan. Everyone give them a hand!”
Charlie and her team members high-fived one another as we clapped for them.
“This team did a great job. The word team is the key here. They worked together capitalizing on each other’s strengths and keeping one another on track for an effective and efficient rollout,” I said.
The other teams stood, offering congratulations as the left the room. My face warmed with pride as I stared at the remaining team members. “So…what did you decide you wanted for a prize?”
Charlie looked at the other members of her group, biting her lip before turning to me with red cheeks. “We’d like to go to the Makeshift Chemistry concert next week at the Palladium.
”
“I’m glad we have the same taste in music, who else is playing with them?” My stomach twisted as I sat down.
“Well… we really just want to see one of the other bands playing with them. They’re from Boston,” Maggie replied, rubbing her palms together as I felt my jaw clench. Please don’t let it be them. “Fade Burn. Have you heard of them?”
I blinked hard, my mouth half open as the room became too hot. I pulled at the collar of my shirt. “Yeah, I know of them.”
I should’ve known. My eyes flicked to Charlie. I knew she loved them.
“It’s only $25 per ticket, so that should be within reason, right?” Charlie asked.
Bile rose up my throat as my brain started misfiring.
Can I get out of this?
No, that’s not fair to your team.
West said you should see him again.
I plastered on a smile. “Looks like maybe we’ll even get dinner and a limo.”
Charlie and Maggie squealed, and my ears rang. I laughed, putting my finger in my ear to stop it.
“Just think of where you want to go to dinner and let me know,” I said as I stood. “Now back to work.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Charlie replied. “Effective and efficient.”
I shook my head as I followed them out of the conference room and went to my office. I wished I could shut the door and lean my head back against it, but the fishbowl prevented me from showing any emotion. I sat at my desk, staring at my blank computer screen.
I was going to see Adam perform. I fought the urge to sink my head into my hands as memories of the last time swarmed in my mind. I’d walked away from him that day.
The phone rang and I jumped as Jesse’s name appeared on the screen. I inhaled through my nose before picking it up.
“So how did it go?” Jesse asked with his voice chipper, as always. I could almost see him looking at me over his reading glasses.
“Great,” I replied, trying my best to keep my voice level.
“Then why do you sound like that?” Jesse asked, and I could hear him shuffle the papers on his desk.
“No reason.”
Finding Perfection Page 7