I might never have anything like this for myself, but that didn’t bother me. I had long since given up hope of meeting a man who didn’t want to change me, and I didn’t want children. But my best friend and my brother were married, and they let me share this part of their lives. That was all the family that I needed.
“What are you thinking about?” Matt asked later, as we cleaned dishes next to each other in the kitchen while Leanne put the kids to bed.
I gave him a surprised look, but really, I should have expected that he would notice how introspective I had been that evening. He knew me better than anyone, excluding Leanne. How to tell him, though, that I was starting to wonder if maybe Leanne was right? Maybe I would never find the fulfillment I craved through my job. Maybe I needed to try something different.
But I didn’t want a family. I was happy being the fun and crazy Aunt Abby. And surely there was some sort of job out there that was perfect for me. I just had to find it.
I shook my head at Matt and smiled. “I had a couple job interviews,” I told him. “I’m just wondering when I’ll hear back from any of them.”
Matt reached over and squeezed my shoulder lightly. “You know that if there’s anything you need from us, all you have to do is ask,” he said, smiling at me. He was my big brother, and I knew he would always be there to lookout for me, to protect me.
I smiled at him. “Thanks,” I said, even though I hoped I could find something before I had to ask him for any sort of help. As much as I loved being a part of his family with Leanne, I was also independent and strong-willed and didn’t want to feel like I was reliant on anyone else.
I’d find something, I told myself. I had put my career first since I had graduated. That sort of drive always paid off in the end. I just had to be patient.
Chapter 3
Daniel
THE PARTY WENT LATE on Friday night. I didn’t want to leave the office before everyone else; I was the boss, and that wasn’t the way I worked. So I hung around, sipping at some rum that I kept in my office and steadily working my way through the pile of paperwork that I had hoped to do back home, in the comfort of my apartment. My office was plenty comfortable anyway, I reasoned with myself. No reason to leave just yet.
One by one, the rest of the employees began to trickle off home to their families. When there was only a small group left, I headed out to grab some food and drink for myself.
“It’s the boss-man!” Jimmy crowed, throwing his arms in the air. “We thought you weren’t going to join us.”
I gave him a grin, feeling a bit tipsy myself by this point. Not drunk, because regardless of what the media liked to say about me, I tended not to let myself get to the point where I would do anything too spontaneous or stupid. But tipsy enough that maybe I could blur the line between boss and employee just for a little while. It had been a while since I had had drinks with anyone that I actually knew, outside of bland business dinners.
All the people who were still left—Jimmy, Brian, Tom, Sarah, and Ella—were the younger crowd who didn’t have families to go home to at the end of the night. They wouldn’t see any sort of impropriety in my hanging out with them for a little while anyway. It was the older guys that I had to worry about. Get too close to them and they started to think that they had more authority than me. These guys knew where the power lay, though.
I perched on one of the desks, balancing my plate carefully as I shrugged. “Just wanted to get a few things finished up tonight before heading home for the weekend,” I told them with a martyred air.
Brian shook his head. “See this is what I love about working for you,” he said. “You’re always the first one in the office and the last guy to leave. My last boss barely did any of the work for himself. But you don’t micromanage, either.”
“I try not to,” I said gravely, trying not to smile. I couldn’t help but feel flattered, even though I knew exactly what all of them thought about me. “Got any fun plans for the weekend?” I asked the group at large, magnanimously deflecting the attention away from myself.
We chatted for a while, working our way through the rest of the drinks that the catering company had brought. I finally looked at my watch as I realized I was getting pretty tired and that they were getting pretty drunk. It was already after midnight. Probably time to shut this little party down and get everyone home.
Everyone seemed to notice me looking at my watch, and the gesture was echoed by Jimmy and Tom. “Shit, almost one in the morning?” Tom said in surprise. There were a couple winces around the group, and everyone seemed in accordance that it was time to head home.
“Why don’t I call a cab for you two ladies?” I suggested to Sarah and Ella.
“I can walk,” Sarah protested. “I don’t live that far away from here.”
I shook my head. “You know I can’t let you do that,” I said grandly. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. We need you here in the office.”
Sarah snorted. “Tell that to Haddox,” she said, then clapped a hand over her mouth, giggling a little in embarrassment.
I let the comment slide. “Come on,” I said, looping my arms around them, one on each of the women’s shoulders. “Let’s find you ladies a cab.”
The guys filed out in front of us, going their separate ways on the street as I waited for a cab with the women. Now that we were outside the building, I started to pull my arms away, aware of just how this might be construed. Not that I thought anyone would catch us here. By all rights, we should have been home from work hours ago. The media wouldn’t have known about this impromptu office dinner.
But both the women pressed in closer to me, and I realized belatedly that neither of them were dressed for the chilly night air. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and comment on that. It was September in Chicago; what did they think the weather was going to be like when they got off work? They should have at least come prepared with an extra layer just in case. Apparently neither had thought of that, though.
Fortunately, the cab pulled up in front of us after not too long. “I’ll see you both on Monday,” I said to the two women.
Suddenly, a flash bulb went off, and I realized that we weren’t as alone as I’d thought we were. I peered at the man with the camera. Press definitely, if the size of that lens was anything to go by.
I swore under my breath and hustled both of the women toward the car, pulling open the door and ushering them quickly inside. I slammed the door shut before the photographer had time to take another photo of the three of us. Likely the one that he already had was damning enough.