"That would be very nice, thank you dear." She sat down at one of the round tables.
I went about heating up water and pulled out the box of the various teas and set them on the table in front of her.
"I understand your gallery showing went very well,” she said.
I turned my back to her to get the hot water, grateful for the opportunity because I couldn't look her in the face. The gallery was where that picture was taken.
"It was yes." Of course, now, my reputation along with the consideration of my talent was going down the tubes.
"Is that your ultimate goal? To be an artist?"
I brought the mug of water to her, setting it in front of her. "Yes, my ultimate goal is to make a living from my art."
“What about things like marriage and family?"
I sat down across from her, feeling like a deer with my gaze caught in the headlights by her question. I knew I wanted to run from it, but at the same time was paralyzed by it. "Well, as a concept, someday I'd like to get married and have kids. But it's not something I'm actively pursuing right now." Good answer Nat, I told myself.
"I understand that young people today enjoy being wild and carefree, but often they fail to anticipate the ramifications that can come with that sort of lifestyle. People can end up hurt."
I felt like I was being chastised, so I looked down. I didn't feel like I’d done anything wrong. Hunter and my agreement was done in private. Everything we did was in private. It never came to work, except for when it came out on the Internet.
"Hunter has been hurt before. He's not good with loss and I would hate to see him hurt again."
My gaze shot up to hers in shock, and then I grew indignant. I wasn't sure what upset me more; that she seemed to think I wasn't good enough for Hunter, or that out of the two of us, he was the one that was going to get his heart broken.
She must've seen the annoyance on my face, because she only stared back, and said, "I know my grandson Ms. Nichols. I know he could just as easily hurt you. The fact of the matter is the both of you work here, and Strong Incorporated can't afford to have a bunch of hormonal nonsense going on. Now it's my understanding that so far the two of you have remained professional and I appreciate that. And I am in no way threatening you or your job. My point here is simply to make sure that you are fully aware of what is going on. Hormones have a way of fogging up our rational minds. The both of you need to get clear on what it is you want, and whether this thing you two have going on is the best for both of your particular goals." She rose from her chair, picking up her tea. "Thank you for the tea, Ms. Nichols." Then she turned and left the room.
I sat there trying to wade through everything she had said. She wasn’t wrong. What started out as simple friends with benefits was now jeopardizing my future goals. I wondered if she had the same discussion with Hunter. Perhaps that was the strange vibe I was getting from him.
In the end, she was right. I needed to reevaluate what was going on between Hunter and me. Maybe he and I needed to sit down and reevaluate what was going on. Then again, that would probably make him run for the hills faster than anything because this was supposed to be no strings attached, and talking about a relationship implied string.
My concerns were unwarranted, though, as over the next few days, except for seeing him at work, I didn't see Hunter for any of our no-strings attached interludes. I figured that was the answer. I was pragmatic and knew that was the right answer, even though it made my heart ache.
21
Hunter
I was glad that my brother Ryan called us all over to my dad's house for a family gathering. I was having a hard time resisting Natalie even though I knew it was the best thing to do. Not just to keep us out of the headlines, but also, I couldn’t trust myself around her.
There was something comforting being back in the house that I grew up in with my father. In many ways, he was a shell of a man since my mother died, and at the same time, he devoted himself to ensuring his kids had love and support, giving us as wonderful of a childhood as he could without having our mother.
The house was close to the beach because he loved the surf, and I hoped that he would recover and be out in the ocean again soon.
We were out on the back terrace where my dad was sitting surrounded by my brothers Noah and Ryan. Carter was away at some sort of finance convention. We sat around the table having cold drinks, enjoying the view and checking in with my father. An unfamiliar woman who was around my age came out to assist him.
"Boys, this is my physical therapist, Jess," my father introduced the woman to us.
We all said hello and after she got him settled, she returned to the house.
"She's hot," Noah said as he watched the woman enter the house.
“She's here to help dad. So both you and Hunter need to keep your mitts off," Ryan said.
I held my hands up in surrender. “I didn't say anything. I didn't even look."
Noah gaped at me. "So, you and Natalie really are a thing, huh?"
I shook my head avoiding looking at Ryan in case he had some thoughts about my fucking his sister-in-law. “No. We’re not." That wasn’t a total lie. I needed to keep my distance from her.