by Susan Cairns
Back in my Jeep, I bring up my GPS and search for a hotel close to my new apartment, which happens to be a couple of streets over from where Taylor lives. Step one done. Step two will be tomorrow when I move in, then step three will be getting Taylor to listen to me.
“You know, you owe me so big for this,” Jordan yells as he slides out from the driver seat of the U-Haul truck I rented.
“Trust me, I know. You’ve only said it a million times.”
“Just wanted to make sure it was damn clear. Now, what floor is this apartment on?”
“The first, thank god.”
“You can say that again. Let’s get this shit inside so we can have a beer,” Jordan suggests as he rounds the truck and lifts the door.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I walk away to go unlock for us.
With just the two of us, it takes about an hour to get all of the big things moved in, mostly because of the damn king-sized mattress. Trying to bend it enough to fit through the door almost ripped the doorframe right out—not the first impression I want to make with my landlord. Thank god my bedroom is big enough for it though, since that was never a thought that crossed my mind.
Jordan is in the living room, putting together the TV stand, while I’m in the bedroom, unpacking my clothes. My brother may be the biggest pain in my ass, but when I need him or need advice, he’s the first person to drop everything and be there for me.
“This is actually a nice place considering it’s in the middle of Collegeville, USA,” Jordan says as he leans up against the doorjamb of my bedroom.
“Yeah, it’s not bad, but I don’t think they rent these units out to the students.”
“Clearly you didn’t see the fiery redhead.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
“What the hell does being a redhead have to do with being a student?”
“She looks like one. I was just saying that if you saw her, you would take back what you said about students living here.”
“Do me a favor. If you see her again, stay the hell away from her. I have to live here, not you.”
“You could at least let me have some fun since you made me drive eight hours hauling your shit here.”
“Jordan,” I warn, “stay away from my neighbors.”
“Fine, I’ll behave, but only because you just moved in. Next time I visit, all bets are off.”
“Next time you visit, you can do whatever the hell you want.”
“I’m glad you’re being agreeable. So how about that beer?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. Hey, what time is your flight leaving tomorrow?”
“Not until six, so you’ve got me to help you all day.”
“Fantastic,” I say, my voice laced with sarcasm. “Let’s get that truck turned in then get something to eat. I’m starving.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Jordan follows me with the truck, and after we drop it off, we head downtown so I can show him a little bit of Buffalo, maybe entice him to pack it up and move here. We end up at 716, and I think I’ve got him. The two-story TV screen that only plays sports, along with the line of taps for the local beers, has him begging me to bring him back, but only after I find out where each and every brewery is located. He’s got a big thing for beer, which I knew would be an attraction. It’s also the reason I have to make sure he doesn’t fall as we walk back to the Jeep.
On Sunday, Jordan lays around the apartment, nursing his hangover, while I get the rest of my stuff set up. I call it a day around noon, so we order takeout and play some video games until I have to take him to the airport. I drop Jordan at the curb but get out so I can give him a hug. I tell him to take care of Mom and Dad, and he tells me to fix things with my girl. After promising to keep him posted, I get back in the car and pull away, thankful he supports this decision.
Pulling in the parking lot, I expect to see Taylor’s car, but the spot she usually parks in is empty. When I walk by her desk, that’s empty too. I don’t just mean that she’s absent; I mean there’s nothing on the desk. Her personal things are gone. The pictures of her and Casey at Fran’s, the small bamboo plant, and her cups full of pens, all gone. If I didn’t know this was her desk, I definitely wouldn’t be able to tell now. I try not to linger. There aren’t many people in the office, but I still don’t want anyone reading too much into my behavior.
It’s been over a week since I saw her or talked to her, and it’s getting to me. I was hoping to see her this morning, even if she wouldn’t talk to me. I don’t even know if she got my letter. Lost in thought, I don’t even see Miranda step into my office doorway.
She clears her throat. “Reid, can I have a minute?” She shuts the door before flipping on the overhead lights.
Leaning back in my chair, I straighten my back and give Miranda my full attention, though I’m about to shit my pants thinking she’s going to fire me.
“How’s your dad?” She asks moving beside the chair in front of my desk.
“He’s doing good. Well, as good as can be expected. Thank you for asking.”
“That’s good to hear.” She gives me a long look. Miranda, with her beige pantsuit and white-blond hair pulled tight at the back of her neck, is intimidating as hell, especially right now. I’m sure she didn’t just come in here to ask about my dad.
“I get the feeling there’s something you want to talk about.”
“Good observation,” she cocks her head to the side. “But I think it’s more like something you might want to tell me,” she says, tipping her head to the side, pressing her lips into a thin line.
Fuck, she knows. “I’m sorry, I’m drawing a blank.”
“Cut the shit, Reid.” Miranda advises, moving her hands to her hips, while squaring her shoulders. “And excuse me for being so unprofessional, but I said the same thing to Taylor when she tried to pull this bullshit with me. I know what happened between the two of you, and now I’m without one of my most promising employees.”
“She quit?” I ask, my brows shooting up to my hair line.
“Yes, she quit. She swears up and down that it has nothing to do with you, but I think she’s lying. So tell me, why did you do it?”
“I really don’t think I should explain this to you. I haven’t even talked to Taylor about it yet.”
“I’ll give you that, but you need to fix this and I’m not telling you to do it for me. I’m telling you to do it for her. The minute that girl met you, she changed. I’ve known her for a long time, and I’ve never seen her the way I did when she was with you. So fix it.”
“Do you think that’ll make her come back here?”
“No,” Miranda shakes her head and lowers her hands to her sides. “The offer she got was amazing. I would have taken it if they gave it to me. But I made sure she’s able to come back if she decides it’s not for her.”
“Good,” I deadpan, looking Miranda right in the eyes.
“She kept up with your clients, you know.” Miranda says taking a step forward, knocking on the top of my desk. “I typed up her notes and e-mailed them to you over the weekend.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“Reid,” Miranda’s voice goes softer. “I’m really glad your dad’s doing better. I lost my dad to a heart attack a few years ago, so when you told me,” she shakes her head, “all of those old feelings came back. That’s a tough thing to go through.”
“I’m sorry about your dad.”
She waves me off, “It was a long time ago. Have a good day, Reid.” Miranda exits as quickly as she entered.
Taylor fucking quit? I can’t believe it. I really hope she got an offer she couldn’t refuse and that it didn’t have anything to do with me. Only one person can tell me what really happened though, and I know the only way to get to her is through her stomach. I pick up my phone, finding Casey’s usual, and mobile order a venti mocha frappe to be picked up in ten minutes, then I jump up from my chair and head out the door. I run into the crowd of people trying to make it in bef
ore eight-thirty and run right into Casey, who gives me the nastiest look I’ve ever seen. Maybe I’ll have to bribe her for a few days before I try to approach her, I think as I move into the parking lot.
Three days and three mochas later, I’ve finally grown balls big enough to approach Casey, but I still do it like I’m easing my way toward an angry bear. When I get to her cube, she’s facing her computer with her ear buds in, her head bobbing to the beat in her ears. Shit, I have to announce my arrival so I don’t startle her, but I’m not sure of the best way to do that.
Lingering outside of the cube door gets her attention and she ends up scaring the shit out of me. “Reid, what the hell are you doing? My drink is melting all over your hands!”
“Here,” I say, stepping forward to hand her the coffee.
“I was wondering when you were going to finally come talk to me, although I’ve kind of enjoyed this treatment all week.” She tips her drink toward me before putting the straw at her lips and taking a long sip. “So what took you so long? Were you scared?”
“Maybe,” I say, not afraid to admit the truth.
Casey burst out laughing as I step into her cube and sit on the long part of her desk. “You know I was on your side, right? Well, not with the whole cheating on your girlfriend thing, but from the beginning. I told Taylor there was something between the two of you. I’ve also been telling her to pick up the phone every time you call her, but she won’t budge on that.”
“Thanks for trying—”
“So you need some help getting through to her?” Casey asks, cutting me off.
“You want to help me even after what I did?” I ask, my brows shooting to my hair line.
“I’m not going to lie, I wanted to rip your balls off at first,” Casey says examining her nails. “But Taylor told me how you’ve been trying to reach out to her. Let’s just say I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” She leans forward in her chair.
“Thank you. Now do you have any ideas of how I can get her to talk to me?”
“It’s going to cost you.” She smirks, adding a wink.
“Of course it will. Let me guess, coffee for a month?”
She gives me a devious smile. “That’s a good idea, but not what I was thinking.”
“Okay, so what are you thinking?”
“Well, Crabfest started at Red Lobster and I really love crab, so I was thinking that you should take me there and feed me if you want info.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I ask tipping my head and thinning out my lips.
“I never kid about crabs,” she declares then giggles again.
“All right,” I relent, while rolling my eyes. I should have known it was going to take more than Starbucks to get through to Casey this time. “Tonight I’ll take you to Red Lobster, but before then, I want you to give me something.”
Casey gives me a pleased smile before asking, “What’s that?”
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s fine.” Casey waves her hand around, pretty much brushing off my concern. “I mean, she avoided me the entire weekend after things went to shit, but when I saw her that Monday, she was herself. Maybe a little pissed when I asked her what happened, but she didn’t seem overly upset or anything.”
“Oh,” I remark while rubbing my beard.
“Don’t worry,” Casey shakes he head with an exaggerated smile on her face. “I know Taylor. She’s still hung up on you. This is just what she does to make everyone think she’s moved on. But you changed her. It’s not something she can just get over. Meet me here at five.” She swivels her chair around to face her computer, putting an end to our conversation.
With a nod, I lift myself from the desk and walk back to my office. I have no idea where to go from here, but Casey’s her best friend and knows her best, so I’ll take whatever she can give me.
The rest of the day seems to go in slow motion. Every time I walk by Taylor’s old cube, I get a pain in my chest, and after what happened with my dad, I’m starting to get a little concerned. When five finally rolls around, I pack up my things and make my way to Casey’s cube, where she’s waiting with a big smile. In true Casey form, she lets me know I’m also playing chauffeur, but I don’t argue. No matter which way I look at it, she’s the piece of the puzzle I need to get to Taylor.
Chapter Eighteen
Taylor
It’s Friday and I’m way too tired to go to Fran’s. It’s the first time in… I can’t even remember, that we’re skipping the bar to hang at my house. After I sent Case a text telling her I was out for tonight, she offered to pick up some takeout and wine so we could just chill at my house. I’m not going to lie, it smells a little fishy, but right now, that sounds like the perfect night. Learning a new job with a completely different company is exhausting, but thankfully I got out at four-thirty today, so I could come home and veg for a while before Case gets here.
After taking a quick shower then throwing on some leggings and a T-shirt, I’m sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels, wishing I was about to get a coffee instead of wine. My eyes are heavy and my brain is so full. The one good thing about this week is that I was way too busy to think about Reid and how he’s processing everything that happened while he was gone. Although I’ve been kind of worried about his dad. It sucks that that was the call he was on when I dropped the cake on his desk. Oh well, I guess that’s what you get when you’re a raging asshole.
“Ding, dong,” Casey says through the screen of my open front door.
“Hey, woman! You’re early,” I call as I haul myself up from the couch to let her in.
“Yeah, I snuck out at four-thirty. Thought we’d get an early start since you’re so tired,” she mocks with a whiny voice.
“It’s been a busy week. I’m trying to learn a whole new job, you know!” I whine through the screen without opening the door, even though that’s exactly why she’s picking on me.
“I know, and I can imagine it’s making your oversized brain hurt just a little,” she says, holding her thumb and forefinger together, then she slams her hands on her hips, jostling the bag of food hanging from her wrists. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to let me in? The food’s getting cold,” She says lifting her arms, letting the bags swing back and forth again.
“I thought you were getting sushi?” I ask, confused as to why it would be getting cold, as I flip the little lock then push the door open for her.
“I did. I just wanted you to open the door faster,” she replies as she passes me.
“You’re such a weirdo.”
“I may be weird, but you still love me!” she tosses over her shoulder as she makes her way to the coffee table to dump the bags.
“True. So how was work this week?”
“Don’t you mean how did Reid react to you not being there anymore?”
“No, I meant exactly what I said.” I sit down on the couch, leaning forward to shuffle through the sushi containers.
She picks up a container then rounds the coffee table, plopping down next to me on the couch. “Whatever, I’m going to tell you about him anyway. You want to know why?”
“Enlighten me,” I answer, flipping my hand.
“Because he paid me with food and drink and because even though he did a really douchey thing, I have to say I’m still Team Reid.”
“Are you fucking serious right now?”
“Dead.” She shoves a California roll into her mouth.
“I can say one thing, he certainly learned how to get to you.”
Casey holds out her finger while she chews enough to let her talk again. “It’s really not hard to figure out.”
“At least you’re not denying that.” I giggle and Case joins me, food flying out of her mouth. “You know, you’re kind of a slob too.”
“I’ll clean it up.”
“You better, because that’s gross.”
She gives me the evil eye. “It’s just rice, and I said I wou
ld clean it up.”
“So what did Reid have to say for himself?”
“Nope, not going to tell you. The only thing I’m going to say is that you need to talk to him, hear him out. And I’m not saying that only because I’m Team Reid. I’m also Team Taylor and I think you’re lying to yourself when you say you don’t want to talk to him.”
“You think after what he did, he deserves a chance to explain things to me?”
“I do, but not for his benefit, for yours.”
“Fine, when and where?”
“You think I set this up? Oh no, honey, you need to text him and figure that out. I’ve done my part and I bought dinner tonight, so I’m out.”
“Oh my god, you’re really going to make me do this?” I ask, not expecting an answer since Casey has shoved another full roll into her mouth.
“I’m not making you do anything,” she says around the food. “You want to talk to him. I’m just making you admit it.”
“Okay, maybe I do want to talk to him. I miss him, Case.”
“I know you do, which is why you need to text him.” She picks my phone up from the table then holds it out to me. “Text him.”
Reid
The screen of my phone lights up, so I lean over, expecting to see Jordan’s daily question about the Taylor situation. But it’s not Jordan’s name on the screen; it’s Taylor’s.
Taylor: I’m ready to talk. Come over tomorrow at eleven-thirty.
Shocked, I sit straight up, throwing the remote onto the cushion next to me. Holy shit, she did it! Casey got through to her. I’m seriously going to have to buy that woman frappes for the next month as a thank you.
The screen goes dark before I can pull myself together enough to respond, so I grab it from the arm of the couch and press the home button, lighting it up again. I’m not sure what to say back, so I keep it simple and tell her I’ll be there. I don’t offer to bring anything or ask if she wants anything, but I know exactly what I’m going to do before I get there.