Except that tomorrow was Friday.
Damn it.
21
Bryn
The nurses answering the after-hours line in the middle of the night were surprisingly friendly. I wouldn’t think somebody up at the ghastly hour of three a.m. dealing with people complaining about a multitude of illnesses and other issues would be as perky as Sandy was, but she made me feel much less guilty for my call. I had been lying awake, my stomach turning for hours, and it just didn’t seem right. The doctor’s office was long since closed, but the after-hours line meant I could get in touch with an on-call nurse to tell her about my symptoms.
“I went to see my regular doctor about a month back for this same issue. It turned out to be a stomach virus, but I thought it would be over with by now,” I told her.
“Did you take all the medications she prescribed?” Sandy asked.
“I did everything she told me,” I said. “And I felt better for a few weeks, but then it came back. Now I’m feeling sick again, I’m exhausted, and I just don’t feel right.”
“Are there any new symptoms?” Sandy asked.
“No. Just the same ones. It’s like I went right back to the beginning of the illness.”
“I noticed in your chart it mentions stress. Have you been going through a stressful situation recently?” she asked.
“That’s putting it mildly,” I said. “The last few months have been pretty difficult on me, actually.”
“That could also explain your symptoms,” she said. “Going through major stress can manifest itself as sleeplessness and gastrointestinal distress. You definitely could be experiencing physical signs of what you’re going through. I know it’s probably the last advice you want to hear right now but try to find ways to cut down on that stress. Relax or find an activity that you enjoy that will help to take your mind off what you’re going through.”
“Um, okay,” I said.
“I know it sounds a little bit dismissive and possibly even a bit of crunchy granola to be coming from a nurse, but I promise sometimes just a little bit of self-care can be the most effective treatment for a wide range of ailments,” she said. “It’s always a joke when people say their doctor prescribed them a vacation, but it’s not so far off base. Everybody today is under so much pressure, and the first person you forget is yourself. Just taking some time to reverse that can make a world of difference.”
“That makes sense,” I said.
“Good. Now, you find some time to relax and try to get the stress down a bit. See if that helps you. And if it doesn’t, make another appointment with your doctor. She can test you for other things like ulcers, or help find some ways to manage your symptoms,” the friendly nurse said.
“I’ll do that. Thank you,” I said.
Talking to Sandy put my mind at ease a bit. Part of me had started thinking something horrible might be going on with my body. But now that she emphasized the stress I was under and how it could manifest as physical illness, it all made sense.
I wanted to think I was handling the situation with Justin extremely well. I had my flip out that first night, then the other one the night Nick came over. Other than that, I was keeping it together. But maybe I was keeping it together too much. Shoving everything down rather than expressing it was making it come out in different ways. Currently that way was making me feel completely drained most of the time and sick to my stomach a good percentage of the week.
As much as I tried to follow the nurse’s advice and find ways to let go of the stress, my life turned into a series of vignettes. It broke down to its most basic of elements, with me working and sleeping. Occasionally I emailed Nick to keep him up to date on how I was doing building up my seed money. Once or twice I met up with Trish. Then I worked more and slept more. Then I worked more and slept more again.
Before I knew it, it had been a month and my last deposit into my bank account showed I had finally reached my goal. The full amount of the seed money I needed to start my investments was there. I could barely believe it. But some of the excitement and enthusiasm was dulled by my continued issues with my stomach and my energy. I believed Sandy about the stress, but I was also back to wondering if the stomach bug had never really left, or if I had managed to reinfect myself. Maybe it was a combination.
Whatever the reason, I was done dealing with it. I reluctantly made another appointment with my doctor for later that afternoon. It gave me enough time to go by Nick’s office and let him know I was primed and ready to get investing. I could have called him, but this was something I’d been working toward for so long now, I really wanted to share that moment with him.
It seemed like the perfect bookend to the entire experience. Storming into his office unannounced and unexpected was what had started the whole journey, so that seemed like the right way to tell him I was done saving. And if I was being really honest, I would admit I wanted to see him.
It had been more than a month, which made me nervous. It also made me make sure I arrived at his office with just enough time to go in, tell him about the seed money and give him my check, and leave. Cutting it close to my doctor’s appointment meant I wouldn’t have the chance to linger there with him. That wasn’t something I could trust myself to do.
If I stayed in Nick’s office with him for more than a couple of minutes, I might not be able to control myself. Whenever I thought about Nick, the first thought that came into my mind was how much I wanted to drag him back to bed with me again. That wasn’t something I needed him to see in my eyes.
What happened between us was completely unexpected. Not that I didn’t want it. I wanted Nick like crazy. I just thought I had better control over myself. At least, I did until I had to deal with Justin again and Nick offered to do something to make me feel better. And that certainly made me feel better.
But I figured it was just a one-and-done thing. He didn’t want me again, or even think of me that way. If he did, I would have heard from him more than just the cursory responses to my emails. Because of the weird situation we were in with our professional relationship and the fairly recent end of my relationship, I wanted to put the ball in his court. If he was interested in more with me, he’d let me know.
He hadn’t said anything or even hinted at revisiting our amazing chemistry. That just meant I was going to list him in the category of good life experiences and move on. He was still willing to help me with my investments. That was the original intention of us interacting beyond him looking into the situation with Justin, so our night, and morning, together were just a bonus.
When I got into Nick’s office, I noticed a couple of changes. The decorations on the receptionist’s desk had had a refresh, and some new furniture had taken up residence in the waiting area of the lobby. The biggest change was the new face behind a simple desk in a tiny office halfway down the hallway. I hadn’t even realized that room was an office during my other visits. I’d assumed the closed door was a closet.
But there he was, a fresh-faced young man in a suit and grown-up version of a little boy’s first day of school haircut. He gave me a wide smile and waved as I walked by. I waved in return and made my way to Nick’s office.
The door was standing partially open. I stopped outside and drew in a breath, readying myself for seeing him again. With any luck, my clothes would stay on and I wouldn’t just crawl across the desk into his lap.
When I felt like I had enough control over myself, I knocked on the door and peered around through the gap. Nick looked up at me, and his eyes widened.
“Hey, Bryn,” he said, gesturing for me to come in. “Come on in.”
I opened the door, purposely leaving it several inches further open than it had been as another layer of insurance against my desire. “Hi. I hope you aren’t busy.”
“No,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “Not at all. What’s brings you by?”
I reached into my purse and pulled out the check I had already written him. Holding it out to him, I smiled. “There you go.”
“What’s this?” he asked.
“My seed money,” I said.
He took the check and looked at it, his expression impressed. “Really? That’s fantastic. From what you were saying, I thought it was going to take a lot longer for you to have it.”
“I thought it would, but a few of my best clients really came through for me. With the idea of investment in front of me, I was able to really focus and buckle down. And I did it,” I said.
“Yes, you did. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. So, now what? What comes next?” I asked.
He gestured to the chair across from him, and I sat down. “First, we sign some more papers. Just agreements that you are investing a set amount and what you are investing in. Some permission and release forms.” Nick took out a folder and opened it to reveal several forms. He slid it across the desk toward me. “Go ahead and go over these, and we’ll get everything underway.”
I read through the papers and signed them. When I was done, I gave a resolute sigh and slid the folder back toward him. “There we go. All official.”
“Perfect.” He looked up from the papers to me. “Want to stay for lunch?”
“I actually can’t. I have another appointment. But thank you.”
I stood up and he followed. There was a look on his face I couldn’t quite interpret. It looked like it might be something close to regret.
“Okay, well, I’ll update you on everything,” he said.
I nodded and left quickly before my resolve failed. I needed to get out of there and to the doctor’s office.
22
Nick
Darren flew over the finish line, the other bikes trailing behind him. The family and crew gathered at the pit by the side of the track shouted and jumped in celebration. We wanted to run right out to him, but we had to wait for the rest of the riders to finish up the race and the machines to get off the track. Now wasn’t the time for any of us to get crushed or to be the reason for a massive pileup on the track.
When we were finally able to get to him, we rushed out to the finish line and gathered Darren up in an excited celebration. The win was huge, the third in a streak that was pushing him even further ahead of the rest of the pack. He had already made a major name for himself in the industry and was just getting more popular with every race.
Merry’s tailgate parties before the races had become lovefests for Darren. Fans swarmed the space ahead of the race to buy merchandise, compare race stories, and hope for an appearance from their hero. It was strange and amazing to watch. To me, Darren was just my baby brother. The youngest, quietest, and most reserved of the brothers. But these people were in awe of him.
The funniest part was watching Kelly’s reaction to the women who threw themselves at Darren. There wasn’t a bit of jealousy in her. She knew he was totally wrapped up around her finger. He barely even noticed the other women, and when he did notice them, it was because they were asking for his autograph. They were so invested in trying to get his attention they didn’t even notice Kelly in her mechanic overalls.
And Kelly loved making fun of him for it. None of us would ever forget her sitting at the bar laughing until tears streamed down her face because a woman tried to slip him her hotel room key. Apparently, Darren thanked her for it and reassured her he didn’t need a hotel room because his house was only half an hour from the track. We made fun of him for a good long time for that one.
Now I watched as Kelly ran up to him and he scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around happily. He was careful setting her down on her feet and rested a gentle hand on the slight bump of her belly. The family had just gotten the news that another new baby was on the way. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t the only one. If I knew my best friend as well as I thought I did, I was all but positive there would be another announcement soon.
All in all, there was a lot of celebrating going on for my family. It was a good time in our lives. And to top it off, Cynthia was healing up better than ever and Peter, the junior investor we’d hired, was great. He fit in immediately, and we were all getting along well.
But there was something missing. Even with all the happiness and excitement all around me, I didn’t feel completely like a part of it.
Two months ago, I wouldn’t have felt like this. I would have been ecstatic for my brothers and enjoying the celebrations that came after the race wins. I would have thought everything was perfect. But that was before Bryn. Before she walked in and out of my office like she owned it and totally upended everything. I decided to try to be her knight in shining armor and fix everything for her.
That was a month ago. A full month since I told her I would help with her investments. I honestly wasn’t expecting her to be able to come up with the seed money as quickly as she did. She warned me at the beginning it might take her a while, which was why it was such a shock to have her show up at my office again, but this time with a check.
It probably would have been less of a surprise had she not pulled back from me the way she did. I didn’t know what happened. Things seemed to be going so well between us. Even if I put our spontaneous night together aside, it seemed like we were at least forging some type of friendship. But then she all but disappeared. All that was left were the occasional emails updating me on her progress.
It made me realize I must have been wrong about what was building between us. At least I had decided not to try to pursue anything with her. Her completely withdrawing from me proved it would have been awkward for both of us had I tried to make anything more out of what happened between us. At least this way, we still had our professional relationship. And that had to be enough.
Maybe if I said it to myself a few dozen more times, I would believe it. But as it was, I had taken her money, congratulated her on getting together the seed money she’d been working toward, and watched her walk away. That was three days ago. Since then I hadn’t been able to even look at her file. It was like I was stopping myself because as soon as I opened it up and started her investments, it would be that I had resigned myself to there never being anything else between us.
Which was maybe exactly what I needed to do.
So, the next morning, I went into the office with a new resolve. Accepting it was just business with me and Bryn, I sat down and pulled up all the information about her. I got to work, shoving away any feelings or thoughts about her, because, really, that was what I was good at.
In the end, she came to me for advice. She didn’t even think she was going to get any investment assistance out of it, definitely not without condition. She came here because of something awful that happened to her and wanting to do something about it. It was purely a business from her perspective, and that’s how it was going to stay.
The spark of attraction and chemistry between us was something that just happened. It didn’t need to define the rest of our interactions with each other. I would do what I was meant to do, which was handle her Investment portfolio for her. I would work hard, and if there was a pang in my heart when I saw her name… well, I just didn’t have time to worry about that.
I pushed myself so deep into working on Bryn’s investments, I didn’t even realize how much time had passed. By the time I looked up, I had already missed lunch. Putting everything aside, I headed for the kitchen to assuage my growling stomach. When I got there, I found Peter standing at the refrigerator, staring into it.
I watched him for a few seconds, and he didn’t move. He just kept staring like he thought something he wanted to eat would spontaneously appear.
“Worked through regular lunchtime, too?” I finally asked, walking the rest of the way into the kitchen.
The younger man startled slightly and looked over at me. It took him a second to process what I’d asked him, but then he nodded. “Yeah. This one client kept me on the phone for three hours. I tried to convince him to just come into the office to meet with me because it would be easier for both of us, but he wouldn’t do it. Said he was too
busy and needed to maximize his time.”
I chuckled. “You’ll get a lot of that.”
“But I’m pretty sure I heard bowling in the background,” he said.
“That’s better than when you can hear them golfing. Keeps things interesting,” I said.
He looked back into the refrigerator. “I wish I had enough money that I could think of going golfing as being too busy to meet with an investor.”
I didn’t want to break his heart by telling him I had the money his clients did and had never in my adult life been golfing. Something told me he wouldn’t count the kind with the brightly colored balls and animals on the holes.
He let out a sigh as he took out a container of takeout and closed the refrigerator door.
“You know, if we were at my family’s compound, this whole place would be full of food,” I said.
He looked at me quizzically. “Compound? Are you part of a cult? I’m sorry. Is that offensive? Are you part of a cooperative community based on shared principles and sheer terror of the outside world?”
I laughed at the earnest expression on his face. “Not that kind of compound. We don’t live there. It’s where the family business is run. We own Freeman Racing.”
“I didn’t realize you were from that Freeman family,” he said. “I figured the whole family was involved in that.”
“Yep. That’s me. The black sheep of the Freemans,” I said with a laugh. “My three brothers stayed to work with the company, but I wanted to do something else.”
“Your family owns a motorcycle racing company and you left for the high-thrills world of investing? Yeah, I can totally see that,” Peter said.
“I’ve heard that a lot. But that was what I wanted. And I’m happy with it. I like that I have my own career, my own business. And I’m still involved with the family company. I help with the races and whatever else they need me for,” I said.
Millionaire Hero (Freeman Brothers Book 4) Page 11