Unfinished Sympathy (Absolution Book 1)

by Amélie S. Duncan

  The corner of her mouth quirked upward before she quickly sought to suppress her pleasure. That, I didn’t like, but deserved.

  “One more thing,” she said. “I’ve received your meeting schedule for today. Your creative group agenda is to discuss the logistics of current projects. I’d suggest you mention your strategies for Emono so I may become familiar with your plans for the soundtrack.”

  “It was my intention,” I replied and sat back down.

  She met my eyes briefly, then turned on her flat heel and walked out of the room.

  “She’s got fight,” Gunnar said, grinning. “I’m in love.”

  “Don’t even joke,” I grumbled. “Your idiotic set-up made her put on this icy persona.”

  “It woke her ass up,” Gunnar said. “She’ll keep her focus on work instead of mooning over you. You’re upset now, but you’ll be thanking me in a month.”

  “I won’t,” I said, and I was sure. She was perfect as she was.

  Then again, she was focused on the job, and I didn’t want to stop that. I had a lot of expectations for her. I’ll admit, the barriers she was putting in place would make her accomplish the technical work I needed done.

  I also needed to stop thinking about her.

  Although I hadn’t told Gunnar, I took his advice of using an exclusive matchmaking service. If anything, what had happened between Aubrey and me had shown me I didn’t want to be alone. With the lawsuit underway, it might be better to display a public relationship.

  I watched Aubrey during my creative team meeting. She must have researched our company and the artist. She had input to offer and questions to ask. It impressed me. She sat through the rest until we all separated for lunch. There, I peeked inside her open door. She’d brought a sandwich from home.

  “We have staff meals available for everyone,” I reminded her. “The menus are in your desk.”

  “I’m not an employee here,” she said. “Best to go by the book.”

  I crossed my arms. Her stubbornness grated. “You are an employee for the duration of the project. And you don’t have to take your lunch in your office.”

  “I need to research Sky’s music. I’ll be on time.” She stared at me for a few beats before she turned her head back to the computer and continued eating her lunch in silence, a polite way of telling me to leave. That was better than Gunnar had received from her today, and so I left.

  Daniel wasn’t in, but I saw him at the end of the corridor, joking with Kate. She’d already invited him to her group for lunch. I know she invited Aubrey too, but she obviously declined. It bothered me enough that I picked up the Thai noodles Eileen had arranged for me and carried them back to Aubrey’s office.

  She tried to suppress her smile when I walked back in. “You’re having lunch with me now?”

  “Yes, and I can clue you in on Sky’s music,” I told her.

  It was an excuse, but I needed her to feel at home here. I needed her to feel comfortable again with me. “Sky’s music was trip-hop, folktronica—but since then trend has changed and she’s going for mainstream sound. She’s a rare talent as a singer. You’ll marvel over the purity of her voice.”

  “With the tech you have, you could easily save time and perfect it in studio instead of working on her voice,” she said between bites of her sandwich. “Personality sells more these days.”

  “That’s not the kind of artist I hire,” I told her. “If they can’t sing or play, they don’t work for me.”

  She beamed, and my heartbeat faster. She looked stunning when she smiled. “I like that,” she said.

  We finished lunch and went to a few more business meetings together. When it came time to work in the recording studio, we found Daniel already there sucking up to Sky. She was laughing with him as he worked to meet whatever change she asked for, while Aubrey checked and tested the sound and recording set up with my other staff. She was like an old pro, taking over from me and my studio head Mike, who finally made a comment, “I guess I can go home. Aubrey’s handling it all.”

  “I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, Mike,” she said.

  I interjected, “No, go with your instinct.”

  “Yeah. I meant that as a compliment,” Mike assured her.

  She took the seat by him and we had Sky sing for us. She was great until she began adding embellishments that didn’t suit the music. I was about to correct her, but asked Aubrey and Daniel, “What do you think?”

  “Good,” Daniel said. “She has a good voice. We should use her for the soundtrack.”

  I nodded, though I was planning to go for someone with the proven commercial draw. “You, Aubrey?”

  “She sings well, but she’s adding too many embellishments. It ages the song,” she remarked.

  “Good ear,” I said to her. “That’s half the battle with producing good music.”

  “Yeah, I suppose she could redo the chorus with fewer embellishments,” Daniel said, though his tone was unsure.

  I glanced over at Mike, who was already playing back the music. Sky was just as eager to fix the song with Aubrey’s spot-on suggestion.

  When it was time to end the session, we’d reached the part of the day I’d been waiting for. I would have the pleasure of listening to Aubrey play the violin.

  Only for an hour, I reminded myself, and my annoyance rose at the little time we had as we left Mike to finish up with Sky. Daniel left at five on the dot, just like he was scheduled.

  I had already set up my private studio with a piano and her violin. She came over and stared at the Testore fondly before she schooled her face back into blankness. She’d brought the instrument in and asked for my team to keep it with my private collection like it belonged to me. I still expected her to accept it as her own.

  “Since I only have an hour, we’ll play Beethoven,” I said, “I need the practice for a documentary soon. However, next time we’ll go with the routine. I expect our sessions to get longer as we continue working together.”

  “Thank you.” She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She’d arrived there before eight, and it was five now.

  “How long do you plan to work at Emono tonight?” I asked.

  “Hopefully four hours,” she answered. That would mean over twelve hours of work that day. She’d leave Emono, in Jersey City, after midnight. If I had my way, I’d tell her she couldn’t do it—but from what I could tell about Aubrey, that would only make her more determined.

  “You need rest, too,” I said. “Regan will drive you to save you time.”

  “No, thanks. The train would be faster with rush hour traffic this time of day,” she said, turning me down flat.

  “We have vouchers for a car service when you work overtime,” I said, and sent a text to Eileen to have her arrange one. “I won’t let you leave without taking the car service. It will be late, and I’d like to know you reached home safely.”

  She furrowed her brows. “I can handle myself.”

  “You can, but I’d prefer you take precautions should something arise.” I didn’t want to, but I brought up the car that had followed her after the nightclub event to make her see reason.

  She smiled at me, but then she turned her head away. “Why do you continue to be overly nice? I’m over what happened last night.”

  I pressed my lips together. The gravel in her tone said otherwise, and I wanted to call her out for lying, but she was giving me limited time to listen to her violin. “We have less than an hour left. I’d like to start.”

  She picked up the violin and began to play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. She was elegant in her form. Her performance was fine, but something was missing. The short amount of time we had to play together might be the reason, but… I suspected the issue went deeper. She didn’t have the fire for me today. After playing a few more songs she stopped, and it was clear she’d heard the same as I had. Her sadness and regret filled the air.

  “I really enjoyed playing for you, but I have to leave now,” she rasp
ed softly.

  I pushed back my hair and blew out my breath, trying to temper my irritation. I usually said what was on my mind, even if she didn’t. “Please stop thanking me. I enjoyed listening to you, but the hour was too short. I feel frustrated by the little time we had today.”

  “Maybe if you’re free, we can play together after work? I can come up all week if you want to play together,” she offered.

  I nodded, my delight clear, and her smile brightened as she watched me. She liked to please me, and that turned me on and turned the temperature up between us. She hesitated as if confused. I grinned; another adorable Aubrey moment to add to the rest.

  “Possibly,” I told her. “I may not have every evening, but if we can agree to dates and time, I can amend your contract.” That was my casual way of paying for her time.

  “I want to play for my own pleasure, not for your money,” she replied, her tone clipped again.

  I tightened my jaw. We were back to her issue with money again, and this was an argument she wouldn’t win. “I’d do the same for any professional artist I booked time for. I’m amending your contract to honor that, and to be transparent should anyone question my intention.”

  She had little to say to that apart from: “Okay, Mr. Crane.”

  “I need you better than you were today. I want to use you for the soundtrack, and we need you ready,” I added.

  Her face lit up, and the impact hit me right in the chest. “Really?” she asked, as if she didn’t believe me.

  I’d planned to keep that part for later, but with Emono competing for my time, I hoped that would make her think twice about what she did next time.

  Before I could get swept up in watching her again, I nodded, turned back to my piano and played some Beethoven.

  I could feel her eyes on me, watching me longer than she had time for before closing the door behind her.

  The second she did, I stopped and stared after her, admitting to myself how complicated things already were between the two of us.

  Even so, I was glad she’d stayed.

  Even more, I already missed her company.

  Aubrey

  Daniel took the office next to mine at Crane Studios. He hadn’t just settled in, he’d fully nested, with a wall of his personal mixed martial arts trophies, family photos, and a Knicks’ soft basketball hoop. He must have learned that was Paul’s favorite team during one of his morning workouts with him.

  He had done little work, other than decorating his office. We couldn’t use anything he had completed. If that wasn’t annoying enough, he was behind, which meant I’d be starting the third week with the same from him as I’d gotten in the previous two. Nothing.

  I went inside my office. It hadn’t changed much since the first day they assigned it to me. The most obvious addition being the coffee mug with the company logo on my desk. My computer had many audio files opened from their work library drive. After lunch with Paul, which had become a habit, I spent time preparing to show that I’d become familiar with Crane Production artists. My way of earning brownie points. Besides playing the violin with him after work, that is. It was the only bright light in the empty days I mostly spent alone.

  I was lonely.

  I moved to take off my zip-up jacket when the pocket vibrated with an incoming text. When I checked the message, I found that it was from Faith.

  8:32 A.M. We need a new hot water heater.

  I tensed and wrote back.

  9:10 A.M. How much?

  She replied.

  9:11 A.M. The repairman said $4,000 to replace it. We borrowed space heaters. I’m heating water on the stove for our baths. I know it’s a lot, but we need help now. Ask your boss to borrow against your paycheck.

  My head throbbed as worry crowded my mind. I’d never heard of borrowing from my paycheck, but I couldn’t afford the high interest of a payday loan if I could get one. No matter what, I wouldn’t leave my family suffering, but I had no idea what to do. Could contract workers borrow payroll? I highly doubted it. But I had to try.

  I sat down at my desk and called Yasmine’s office in Human Resources. When she came on the line, I held myself together and explained what was going on. She listened, and when I finished speaking, she replied coolly.

  “That’s horrible, and I’m sorry to hear what your family is going through. However, our policy does not allow advance payments for temporary employees. I could sign you up to get your pay as early as next Thursday afternoon at three p.m. instead of Friday morning?”

  My stomach churned. “Thank you very much. That would help.”

  “Sorry, maybe try a friend?” she said before we ended the call.

  I had no friends with that kind of money to spare.

  Still at my desk, I checked my finances, the cost of water heaters, and called a repairman online. I tried a discount store for a second opinion and consultation. It was a hundred dollars waived if I agreed to pay thirty-seven hundred. What was I going to do?

  I sighed and called my sister back. “Sorry. I can’t afford it. I’ll ask Destiny to delay rent. I’ll try another repairman to see if I can go lower. It’ll have to wait.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she argued. “Sell your laptop or your desktop. Ask Paul Crane, he has money. We’re in dire need. Mom can’t do anything herself. I’ll have no other choice but to sell her wedding ring. Here, you talk to her.”

  My nerves went haywire. I wasn’t prepared to talk to my mom. I wanted to do it when I was less distressed. But I couldn’t turn down Faith’s offer to speak. It had been months.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said in a voice that cracked.

  “Aubrey, is that you?” Mom’s voice sounded shaky, weak.

  “It’s… it’s me,” I stammered. “How are you, Mom?”

  “I’m thankful,” she said. “Will you help Faith?”

  I shrunk in my seat. “I’m trying my best to help the both of you.”

  “I’ll pray for you. I pray for Sean, your daddy.” She sobbed. “Please don’t make me sell my wedding ring.”

  “Mom, please don’t cry,” I pleaded.

  “I can’t live like this. I can’t live anymore,” she howled.

  “Don’t say that, please. I’ll find the money. Just please stay calm, Mom.”

  “She’ll rest now,” Faith said upon her return to the phone. “We’ll do whatever we can. You do what you can do.” She hung up.

  The only thing I could think of that paid fast money was a gentlemen’s club. This wasn’t the first time I’d considered stripping. I’d targeted a few clubs when I was homeless, but it hadn’t been an easy decision to make. I was depressed but determined to fix my life. At that time, I had only listened to the recorded instructions for the audition—another layer of stress I’d face. I wasn’t confident I could do it and didn’t know how fast I could make money.

  Even so, I left a voice message at two clubs, then propped my elbows on the desk and rested my head on my folded hands, blinking back tears as my heart ached over my family. I let the moments extend while my computer loaded up the files for the day. I’d spent most of the short break wondering if I’d ever get out of the crisis circus, and then I heard the click of my door closing.

  Startled, I sat up, only to sink back when I realized it was Gunnar. He had on a T-shirt and shorts instead of his suit. He also held a box of chocolates for me. Something he’d been bringing me often of late. The box would join the other two I’d left in the lunchroom for whoever wanted to eat them.

  “Am I interrupting something?” he asked.

  I turned my attention to the computer. “I’m busy. I don’t want your chocolates,” I replied, my tone crisp.

  “You’re off the phone, and Paul said you like chocolate.” He came in and sat down, then tossed the chocolates in my in-box tray. The empathetic look on his face had me thinking he’d been standing there longer than I’d realized.

  “You seem more on edge than you are normally. What’s up?” he asked.

&n
bsp; I pursed my lips. “Nothing about me is your business. Now please leave my office so I can start my work.”

  He scoffed. “You sure hold a grudge.”

  “I’m over it,” I said, and pulled up my schedule on the computer.

  “You’re obviously not,” he replied. “Was the outcome bad? You’re working together, but now you don’t have illusions of a relationship. I love Paul like a brother, but he’s… imaginative. He’d dump you the second another woman attracted his creative vision.”

  I narrowed my eyes, though my stomach twisted in knots. Paul using and dumping me was something I’d considered, but that was over and done. We worked together and played music when we were both available. “Why do you keep bringing it up? I’m doing what they hired me to do, and that will always be the case.”

  “I understand that about you now,” he said, and nodded. “I’ll admit, it’s all I hear about you. However, I thought it better to be cautious. Some of Paul’s previous work partners saw their relationship with him as their payday. His last tried a fake baby after they broke up, knowing how much he wants a family. Now she’s trying to sue him to make money off dating him. I won’t allow anyone to hurt him like that again.”

  I didn’t like gossip, but there were rumors of a lawsuit—and although Paul had mentioned people using him, I hadn’t known the extent of his problems. I’d arrange measures, too, to protect myself if those I trusted used my vulnerabilities to hurt me.

  “I can see what I’ve said upsets you.” Gunnar’s pale blue eyes studied me. “I have absolutely no hang-ups, and I’d gladly take you out sometime.”

  “Are you actually serious?” I raised incredulous eyebrows. “Absolutely not. I signed the papers you emailed, and I have no reason to talk with you anymore. Leave my office now.”

  After pointing towards the door, I paused. I hadn’t meant for my outburst to go so far. Although I’d done that before, I shouldn’t make it a habit. I hadn’t even considered whether Gunnar could put my job at risk, but he’d asked me out on a date, and he was a lawyer there. The rules didn’t apply to him, it seemed; just to Paul, the man I still wanted.