Starting Over

by Erin Cristofoli

  Kate sat back and sighed. “You forgot one thing, Jen.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “I have to go to work, which I’m already late for as it is. I have to at least go in so I can collect my stuff and print off some sort of a resignation letter.”

  I shook my head. “Nope. That’s not happening today. I told Ben last night that he was going to pay you to take some time away from work and from him. Call it stress-leave. He caused a whole lot of shit, and you deserve to take some time for yourself.”

  Kate’s brows furrowed. “He was all right with that?”

  I nodded seriously. “Well, I didn’t exactly give him the chance to argue with me. All right, enough about that. There will be plenty of time to dwell on it, but not today. Finish your coffee then go hop in the shower, okay?”

  Kate nodded glumly in submission to my plan. I was beginning to doubt my ability to cheer her up.

  We spent the morning pampering ourselves. Kate went through the motions, but I knew her heart wasn’t in it. When I put the first movie in, it wasn’t long before curled-up Kate slipped into unconsciousness, the snacks all left untouched.

  I sat and watched her, her face looking troubled even in sleep. I had to do something. Walking into the kitchen to my junk drawer, I reached to the back, retrieving the business card Ben had given me. I glanced again at Kate, then quickly scribbled a note for her and set it where she would see it when she woke.

  I grabbed my cell and slipped out the door before dialing.

  “Hello? Ben Hyde’s phone,” a vaguely familiar voice spoke, but I couldn’t place where I knew it from.

  “Uh, hi, I’m looking to speak with Ben please.”

  “He’s unavailable. Would you like to leave a message? Though, you’d be better off trying back another time.”

  That struck me as strange. “Why did you answer the phone then? Why not let it just go to voicemail?”

  “Voicemail is full. So, did you want to leave a message?”

  “Uh, yeah... Ben’s going to want to talk to me. You can tell him it’s Kate’s friend Jen calling. He wanted me to call him, so I am. Do you know when I might get the chance to talk to him?”

  “Wait. Kate’s friend? Jen, you said? Aw, hell.” The voice went silent for a moment before continuing. “I have to admit, I’m surprised to hear you’re calling.”

  Who was this guy? “I’m sorry. I’m confused. You seem to know me, but I don’t recall getting your name.”

  The man laughed. “Sorry, it’s Liam. I’m pretty sure we met at lunch a while back.”

  I blushed, glad that he was unable to see me. “Yes, I remember you now. So, when do you think Ben will be available?”

  “I think that you and I should meet up in a little bit, for a coffee maybe?”

  I rolled my eyes at the phone. “I don’t see a reason for us to meet.”

  “Come on, Jen. It’s important. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t.”

  I paused for a moment and sighed. “Yeah, all right. Where?”

  “There is a little place called Slow Drip on the corner of King and University. Meet there in an hour?”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  An hour later, I found myself sitting at a table for two, awaiting Liam. I was impressed with the place he had chosen for us to meet. When he had named it, and of course with me jumping to conclusions about people on the rare occasion, I assumed this place would be dark and dingy. On the contrary, it was charming, with warm wood wainscoted walls topped with a rich burnt orange, the ceiling covered in treated copper tiles. I eyed the display of goodies they had, and my mouth watered. I was hungry!

  “It all looks good, doesn’t it?” a voice behind me breathed into my ear. I jumped in my seat with a gasp.

  I glanced up to see Liam standing behind me, a dazzling smile on his face. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before settling himself in the chair across from me. “Thank you for meeting me.”

  “So what is this about?”

  “Cut right to the chase, eh, Jen?”

  “Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure it’s about your douche bag friend, and I know that Kate is devastated. I am not sure what else there is to say in that matter. I only called him because he practically begged me to.”

  “We’ll get to everything in a minute. First, let me get you a coffee, if you drink the stuff, and one of those,” he said, pointing to the display.

  “No to the pastry, but I won’t say no to coffee. I think I’ll try the caramel apple latté. It sounds like it could be either unbelievable or incredibly disgusting.” I laughed lightly.

  Liam’s eyes wrinkled at the sides. “Way to live on the edge, woman. I’ll be right back.”

  He rose gracefully from his chair and walked to the counter to order, and I couldn’t help but watch him. He laughed easily with the barista as she placed his order, then returned with a small tray and a devastating smile.

  ”Here is your latté. I know you said no to the rest, but you have to trust me when I say this place has the best pastries. I got a couple, hoping I could convince you to join me. Come on, Jen. You know you want to…”

  I rolled my eyes and broke off a piece of the first item on his plate. As I bit into it, my eyes instantly closed. Oh my, it was heavenly. When I finished my bite, I opened my eyes to find him watching me. “That was incredible. Thank you for making me try it. Okay, so, back to the trouble at hand. Why is it that I can’t talk to Ben?”

  Liam looked at me with clear sincerity. “Ben is destroyed, Jen. I have never seen him like this. I went over to his place this morning, because I hadn’t heard anything from him since he was about to tell Kate about everything.” I gave him a doubtful frown. “No, I’m serious, Jen. I went over there, and I had to let myself in because he is completely wasted, and by the amount of empty bottles, he has been giving his liver a serious workout. He and I have been friends for a long time, since we were kids. I have been through it all with him. “I don’t know what Kate told you about Ben, but he hasn’t had an easy go of it. I was there when he caught his fiancée cheating on him, and I was there with him when he swore to never to commit to another woman again. I was also there the night he met Kate, and quickly thereafter, I was there when his oath against commitment began to crumble. Something about Kate opened his eyes and his heart again.”

  Liam took a long sip of coffee before continuing. “Look, I know he isn’t proud of all that he has done. I am sure you think he is a moron for carrying on the way he did, and for thinking for even a moment that it would work out to have a better result, and I agree with you. But, for the first time in a very long time, he was happy. He found someone who really cared about him and was deserving of his love. I think that scared the shit out of him.”

  I couldn’t really argue with him. I grabbed another bite off his plate, taking it all in. “I just wish it all hadn’t had to happen this way. Kate is such an introverted, delicate little butterfly. She left home and came here after a lot of shit went down for her, and she was finally beginning to open up and show her beautiful colors again. She trusted Ben after fighting him for so long, and then he had do go and screw it all up. I don’t know that I have ever seen her so defeated before. The look on her face breaks my heart to see. I don’t know what to do to get her out of her funk.”

  I looked out at the people passing on the street, my heart feeling miserable for Kate. I knew she had really hoped that Ben would be different, and I got the feeling that he probably was. It was just that his baggage was probably as big as Kate’s.

  I looked back to Liam and told him, “I am pretty sure that Kate has fallen pretty hard for Ben.”

  Liam nodded. “I know Ben has fallen for her, too. So, how do we get them both back on the same page?”

  “Are you suggesting we do some matchmaking?” I laughed.

  He grinned back at me. “Do you have any better ideas?”

  “I think we should talk to Ben about all this and formulate some sort of plan.” />
  “Well then, I guess first things first. I need to get Ben to sober up. I’m pretty worried that he might end up with alcohol poisoning if I don’t intervene soon.” He stood with an apologetic look on his face. “Thank you for coming to meet with me. I will get Ben to call you once he is coherent.”

  “Whoa, what? No way. I am coming with you! I can’t possibly go home and look at Kate in her state without knowing that some sort of plan has been formulated.”

  Liam nodded. “All right, let’s get a move on then. You should be warned, though. What we are about to walk into is definitely not a pretty sight.”

  We arrived at Ben’s place after a short trip. After entering with a spare key, we were greeted with what would normally have been a beautiful space, had it not looked like it had been ransacked. Bottles of all shapes and sizes were strewn around the room. The decorative couch pillows were scattered everywhere, and a table lamp was precariously close to slipping off the table it sat on.

  I stripped out of my coat and rolled up my shirtsleeves. “I don’t even have words. You work on getting Ben out of bed, or out from beside the toilet, whichever situation you find him, and I will start by putting some coffee on and then work on making this place look a little less like a UFC fight happened here. I don’t have much time before Kate wakes, if she hasn’t already. She will be itching to head back home, so get moving.” I busied myself with the tasks at hand, hearing some commotion coming from where the bedroom must have been.

  Liam emerged a few moments later, passing me in the kitchen to a cupboard where he produced a bottle of aspirin. “He was sleeping it off and is not taking kindly to being woken up. I’m guessing he might need these.”

  I rolled my eyes and snatched the bottle from his hand, then stormed toward Ben’s room, where I rudely flicked on the light, generating a large moan from the bed.

  “WHAT THE FUCK, ASSHOLE!” Ben spat.

  “Oh, excuse me, but I thought I was here to help you win my friend back, but if you would rather drown your sorrows in the bottom of a bottle, please, be my guest,” I barked.

  At the sound of my voice, Ben flew up to sit in bed, his hands immediately grabbing at his temples. A painful sound escaped his lips, to which a smile spread across my face. I couldn’t help feeling that he deserved just a little bit of pain for his idiocy.

  “Okay, so now that I have your attention, you are going to get the hell out of that bed and grab yourself a shower and wake up. You both are going to join me in the living room that I have cleaned up. You’re welcome, by the way. And then we are going to come up with some sort of plan of attack for you to get Kate back, even though I am still not one-hundred percent sure you deserve her.” Man, if felt good to order these two men around. I spun around, noting Liam’s grin on the way, and left the men. I raided the fridge for a drink and grabbed a spot on the couch.

  Liam sauntered down the hall toward me. “That was ballsy. Nice job. You shocked the hell out of Ben.”

  “Yeah, well, there is no time to mess about, is there?”

  Ben staggered out a short time later, looking a little less like he was sitting at death’s door. He grabbed a coffee and fell into one of the chairs across from me. “Thank you for this.” He sighed, raising his mug to me.

  I nodded. “All right, Ben, so spill it. Tell me why I should help you get my best friend back.”

  He looked at me with troubled eyes. “I’m not even sure that is going to be possible now. I screwed up so badly.” He hung his head. “I love her. I love her, and I have lost her.”

  I studied him a while. This was a crushed man. I didn’t know all the details of his previous relationship, nor all the details of what happened between him and Kate, but I did know one thing; Kate loved him, too.

  “You haven’t lost her, Ben. I’m sure the three of us can come up with something to at least give you a fighting chance. Do you know what Kate told me about her relationship with Sir?”

  Ben looked up at me. “She liked that he was strong and demanding. There was no room for excuses. She was given the opportunity to let go of all her fears and inhibitions. That guy is in there somewhere, right? Because I’m pretty sure that is the only way to get her back. So, let’s start brainstorming.”

  The look on Ben’s face changed; I could see some small amount of confidence return. We each had been in silent contemplation for a while, when my phone rang out, breaking the silence. Kate’s face showed on the display. Shit.

  “Hey, Kate,” I answered nervously, waving at the guys to warn them.

  “Jen, where did you go? You have been gone for ages.”

  I was normally so collected, but I always had a practically impossible time lying to my best friend. “Oh, uh, I had to run out for coffee with a coworker. Sorry. They needed help with something. I’ll head back in just a few, okay?”

  “You all right? You sound funny.”

  No, I definitely wasn’t all right. She would be hurt further if she found out I was sitting in front of the man who’d hurt her and was trying to fix what had been broken so she could be happy. “Yup, I’m good.”

  “Okay. Well, I think I am just going to head home. I appreciate you letting me stay, though.”

  “I’ll stop by your place on my way home to make sure you don’t need anything.”

  Kate gave me a lackluster laugh. “I’m not twelve, Jen. I’m sure I can take care of myself. I’ll probably just get some Chinese and hang out on the couch, and contemplate my future.”

  ”Mmm, Chinese sounds good. Perfect hangover food. I’ll be by in a bit.” I disconnected the call, and we got back to our plan.

  Liam was the first to respond. “You should just make her go back to work. She can’t exactly avoid you if she is assisting you, right?”

  I shook my head. “That isn’t the greatest of ideas, at least not completely. If given an ultimatum, Kate will quit. Ben, what have you two been working on lately?”

  “Uh, just a presentation for next week. Shit, it’s not going to be fun trying to explain to my potential client why his favorite half of my team isn’t there.”

  I clapped my hands together. “Got it. You need to call her and tell her that you need her help on presentation day. Tell her that your client will be expecting her there, and that you are worried he won’t sign without her.”

  Liam grinned. “And in the meantime, you can also ask her to help you find some essential part of the notes or something, whatever she would have stored in her office.”

  Ben nodded slowly, reaching up to run his hands through his hair.

  ”Perfect,” I confirmed. “I think maybe you should call tomorrow. I’ll be with her and can hopefully coax her along a little.”

  Ben leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. “Do you really think this will work?”

  “Well, I can’t promise anything, but I do know that she is loyal to her responsibilities and commitments. If she does go to that meeting with you, though, your dominant side had better not waste the chance.”

  “Oh, I won’t. Don’t you worry. Jen, how can I thank you?”

  I stood and made my way to the front door, followed by the guys. “You can promise me something. Don’t break her heart again. Make her happy.”

  “I promise,” he vowed intensely.

  “I believe you. All right, remember to call her tomorrow morning. I’m going to force another sleepover tonight.”

  Liam grabbed his coat and opened the door for me. “I’ll walk you out.”

  A glance between Liam and Ben didn’t go unnoticed, nor did the eye roll from Ben. With a tiny bit more meddling, I had done all I could do. I just hoped it would be enough.

  I don’t know how it happened, but when Jen came over to check on me, I thought she would have some Chinese food, make sure I wasn’t going to crumble into tiny little pieces, and then head home. I expected that she would linger as long as she could, simply because she was being a good friend. What I didn't expect is that she would end up sleeping on my c
rappy couch. But there she slept, and she did not look comfortable.

  I tried to be quiet so as not to wake her, but in such a small space, my coffee making soon had her stirring.

  “I am buying you a new couch as soon as possible,” Jen grumbled. I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped at the disgruntled expression on her face.

  “You are not buying me a couch. Besides, no one said you had to sleep on it. Coffee?”

  She grabbed the extended mug and took a sip. “Well, excuse me, but it’s not my fault that the shitty movie you put on last night put me to sleep.”

  ”Really, Jen, I promise I’m all right. You don’t have to dote over me. I am going to survive. Hey, I was thinking… would you be able to print out a resignation letter for me?”

  Jen looked uncomfortable by my words. She glanced at her watch as she questioned me. “Why would you need to do that?”

  “Really? I mean, I know it’s probably a formality now, but I figure I should officially go out on my terms.”

  “Why don’t you just wait a couple more days at least? He’s still paying you, right?”

  I shook my head. “I imagine that after the tongue lashing that you no doubt gave him, he is, but it’s not like I have checked. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t feel right about that at all. I can’t willingly take his money like that for nothing.”

  “So what are you going to do with no money coming in?” Jen asked.

  “Well, I am going to have to start looking for another job. It’s not like I have any references to go on, but you never know. I probably won’t be able to keep the apartment for more than two months, and if all else fails, I remember a certain someone telling me that I could live with her.”

  Jen nodded slowly before looking at her watch. What was it with her and her watch? “You always have a place to rest your head with me. You know that. Hey, I’m going to run to the bathroom, and then, maybe… you want to go for breakfast?”