by A. M. Myers
I walk into the office of Champagne Dreaming, the blog Mercedes told me she started when I spoke to her on the phone last night and marvel at the marble floors and sleek furnishing. Not that I’m all that surprised. Mercedes has always been just a little… extra when it comes to her work and home spaces. She used to say that our apartment was a retreat so it should look like one.
“Can I help you?” a young woman with bright red hair asks as she glances up at me from behind the large oval shaped desk. I smile and nod.
“I’m here to see Mercedes Richmond.”
She nods. “Your name?”
“Juliette Shaw.”
“And is she expecting you?” she asks as she picks up the phone and I nod.
“Jett!”
I whirl around as Mercedes struts into the lobby, looking every bit the successful, sexy mogul she is on her way to becoming in her pale pink pencil skirt and black v-neck shirt. Her honey blonde hair hangs in waves around her face and I swear, she hasn’t aged a day since the last time I remember seeing her.
“Oh my God, Mer!” I exclaim, abandoning the girl behind the desk as I close the distance between us. “Look at you! You look incredible.”
As soon as I’m within her reach, she reaches out and pulls me into a hug, squeezing me tightly to her body and a wave of relief washes through me. My life may be a complete mess right now and I may not be able to remember anything since I moved away from this city but at least this, our friendship, never changes.
“Me? Look at you,” she parrots as she pulls away and grips my shoulders to inspect my face. “You’re fucking glowing, babe.”
I fight back a smile as heat rushes to my cheeks and the kiss Sawyer gave me last night plays through my mind. Her brow arches.
“Oh, I definitely want to know what that look was all about.” Her gaze drops to the bag in my hand. “Is that lunch?”
I nod. “Yeah. I stopped by Nina’s and picked up our favorites.”
“Oh my gosh, I haven’t been to Nina’s since you moved away. Let’s go eat in my office,” she says, looping her arm through mine as we walk into a large room with a long oval table right down the middle of one side and individual cubbies on the other side. Along the walls on either side of me are doors and windows leading to more private office spaces and at the very back of the room is an office decked out in gold.
“Gee, let me guess which one is your office,” I tease and she grins at me.
“Good taste never dies, Jett.”
I laugh, shaking my head at her as she leads me into the office and clears off one of the chairs for me. After handing her the bag of food, I sit down and turn to look out the window at the hustle and bustle in her office.
“This place is amazing, Mer. I’m so proud of you.”
She beams at me as she passes me my sandwich. “Thank you but I want to hear about you.”
“Oh? What about me?”
She shakes her head as she points a finger at me. “Don’t play with me, Jett! You call me three days ago to tell me that you don’t remember any part of your life and now you’re sitting across from me eating lunch plus I’m certain that there’s something going on between you and Sawyer and I need every single detail.”
“Okay.” I laugh. “What do you want to know?”
“Start at the very beginning.”
My eyes widen. “Waking up back in the hospital?”
She nods enthusiastically as she takes a bite out of her sandwich and I sigh as I launch into the story, telling her how I heard Gavin’s voice calling out to me but it felt like I was just floating through darkness.
“That sounds terrifying.”
“It wasn’t, really. It was actually kind of soothing, like falling to sleep, except for when I did want to communicate and couldn’t.”
She flashes me a sympathetic look. “What did you do when you woke up and there was a stranger beside you?”
“Honestly, I think I just stared at him. It was so disorienting, Mer. I mean, I knew I was in a hospital but I couldn’t figure out how I got there and then trying to piece together the last thing I remembered…” I shake my head. “And then they told me my dad was dead and I was engaged to the man next to me.”
“It’s so crazy,” she whispers. “Why do you think that night we went out to celebrate your move is where your memories cut off?”
“I have no clue. Maybe I was unhappy in Miami and I wanted to be back here.”
She purses her lips together. “Yeah, maybe… So, what about when you went home? Was it better then?”
“No, just a different kind of weird.”
“What do you mean?”
I explain to her how the apartment was so unlike me and my personality and all my things were tucked away in boxes in the closet and she scowls.
“What are you talking about? Your place is full of pictures and little trinkets from all the places you’ve travelled.”
I stare at her, trying to piece together what she’s saying. “No… there was nothing. It was like the whole place was devoid of life… Why would Gavin put everything away?”
“Maybe he didn’t,” she answers with a shrug. “Or maybe he thought he was helping.”
“It just doesn’t make any sense,” I whisper as I take a bite of my sandwich. She brushes it off as a smile stretches across her face.
“We can figure all that out later. Tell me all about Moose.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Why does everyone keep calling him that?”
“You haven’t heard the story?” Amusement shines in her eyes and I shake my head. What kind of story ends with Sawyer earning the nickname ‘Moose’? “Oh, Lord. Okay, the way I heard it, Sawyer was dating this girl who was cray cray, right?”
I nod, Sawyer’s words about always picking the wrong woman coming back to me.
“Anyway, he realized that this chick was off her rocker and broke things off with her. Well, this bitch got it in her head that she was going to kidnap him to get him back.”
My eyes widen and I cough as I choke on my food for a second. “What?”
“Right? So anyway, she showed up to a party at the clubhouse and when Sawyer went upstairs to go to bed or something, she cornered him in the hallway and shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Apparently, as he was passing out, he started moaning like an animal and the boys dubbed him “Moose”.”
“Poor Sawyer,” I muse, scowling at my sandwich and she sucks in a breath.
“Oh my God, you really like this guy, don’t you?”
Heat rushes to my cheeks as I meet her eyes and nod. “You have no idea how much.”
“Wait. What happened between Miami and here? Tell me everything.”
“It was instant, Mer,” I tell her, my mind drifting back to seeing him in the diner parking lot as I shake my head. “Like from the moment I laid eyes on him, there was something there but at first, it was easy to push away. Then, we shared a hotel room and when we woke up the next morning, I was in his arms and God, I don’t even know…”
“Jett… I’ve never seen you like this about a guy.”
I arch a brow. “Not even with Gavin?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you were in love with Gavin and I think you were truly happy but it wasn’t this look you’ve got in your eyes right now. What happened after the hotel?”
“We spent the day together driving to Baton Rouge and we talked… about everything. Once the conversation started, it didn’t stop and for lunch we stopped at this restaurant but the waitress was so rude that we left and he made a picnic in the back of his truck.”
“Stop it!” she squeals. “That is so cute.”
I nod. “I know. Like how am I supposed to not like him when he’s doing stuff like that?”
“Did anything else happen?”
I tell her about how he wouldn’t let me stay at the sketchy hotel and how he showed me the note from his ex when we got to the house.
“Thank God, he didn’t
let you stay at some gross motel. Why would you even suggest that?”
I shrug. “I only have nine hundred dollars unless I take more out of the ATM but if Gavin’s looking for me, that will tip him off.”
“Oh, Gavin’s looking for you. I’ve gotten at least three calls a day since you left and he’s losing his mind.”
“Shit,” I whisper, my chest feeling tight as I set my sandwich down. “I really hate that I’m hurting him.”
“I mean, you did break up with him, right?”
I nod. “Yeah. In my note I told him I needed to go and I wanted him to move on and find happiness. I also left my ring there.”
“I feel like you left a pretty clear message. If he can’t accept it, that’s on him.” She takes a bite of her food. “Besides, the look on your face when you talk about Sawyer… it’s everything.”
“It’s crazy, though. Right?” I ask, my cheeks burning. “I mean, I met the man two days ago.”
She shrugs. “If I came to you and told you about this new man I met but the whole time, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and my eyes were shining and you’d never seen me happier, would you think it was weird?”
“I suppose not.”
“You wouldn’t,” she urges. “In fact, I think you would encourage me to go after it so that’s what I’m doing. I think the biggest question is does Sawyer feel the same way about you?”
My teeth sink into my lip. “I think so. He told me he really wants to explore the things he’s feeling and he kissed me last night.”
“He kissed you and you’re just now telling me?” she shrieks and my eyes widen as I glance over my shoulder to see if anyone heard her. A few people are milling around near the conference table but they don’t look our way.
“Will you keep your voice down?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, shaking her head. “But this is huge news. How was it? Sexy? Sweet? Steamy?”
I shake my head. “Life changing.”
“Giiirrll,” she drawls breathlessly as she falls back into her chair. “Life changing?”
“Yep.” I nod and she stares at me for a second before laughing and shaking her head. I narrow my eyes. “What?”
“I was just thinking that maybe all of this happened for a reason. Like as awful as it is that you got in the accident and your dad died and you lost your memory, maybe there was a purpose in it.”
I smile. “My mom would be thrilled to hear you telling me that the universe brought me here for a reason.”
“I mean it,” she says with a laugh. “I really think this all happened for a reason and with the way you’re feeling now, can you really disagree?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I can’t.”
“So I take it you’re going to continue staying with Sawyer?”
I nod. “Yeah, for the time being.”
“Well, just remember that you can always come crash at my place but I’m secretly hoping you and Sawyer fall in love, get married, and have cute little babies.”
“Noted.” I laugh. “What about you? How’s Andrew?”
Her face falls, pain springing into her eyes. “Oh, God, you don’t remember, do you?”
“What? What happened?” Back in college, Mercedes and her boyfriend, Andrew, were inseparable - the ultimate power couple - and I always assumed that they’d get married some day and have gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed babies.
“Andrew,” she says, his name sounding like a curse as it leaves her lips. “Dropped me like a bad habit as soon as he was picked up by the NFL.”
My heart breaks as she fights back tears. “Oh, Mer. I’m so sorry. I wish I had known. I didn’t mean to cause you any pain.”
“No,” she says, shaking herself as she looks up at the ceiling to dry her tears. “It’s okay. You just caught me by surprise and it’s been so long since I even thought of him.”
“Mer,” I warn, seeing right through her bullshit and she sighs.
“He was my soul mate, Jett. I still believe that and now I get to live the rest of my life without him.”
I shake my head. “What a fucking prick.”
“I second that.”
Pushing out of my chair, I round her desk and pull her out of her seat before wrapping her up in a hug. She shudders and tears sink into my shirt for a moment before she pulls away and fans her eyes.
“God, I’m not going to do this today. I’m done crying over that asshole.”
I grab a tissue out of the box on the table and hand it to her so she can fix her mascara. “I have half a mind to find his number and rip him a new one.”
“Oh, you already did, Hon. The first time around. Even did it right in front of his new teammates. It was glorious.” She laughs at the memory and I smile, fighting back the sadness that overwhelms me as I wish I could remember it, too.
“I could do it again. You know, as an exercise to get my memory back.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “As much fun as that sounds, I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I still love him and probably always will.”
“Okay. I’ll restrain myself then.”
“Thank you,” she says, flashing me a smile as she sinks back into her chair and I walk around the desk and sit down again. “So, what are your plans now that you’re here?”
“I suppose I need to call my assistant, Nico, and see if she’ll be open to coming here so we can get back to work.”
She scowls. “But you don’t remember anything about your company, do you? Or what designs you’ve already done?”
“No, but Nico has kept pretty good records and she can help me figure all that out. I need to do something other than sitting around and thinking about how much I want my memories back.”
“Can we trust her?” she asks, studying me intently. “Will she tell Gavin?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. Speaking of Gavin though, what have you told him?”
“Nothing. I either don’t answer the call or when I do, I tell him that I haven’t heard from you but I can tell he’s not buying it.” Her phone starts ringing on her desk and she shakes her head as she glances down at the screen. “Speak of the devil.”
“Gavin?”
She nods.
“Answer it,” I tell her and she nods again as she presses the button to accept the call before putting it on speakerphone.
“Hi, Gavin.”
Even through the phone, I can hear his sigh of relief. “Hey, Mercedes. Please tell me you’ve heard from her.”
I wave my hands to get her attention and she mutes the call as her brows knit together.
“Tell him I called you and I’m fine but you don’t know where I am.”
She nods.
“Mercedes?”
She unmutes the call. “Sorry, someone walked into my office to ask me a question but Jett called me last night.”
“Oh, thank God. Where is she?”
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me,” she says, meeting my gaze and I nod. “But she’s okay.”
He growls. “I need to find her, Mercedes. She needs to come home.”
“Listen, Gavin… I don’t mean to step on toes here but she’s been through a hell of a lot lately and she told me that she ended things with you when she left so I think maybe you should just let her do whatever soul searching she needs to do.”
“She’s not in her right mind!” he bellows into the phone and an image of him raking his hand through his hair pops into my mind. I scowl. Why would I think of that? Did he ever do that when I was around him?
“Just because she doesn’t remember what’s been going on over the last five years doesn’t mean she’s crazy. If you love her, you will respect her wishes.”
Something crashes on the other end of the call. “Bullshit. It’s because I love her that I need to find her. Are you lying to me?”
“All right. I’ve been more than understanding during this situation but now I’m done. You don’t get to call
me a liar and bombard me with multiple calls a day. If Juliette wants to speak to you, she’ll reach out. Good-bye.”
She hangs up and shakes her head as I release a breath.
“He sounds…”
“Out of his ever-lovin’ mind? Yeah, he does.”
“Maybe, I should call him…”
Shaking her head, she slaps her hand down on the desk. “Absolutely not. You made your feelings clear and I just reinforced them but he doesn’t care. Calling him only tells him exactly where you are.”
“Do you think he already knows?”
“I think he suspects,” she says. “It’s the first logical place that you would go especially considering where your memory cuts off.”
My teeth sink into my lip. “How long do you think before he figures it out?”
“I don’t know,” she sighs. “I would keep an eye out if I were you. He could already be here and coming to see me at my office probably wasn’t the best idea.”
Shit.
“I’ll be careful,” I assure her with a nod. She sighs as she looks over at the calendar on her desk.
“All right. I’d better get back to work but call me if you need anything, okay? And we’ll get together again soon.”
I stand and toss the trash from my lunch in the basket next to her desk. “Actually, there is one thing you could do for me.”
“Name it, babe.”
“I need to rent an office for my business down here.”
She smiles. “Well, wouldn’t you know, my tenant upstairs just moved out.”
“Here?” I ask, glancing up at the ceiling. She nods.
“Yep. What do you say? Want to see it?”
“Absolutely.”
She stands and walks around the desk before linking her arm through mine and leading me back to a long hallway next to the lobby with two elevator doors. She presses the up button.
“So, the footprint of the second floor is basically the same as this and below us is the employee parking garage so you won’t have to pay for parking somewhere else.”
I nod as the doors slide open and we step in the car, excitement coursing through my veins. It will be so nice to get back to work, not only because I need something to do in my day but because I’m so eager to learn all about this business I’ve put my blood, sweat, and tears into for the past five years.