by Lexy Timms
“I’ll have to try that.”
“I’ll leave a couple of tea bags in your office.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that,” she said.
I grinned as I relaxed in my chair. I could hear the nervousness in her voice, but it didn’t dispel the comfort of her tone. It was odd, how sitting silently on the phone with her relaxed me the way it did. I’d been half a stack of paperwork away from a strong cup of tea until her voice wafted in my ear.
I didn’t want to get off the phone with her.
“I hate to cut the call, but my mom’s starting to stir,” Ashley said.
“No, no. You go and take care of her. And if you need the day off tomor—”
“I won’t need the day off, Jimmy. I promise. I’ll be in tomorrow,” she said.
“Okay. Just know the option’s there.”
“And thank you for it. I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
I was reluctant to hang up the phone, but I could tell she didn’t want to talk any longer. I sat there, staring at the phone, willing it to ring again. Willing her to call me back and start talking. Willing her through the air that connected us to talk to me. I knew she wanted to. I could hear the exasperation in her tone. I wanted her to know she could talk to me.
I wanted her to know I cared.
“Shit,” I said as I turned toward the windows. “Not good.”
It wasn’t good that I cared about Ashley. At least, it was starting to feel like I was caring about her. I wasn’t really sure. The lines between a boss worrying over an employee and a man worrying over a woman were beginning to blur. I knew this would happen, that things would get hairy with putting Ashley in this position. It was why I had Ross keeping a close eye on her like he was.
But maybe someone needed to be keeping an eye on me.
I looked down at the wedding ring on my finger and grimaced. I hated it. It looked tacky. Purposeless. A reminder of the facade I had to put on for the public. I didn’t know what I was going to do if someone asked me about my wife. Who she was. When we got married. People would assume it was Nina, and it would look terrible on me if I told them it was anyone else but her.
I was wading in deep waters with a flotation device, not prepared for the storm looming ahead.
It felt like the water surrounding my life had been patient enough, and it was rearing itself up for attack.
And I was helpless to defend myself against it.
Chapter 26
Ashley
Getting my mother back to the nursing home from the hospital was rough. She wasn’t lucid the day it happened, and she fought it every step of the way. The rational part of me wanted to try and calm her down, try to convince her we were there to help her. But the angry part of me that was still reeling with everything wanted to yell at her. To chastise her and tell her to sit down and hush. It made me feel guilty, so guilty that I cried myself to sleep that night. Chipper curled up beside me on my bed and licked away my tears, and I pulled him close to soak up his warmth.
I felt like a horrible, terrible daughter.
I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating on my desk. My alarm for the day hadn’t gone off yet, and I groaned as I rolled over. I picked up the phone, not bothering to see who was calling, and I perked up the moment they introduced themselves.
“Miss Ternbeau?”
“Yes?” I asked.
“This is Nicole Beeker, from OceanHome Apartments. Do you have a second to speak?”
“Yes. Yes, I do,” I said as I sat up.
“Well, I wanted to call and let you know that your rental application has been accepted, and your credit score is good enough for the security deposit to be waived.”
“Are you serious? Oh my gosh, thank you so much.”
“I was calling to make sure you were still interested in renting with us.”
“Yes. I am. Definitely,” I said.
“Do you have a specific move-in date you wish to request?” she asked.
“My lease where I am now is up at the end of this month. The, uh, the twenty-eighth, if I’m not mistaken”
“So you’d like to move in by the twenty-eighth?” she asked.
“Yes, please. If that’s possible.”
“We have a few available options for you, and most of them fit your parameters. Would it make you nervous to be on the fourteenth floor?” she asked.
“Not at all. The views from up there are spectacular.”
“They are. It’s my favorite floor. Apartment 1405 isn’t quite the layout you were looking at. It’s still a two-bedroom two-bathroom setup, but the guest bedroom doesn’t have all of the luxury amenities the master bathroom has.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “That’s not a deal breaker.”
“Wonderful. There’s still a walk-in shower, but there’s no tub. The shower’s larger to accommodate the excess space, but because there’s no jet tub in there, the bedroom space is a little larger as well.”
“Perfectly fine with me,” I said breathlessly.
“Do you have any pets?”
“I do. A little beagle puppy,” I said.
“Okay. You know that comes with a deposit?”
“One-time two-hundred-dollar deposit. Yes.”
“Do you want to pay that up front? Or rope it into your first month’s rent.”
“Rent is fine,” I said. “That’ll be more convenient for everyone involved.”
“Indeed. I have you set up to move in on the twenty-eighth of this month into apartment 1405. We do offer a moving service to help you get everything up to your apartment at no charge. Do you want me to book you for it?”
“You mean people to help?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Sure. That sounds great.”
“What time should they be ready?” she asked.
“Um, ten? In the morning?”
“Ten o’clock it is. I have you all scheduled. I’ll send you an email with all the confirming details. We look forward to having you!”
“Thank you so much,” I said. “Really. Thank you.”
“Have a good rest of your day, Miss Ternbeau.”
“You, too, Miss Beeker.”
I couldn’t believe it. I sprang up from my bed and danced around the room as Chipper barked at me. I looked over at the clock just as my phone alarm went off, and I ran for the shower.
I had to call Cass.
I had to start packing.
I raced to work with a smile on my face. I was riding up the elevator, bouncing around with joy. I couldn’t wait to get to my office to call Cass and tell her the good news. I knew she’d want to help me pack and find new furniture to have delivered to my new apartment.
New apartment.
I was getting a new apartment.
The elevator doors opened, but it wasn’t on the floor I needed. But instead of staying in the elevator, I felt someone grab my arm.
“Come with me, Miss Ternbeau. Emergency meeting.”
“Mr. Brent,” I said as I stumbled off the elevator. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing and everything. Mr. Fowler’s already in my office, and Mr. Sheldon’s on his way.”
“O-okay,” I said. “What is this about?”
“So many things,” Mr. Brent said.
“Ah, there you are, Ashley,” Ross said.
“And a good morning to you too. Why is Mr. Brent so worked up?” I asked.
“Because it always gets that way when we spring things on him,” Ross said with a grin.
“Okay, now that we’re all here—”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Jimmy?” I asked.
“He knows most of this stuff already,” Ross said. “But we need to fill in some holes really quickly.”
“Okay,” I said. “What’s up?”
“In the past few days, Mr. Sheldon has taken on three new clients. We’re overloaded with orders, and the warehouses we have secured for this new venture are
at capacity. Things are already on backorder, and we haven’t even started advertising yet.”
“Sounds like Jimmy,” I said. “What’s going wrong?”
“The deals,” Mr. Brent said. “Mr. Sheldon has a couple of our clients on a monthly payment scale without any money up front. We’re dipping into some serious funds to front these costs now, and the investors haven’t invested enough to give us that up-front money.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Our investors fronted—”
“The number isn’t important,” Ross said. “Mr. Brent, there has to be something wrong with your tallies.”
“I’ve worked with you guys for six years. When have my tallies ever been wrong?” Mr. Brent asked.
“Now,” Jimmy said.
We all turned and watched him glide into the room. He looked down at me and grinned, and then stood beside me as if to step up to the plate and fight for me. I had no idea what was going on, but it seemed like I had to double-check the investor’s accounts again.
But when my gaze fell to wrack my mind with the latest numbers, my eyes fell on the ring on Jimmy’s finger.
An instant fire of jealous rushed through my body. Had Jimmy gotten married? To Nina? I felt my world come to a screeching halt as the men around me began to talk. I could hear Mr. Brent’s frantic voice, and Ross firing back at him. I figured he was trying to pin something on me, but I didn’t know what he was saying.
All I could see was that ring on Jimmy’s finger.
Taunting me. Making me angrier by the second.
“It sounds like I need to go check on the investor’s accounts,” I said. “And I can’t do that here.”
“It sounds like it,” Mr. Brent said.
“Mr. Brent, can I say something really quickly before I go?” I asked.
“You’re free to speak as you please, Ashley,” Ross said.
“The next time you want me for a meeting, leave a note on my desk. Don’t grab my arm and wrench me off the elevator.”
“He did what?” Jimmy asked.
I looked up at him and saw a spark of fire in his eyes. What was he getting so protective over? It wasn’t like I was his.
He was married.
Apparently.
“I’m going to go check those accounts,” I said. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll have the issue resolved.”
“You grabbed her?” Jimmy asked.
I didn’t stay for the argument that was about to ensue. I was confused with all the emotions bubbling in my body, and I needed to get away.
I needed to not be so close to Jimmy.
I got up to my office and slammed the door closed behind me. I turned on my computer and started clicking away. I pulled up the investor’s accounts and started running numbers in my head, and the moment I pulled up one of the accounts, I knew what had happened.
That damn man’s check wasn’t clearing.
Again.
I picked up my phone, dialed his number, and had a very curt conversation with him. I told him what was going on and that this was the second time in two weeks a check of his wasn’t clearing. I told him he needed to get in touch with his bank and figure out what was going on with his checks, and then he needed to schedule a meeting with me. It was my job to make sure things like this ran smoothly, so there needed to be some compromise. He couldn’t continue donating in batches as he wanted and causing us hiccups whenever we turned around.
Then I hung up the phone, sent off an email stating what I’d found, and told them I was in the process of resolving the issue.
I drew in a deep breath before I pulled out my cell phone. I needed to talk with Cass. She picked up the phone on the first ring and started rattling on about how her ant problem was gone, and I sat there and listened as best as I could.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What?”
“You haven't said a word for five minutes.”
“Because you haven’t taken a breath for five minutes,” I said.
“Have you heard from the apartment complex?” she asked.
“I did. This morning. I’m moving into my new place at OceanHomes on the twenty-eighth.”
“Then why aren’t you jumping for joy?”
“Because I came into the office today and found out Jimmy had gotten married,” I said.
“Uh, well, shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Now, are we gonna go celebrate your new place tonight?” Cass asked.
“Didn’t you hear me? Jimmy’s married,” I said.
“Yeah? And? You don’t care about him, remember?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that he got married. Without telling anyone. He tried to sell me on how we’re all a family or something, and then he doesn’t tell anyone he got married?”
“When did that conversation happen?” she asked.
“It didn’t. It was implied. Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is—”
“He got married. I know. I hear you. But you know what it sounds like to me?”
“What?”
“It sounds like you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“I think you are. Which means you like him,” she said.
“Cass, seriously? We’re doing this again?”
“You’re the one who called me, Ashley, not the other way around. And it wasn’t to talk about this awesome fucking apartment you nailed. It was to talk about him,” she said.
“It feels like whenever one good thing happens, something bad follows it.”
“Because you got the apartment and then Jimmy got married? If you want to get technical, he probably got married before that complex called you. Maybe bad stuff needs to happen for you to get good stuff.”
“Seriously?”
“What? That’s how ridiculous you sound,” she said. “Things are going well for you right now. You didn’t want to be Jimmy’s little side thing, and you made that known. What did you expect him to do? Drop the woman he was dating and come running into your arms?”
“I don’t ... I don’t know,” I said.
“I think you should give it some thought, then. Because you’re going to be working alongside him for a long time. And don’t you dare go quitting this job because of all this. You’ve earned this life you’re building for yourself.”
“I’m not quitting. I can’t. I got the apartment, and my mother’s bills are about to skyrocket.”
“What do you mean? What happened?” she asked.
“Cass, it’s such a long story,” I said with a sigh.
“All the more reason to go out to dinner tonight. My treat.”
“No, it’ll be my treat this time,” I said.
“Then, I’m picking you up. Should I come to your place or your work?”
“My place. You can meet my new puppy.”
“You got a puppy? When?” she asked.
“Last weekend. He’s a little beagle. You’ll love him.”
“If you have a puppy, we’re ordering in.”
“Done,” I said. “See you around six?”
“Yep. And come prepared to talk.”
“Fine,” I said. “But come prepared to entertain the puppy.”
“Already done. I’ll see you tonight.”
“See ya,” I said.
“Making plans for the evening?”
I jumped at Ross’s voice.
“Hey, did you get the email I sent you?” I asked.
“I did. I also wanted to let you know that Mr. Brent won’t be interacting with you anytime soon. If you’re required at a meeting, it’s to go through us. He won’t be talking directly with you any longer.”
“Ross, that wasn’t necessary.”
“He put his hands on you, Ashley. Big Steps has a very strict harassment policy, sexual or otherwise. Whether or not he likes it, you’re above him now. That’s his issue to deal with.”
“Ah. Okay. Well, um, do you need something?” I asked.
&nb
sp; “Wanted to let you know you were awesome in dealing with that issue so quickly. Let me know when you schedule that meeting with him, though. I want Jimmy or me to be there for it.”
“I figured as much. I’ll let you both know, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good. In the meantime, Jimmy wants to see you in his office at the end of the day.”
“Did he say why?” I asked.
“He took off pretty quickly from Mr. Brent’s office. I’m only relaying what he said before he left.”
“Okay. I’ll slip in around four thirty? I’ll have to be out of here by five.”
“For your fun plans?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “For my fun plans.”
“I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks, Ross.”
Chapter 27
Jimmy
“You wanted to see me?”
I looked up from my desk and saw Ashley standing in my office doorway. I felt a tug in my gut, a tug I had felt when her voice fluttered against my ear over the phone. I drew in a deep breath as I studied her, taking in the way her skirt fell haphazardly against her legs. She had her thick-framed black glasses on and her red hair up in a bun.
I still didn’t understand why she kept it up like that.
“I did, yes. Come take a seat,” I said.
She hesitated for a moment, and that was when I saw the flicker of frustration in her eyes. I watched her make her way to me, sitting with purpose and poised to get up as quickly as she could.
“I wanted to ask you about the investor’s balance sheets and check up on the issue we experienced this morning,” I said.
“I sent you an email. Didn’t you get it?” Ashley asked.
“Have you made any progress on it since the email?”
“I would’ve told you had there been any,” she said. “As far as the balance sheets go, they all look good. Minus the one investor who’s investing in a very stupid way if you ask me.”
My eyebrows hiked at the way she spat that word.
“Stupid,” I said. “How so?”
“Every other investor writes a check quarterly. And I’ve got most of them asking if direct deposits into their accounts here are possible, which I’m working on. But Mr. Matthews invests every two weeks like he doesn’t have all the money up front. Or possibly doesn’t trust us up front. So I have to keep after him. He also hates the idea of direct depositing, says the checks create a paper trail.”
