Friends ForNever

by Melissa Baldwin

  He shrugs his shoulders and then walks away. This is so typical of him. He makes me mad and then wanders off, leaving me stewing. It's definitely time for me to go home.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "Tell me every detail." Bre corners me the second I walk into the office. Surprisingly, she beat me to work today. I'm pretty sure this is the first time that has ever happened and will probably be the last time.

  "Every detail about what?" I ask sarcastically. Of course, I know exactly what she's talking about. She wants to know about my date, and I'm sure she's curious about Harry, too. She hasn't mentioned him at all, so I'm assuming he hasn't called her. Maybe he's called Aly, but I'm certainly not going to ask.

  "Ha-ha. You know I'm talking about your hot date," she says with a wink.

  I start to organize some papers on my desk, pretending not to hear her. I'm sure it's driving her absolutely crazy.

  "The date was great," I say shortly. She stares at me as if I've lost my mind.

  "How great, exactly?" she asks.

  I know what she's referring to. Seriously? This girl has lost her mind, as if I would actually sleep with Aiden on the first date. I may be an independent career woman, but I have more self-respect than that.

  "We had a great time. Aiden went out of his way to make every single detail perfect."

  I must have a ridiculous goofy smile on my face because Bre gives me a weird look.

  "Good morning," Aly announces with a big cheesy grin on her face. She seems to be in a very good mood, not that I've ever seen her in a bad mood.

  "Why are you so chipper today?" Bre asks, sighing loudly. Aly is chipper every day. I still don't understand why she doesn't like her.

  Please don't say Harry, I think to myself.

  "It's a beautiful day," she says in a sing-song voice. "And…I'm almost finished with my piece that I'm submitting for the Paris job. Eek!"

  This girl belongs in a Disney movie, I think to myself.

  Wow, already? Am I the only person who hasn't finished? Good for her. Bre gives a smirk—she really isn't very good at hiding her thoughts. I know she doesn't think that Aly has a chance in hell of getting one of the spots. But you never know, and truthfully, there's a part of me that's starting to panic. I'm not happy with the work I've done so far, and I've come close to throwing my computer against the wall a few times. Now, both Bre and Aly have their work completed? I'm in trouble.

  "That's awesome, Aly," I say sincerely. "I told you that you have just as much of a chance as anyone else."

  She gives me a grateful smile, and I suddenly feel really good. I feel like I've inspired her, like I'm her mentor or something. Okay, so maybe mentor is an exaggeration, but I've definitely helped her more than anyone else has.

  Bre ignores our conversation and has turned her back toward us. Whatever.

  * * *

  As the day goes on, I'm thinking about asking Aiden to join me for lunch. Our date was last Friday night, and I'm really anxious to talk to him. It's been two days, so enough time has passed so I won't appear desperate. I'm about to text him when I see him saunter off the elevator. Wow, what are the chances?

  "Hey, you," he says with a warm smile. And not a mention of the horrific ET nickname.

  "Hey," I reply. "I was just going to send you a text." I swear my face must be really red. I feel like it's on fire. How humiliating to be blushing in front of everyone.

  "Aren't you two adorable?" Bre calls from her desk. I'm about to kick the back of her chair when she turns to face us. "I have a bone to pick with you, Aiden Thomas," she says as she spins around in her chair.

  I can see that Aiden couldn't care less.

  "Tell me, Bre, what would that be?" He looks at me and winks.

  "Really? Like you don't know. Have you talked to your brother about us all hanging out together?"

  My heart sinks. I glance at Aly who has suddenly become very interested in this conversation. This is not going to be good.

  "My brother?" Aiden asks sarcastically. "Why would I want to hang out with him?"

  I try to hide my giggle, but at the same time, I guess the secret is out because although Aly is pretending to be busy, I know she's intently listening to every word of their conversation.

  "Whatever," Bre says. "You know what I'm talking about, and you and Erin can tag along if you want."

  Aiden looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. "Bre, I can promise you that I'm not my brother's keeper, and I have no control over his love life. Anyway, the reason I came up here was to invite Erin to lunch." He smiles at me. "Want to join me?"

  That's a silly question.

  "Sounds great. Let's go." I quickly get up and drag him away. I want to escape just in case there's any battle over Harry. Poor Aly looked very concerned, so I'm sure she will have plenty of questions waiting for me when I return.

  "That was awkward," I say once we are safely on the elevator. "I've been wondering if Harry called either of them since they haven't mentioned it."

  "You never know with Harry. I don't know what goes through that guy's mind," he says as he rolls his eyes. "He may call one of them or both, or he may run off to Vegas with a random flight attendant. It changes by the day."

  So he's saying that Harry is a player. As much as I want to stay out of this, I should probably warn both the girls about him. That's what friends are supposed to do…right? But before I warn them, I need more info.

  We sit down for lunch in the café that's right outside our building. "So tell me, is Harry like a huge jerk, or a bum or something? The way you describe him it sounds like he doesn't take anything seriously."

  Aiden takes a sip of his water. "Harry is definitely not a bum. I would describe him more as very carefree. To be honest with you, he actually owns several companies, and he's pretty successful. Shocking, I know. He still seems like a surfer boy without a care in the world."

  Harry is a big-time CEO? What?

  "You're kidding, right?" I ask. There's no way the guy I met is some successful business mogul.

  He shakes his head. "I'm not kidding. He and a few friends started when they were younger. He didn't graduate college, but the guy makes…let's just say a lot. He has homes all over the world."

  I'm in complete awe. "Wow," I say under my breath.

  "Now don't you go getting all excited," he says defensively. "Harry doesn't need another woman falling all over him, especially you. Oh, and don't say anything to the girls. He actually likes to keep it under wraps."

  I nod my head. I can understand that.

  "I know it sounds weird," he continues, "but Harry thinks that people treat him different when they find out. I think he likes being a mystery."

  This is fascinating. And I like the fact that Aiden seems worried that I, too, would fall for Harry's charm. I can only hope that means he wants to keep me for himself.

  "Enough about Harry," I say, and Aiden gets a big grin on his face.

  "Thank you," he says dramatically. "Let's talk about you. How was your niece's birthday party?"

  I totally forgot that I mentioned the party while we were on our date.

  "It was pretty good, except for my mom and her brilliant ideas," I reply. I catch myself before I say anything about her inviting Will. However, I think I may have still said too much.

  "What brilliant ideas?" Aiden asks. Crap. Sometimes I don't know when to shut up. Although it shouldn't be a big deal because I've gone on one date with Aiden. That hardly means I can't meet other men.

  "It's kind of crazy, but not out of character for my mom." I take a sip of my water. "She invited someone to the party to meet me, and it was extremely awkward considering it was a child's birthday party. My brother kept making tasteless jokes that she was using the party to pimp me out." I roll my eyes.

  "Huh…that's interesting." He pauses. "Sounds like something Harry would do. I bet our brothers would get along pretty well."

  At that moment, we get interrupted by a coworker from Aiden's department—thi
s guy has the worst timing ever. I'm feeling a little confused. Aiden didn't seem the slightest bit phased or concerned when I mentioned Mom trying to set me up. I know that's silly, and maybe he didn't think anything of it, or maybe he's just trying to act cool? I just don't want him to think that I'm interested in anyone else. I wait patiently while he discusses some reports. I really want to tell this guy to take a hike for interrupting my lunch date. I glance at my phone and realize I got a text.

  Hi Erin. Want to grab dinner this week? Will

  I'm completely shocked to see that the text is from Will. He has pretty bad timing as well.

  "I'm sorry," Aiden says, startling me from reading the text. "Next time, let's go somewhere away from the office so we can be alone."

  "Sure," I reply sweetly, "I'd love that." The subject changes back to work, and I know the moment has passed from my mom and the blind date.

  When I get back to the office, Bre is nowhere to be found. She's probably taking one of her extended lunches. In other words, she will pop back in a few hours. Aly's eating at her desk and playing on her iPad.

  "How was your lunch?" she asks when she sees me.

  "Good," I reply with that same ridiculously goofy smile that I've had on my face since Friday night.

  "Wow. It seems like you two really have a strong connection."

  I can feel myself turning red. Oh well, it's not like it's ever been a secret how much I like Aiden, and why should I care what everyone thinks anyway?

  "I guess I'm no longer good at hiding it, am I?" I say softly. Not that I ever was.

  She shakes her head.

  "So, tell me the truth about something," she says finally. "Bre's interested in Harry also?" Aha! I knew this was coming. There's no reason I shouldn't be honest with her about it.

  "Yeah, I'm really sorry I didn't say anything. It's kind of awkward because…"

  "No, I get it," she interrupts. "You've known Bre longer than me, so of course you would want your boyfriend's brother to date her."

  I'm speechless because, first of all, I couldn't really care less who Harry dates, and second, Aiden isn't exactly my boyfriend—yet.

  "That's not true," I say calmly. I don't want her to feel this way. Although it's true that I've known Bre longer, we aren't super close, and whom Harry chooses to date or not has nothing to do with me.

  "Oh well, it doesn't really matter anyway," she says with a snicker. "I think things will work out just the way they're supposed to." She turns back to her desk, leaving me feeling confused. I'm not sure what she meant by that comment, not to mention I've never seen this side of Aly before. All of a sudden she seems different somehow, almost overly confident, and she was very short with me.

  "Aly, I'm sorry, but I can assure you I have nothing to do with whom Harry chooses to date," I say. I'm not sure why I feel the need to give her any kind of explanation, but I sincerely like Aly, and I don't want to hurt her feelings.

  "I know," she says after what seems like forever. "I'm sorry if I seemed rude. You've been really helpful since I got here, and I appreciate it."

  Just then, Bre comes back, and Aly quickly turns back to her desk. Ugh, I really need to get my own office and the sooner the better.

  * * *

  This is the absolute best time to be in the office. It's six o'clock, and almost everyone has gone home for the day. I'm still trying to work on my article, and I've changed the topic more times than I can count. I had to take a break and work on my submission for this month, but luckily, I got that turned in just before my deadline. I did a quick article on new travel tips. I did a bunch of research on best times to book air travel, best hotels, and other vacation tips. People can't get enough travel articles, so that's my safe and happy place. I considered using it for my interview piece, but I just don't think it's good enough for that. Everyone is talking more and more about this project, and I'm getting more and more nervous about it.

  I'm about to throw my computer against the wall yet again when I realize that I need a break. When I go to check my phone, I realize that I never responded to the text from Will. I reread it.

  Hi Erin. Want to grab dinner this week? Will

  I let out a deep sigh. I don't really know what to do because I don't want to hurt Will's feelings, but I'm starting to have strong feelings for Aiden. At the same time, there isn't a reason why I can't go out with Will as friends. Aiden and I have gone out, but we haven't discussed being exclusive, and there is also the issue of my mother harassing me until the end of time. Getting her off my back is more than enough reason to agree to go out with him. I respond to his text.

  Sure.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "I haven't talked to you in forever. I was getting ready to file a missing persons report. What have you been doing?" Mya is yelling so loudly that I have to pull the phone away from my ear.

  I feel really guilty. Sometimes I get so caught up in my life that I don't talk to my best friend for weeks at a time. I don't even know how many messages she's left for me. Mya and I have been best friends since we were teenagers. She lives in Florida now, but we try to see each other at least once a year if possible.

  "I know," I reply. "What have I been doing? Well, you know me, working my ass off as usual."

  The truth is that Mya knows me better than anyone in this world, probably even better than I know myself. It was a hard transition when she moved to Florida. Truthfully, I'm really not good at making new friends. Some people may even say that I'm antisocial, especially on those nights I'd rather go home and watch TV than go to happy hour. "Girl, I really think you need a vacation," she exclaims. "How about a trip to Miami to see your awesome best friend?"

  I smile to myself. "Maybe. But while on the subject of trips, there might be a possibility of a five-week international project for work." I feel like there should be a drum roll playing in the background.

  "Oh, really? International? Where would this be, and can you bring a guest?"

  I knew that was coming. As soon as I say Paris, she starts screaming. I have to calm her down enough to tell her that I don't have the job yet.

  "Okay, so maybe you don't officially have the job yet, but come on, you're so good that I know you will get it," she says confidently.

  I wish I had that kind of faith in myself. Normally, I wouldn't worry, but everyone wants this job.

  "Well, there's a lot of competition and a lot of pressure. We actually have to interview for it. Anyway, enough about work," I say, changing the subject. "I have to tell you about the date I went on last week."

  I knew that I would draw her attention away from Paris, and there is complete silence as I give her all the wonderful details of my dream date with Aiden.

  "He even had a blanket under the table ready for when I got cold." I exclaim.

  "Ooohhhh." She says. "I love the attention to detail. I'm impressed."

  This isn't our first conversation about him, considering I've had a crush on him for quite a while. She's spent many phone calls listening to me ramble on about him.

  "That all sounds perfect. He sounds perfect," she says excitedly. "You know, I think you should bring Aiden when you come to visit. I bet he and Jack would get along great," she says. Jack is Mya's boyfriend, whom I've never met, but I have spoken to him on the phone. I think he may be a long-lost Hemsworth brother because he's the spitting image of Chris…or Liam…well, one of them. I don't know which one is which, but really, does it matter? And what's even better is that he treats her like a queen. Mya is so lucky.

  "Slow your roll. We've been on one date. We're hardly to the point of planning vacations together."

  Mya laughs. "Why not?"

  "Whatever. On another note, my mother has reached a new level of nightmare."

  We talk for another hour, and I tell her all about my mom inviting Will to the birthday party. Of course, Mya has known me forever, so she knows all about my complicated relationship with my mom.

  "So, do you have a picture of Will?" she asks.
"Is he at least good-looking? What does he do for a living?"

  So typical of her—I give her the details of my latest public humiliation, and all she wants to know is if Will is good-looking and what his profession is. Of course the answer is yes, because I do think Will is cute in a neighbor-friend sort of way but not in a boyfriend way. And he does some sort of boring business desk job. It doesn't compare to her Hemsworth-brother boyfriend who sells yachts to rich people in Miami.

  "He's kind of cute," I tell her. "You can look him up on my friends list if you want." She doesn't say anything, so I know that means that she's already on it.

  "Ohhh, he looks so sweet. He reminds me of someone," she says thoughtfully. "I think he looks like one of those actors from the Spiderman movies. I can't remember his name."

  "He's a nice guy, and I did agree to join him for dinner so my mom can stay off my back," I tell her. "There just isn't any attraction there, if you know what I mean."

  "I do," she agrees.

  * * *

  "Honestly, I need a new cubicle, or I would be more than happy to take one of those tiny offices that no one is using."

  I'm having my monthly meeting with Chelsie, and I'm pushing hard to move. I've been trying to tell her that I need my private space to reach my full potential. She looks at me as if I've been sniffing glue. I'm trying especially hard not to throw the other girls under the bus, but I may get desperate.

  "Erin, I can't exactly give you an office," she says. "What's going on with you? You seem so high-strung lately."

  Chelsie has known me for a long time, and she knows how dedicated I am to my job. It doesn't surprise me that she can sense my distress. I have to get creative. I can't very well tell her that I can't concentrate on my job because I'm distracted by my coworkers' love lives and because I have a huge crush on another coworker.

  "Is it that obvious?" I ask her. "Just some drama with my mother, and of course, the pressure is on for this job in Paris."