About Last Night

The man raised a brow. “How old are you, son? 30?”

I shrugged. “Thereabouts.”

He shook his head. “You sure? There are a series of tests you’ll have to undertake. Your knowledge of the state, federal, and local law needs to be near perfect.”

My face blanched, but he went on. “Then there are the physiological tests, as well as the grueling physical tests you’ll be put through.” He grinned. “They’re designed to push the limits, you hear?”

I nodded slowly. “I hear.” I straightened myself and stood taller. “What do I need to do?”

The man smiled, nodding. “That’s the spirit.” He took out a folder full of papers. “You can start by filling these out. Recruitment is every six weeks. We’re just about due. If I’m not mistaken, the next lot will be in ten days. If you get us what we need in time, you could start training in three weeks’ time.” I went to reach for the folder, but he held it away from me, his face stern. “You’re gonna have your ass handed to you. You know that, right?”

I had no preconceived notions that my time in training was going to be easy. “I know.”

He handed me the folder, and with a jerk of my chin, I was out of there and ready to sign my life away for some semblance of normal.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Mia

Home was becoming overly silent and somewhat overbearing. I needed to get out of the house, and there were only so many evenings I could arrive on Bill and Terry’s doorstep like a little lost puppy.

They needed time alone too. I felt myself overstepping boundaries. They assured me I was welcome anytime, and I know Terry wouldn’t say that if he didn’t mean it, but I felt awful, a little like a third wheel, as if they were babysitting me.

It had been close to two weeks after Quinn had said those gut-wrenching things, and although it still hurt, that hurt had been downgraded from stabbing pain to dull ache.

The morning he had the cake delivered to my door, I was surprised. Imagine my further surprise when I came home later that afternoon to find a huge bunch of flowers at my door. I had no idea what they were, but luckily, the small card attached explained they were purple hyacinth, and the particular color of the flower meant ‘sorry.’ The card also read: I’m an asshole. Please let me be your asshole.

I smiled to myself, brought the flowers inside, and pulled out my cell.

Me: The flowers are gorgeous.

Not a minute passed before I received a response.

Quinn: Not as gorgeous as you.

And every day after that, I received something at my door.

First came the bag of turkey jerky with a note that read, I’ve been a jerk, with jerk underlined three times over. Then came the card with a lollipop on the front that simply read, I suck. After that was an unexpected delivery of bratwurst from a local butcher, and spelled out in sausage was, Sorry, I was a brat. Then arrived the plush doggie with a card that read, I’m sorry. Can I come out of the doghouse now?

The very last gift was a box of Air Heads. The card attached had scribbled inside, Sometimes I can be a real airhead. Sorry!

With every gift, my smile returned. Not because he was spending money on me, but because of the thought being put into them. How could I not see how sorry Quinn was? The effort inside every delivery was enough to see he cared.

And so I went to work with a smile on my face. Of course, Ella could smell something fishy and waltzed over to my desk. I was glad that the bounce in her step had partially returned. What Rick did to her was not something she would get over easily, but she was trying.

She sat on my desk and whispered, “What’d he get you today?”

I handed her the box of Air Heads and, looking confused, she opened the card and read in silence. Her face turned to goo and she frowned over at me. Taking the box of candy, she hit me with it.

I flinched, stunned. “Ow! What the heck was that for?”

She glared at me, leaned forward, and hissed, “Would you just forgive him already? Jeez. You know how many women would kill to be in your position?” She sighed. “I know he fucked up, Mia, but he’s sorry. He admitted he was jealous. That in itself is a huge deal. Hell, after what I’ve been through, I’m the biggest skeptic out there, and I believe him when he says he’s sorry.” She eyed me curiously. “Don’t you?”

I nodded gently. “I do.”

The box of candy shook loudly as she brought it down over my shoulder again. “Then what are you waiting for? Call him!”

I blocked the next hit and warned her, “Ella, if you do not stop hitting me, I will pull that weave from your head and wave it around like a trophy.”

Ella pouted and I smiled. “I’m planning on calling him after the week is out. The day after the ball. Once I don’t have the stress of an event on me, I think I’ll be calmer. That’s a good time to do it.”

A slow smile spread across her red lips. “You know he loves you, right?”

My insides flipped about. “I don’t know about that. I know he likes me, but love? No, I don’t think so.”

She rolled her eyes and stood. “I’m not even going to bother arguing with you.” She asked, “You want a ride to the bar tonight?”

Friday night drinks had become a new thing for me, but I was liking it so far. I’d met a whole new department of Addison Limited, and they were pretty cool people. Not to mention the fact Nicholas had been in attendance.

I grinned. “Sure. You going to be my date tonight?”

She snorted and chuckled. “Oh, baby. You couldn’t afford me.”

My face twisted in mock-pain and I clutched at my chest. “Whoa, ouch. I’m gonna need some aloe for that burn.”

I turned to my computer when a wild idea took hold of me. I stood suddenly, needing a word with my boss.

The bar was full with people to the point of not being able to take a step without turning and apologizing to the person whose foot you’d just stepped on.

I returned from ordering drinks, careful to give myself enough room between people so as not to spill. It felt like a feat when I arrived at the booth without spilling a single drop. Ella looked down at her drink in awe. “Were you a barmaid in a past life?”

I took my straw into my mouth, nodding. “Yep. One of those busty Bavarian wenches who can hold eight steins at once. Although, my boobs probably drank more than the patrons did.” I shrugged. “Guess that’s why they kept me on as long as they did.”

Nicholas snickered along with Pip. Dave from marketing tipped his head back and roared with laughter, while Francine from accounting snorted. Ella smacked my arm, astounded at my dirty, dry wit. “Ha!”

The conversation came easily, and although Dave liked to flirt with me, I’d made it clear it wasn’t going to happen. He was harmless, in my opinion.

His brown eyes crinkled in the corners as he ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. “Mia, when are we getting married?”

I feigned thought. “I don’t know. I think I’m free in October, three years from now.”

He winked, his smile spreading. “For you, I’ll wait.”

I rolled my eyes and sipped at my drink, smiling all the while. I turned to Nicholas and asked him how he was doing. He sipped his beer and leaned forward, closer, so he wouldn’t have to yell his response. As soon as he opened his mouth to answer, he caught sight of something over my shoulder and pulled back, disbelief written all over his face.

Peeking over my shoulder, I caught sight of her. I slid out of the booth and made my way through the crowd to meet her. She looked around anxiously until she caught sight of me. She sighed. “I thought I was too late.”

I smiled at Addison, who looked completely different than I’d ever seen her. She wore light blue jeans, ripped at the knee, a cream-colored tank, with white chic slip-ons. She wore no make-up, and her blonde hair was down, looking soft and freshly washed. A contrast to how she wore herself for work. “No, we’re just over here. C’mon down. What are you drinking?”

She ran a hand through her hair. “Something fruity, I think. How about a fluffy duck?”

We went to the bar and I put Addison’s drink on my tab. Once she had the frou-frou cocktail in her dainty hands, we made our way over to the booth. That was when she spotted Nicholas. She paused mid-step. “Oh. I didn’t know Nicholas would be here.” She swallowed hard. “Crap. This is awkward. I think I should leave.”

But Nicholas had yet to take his eyes off Addison, and he was looking at her differently, inquisitively. I watched him watching her, and decided for her. “No, he’s fine. Sit down. Take a load off.”

Ella, Pip, Dave, and Francine watched me bring over Addison in plain confusion. Nicholas continued to search her face, as if he was seeing her for the first time. I explained myself. “Hey, I invited Addison. I hope you don’t mind.” I said this pointedly, in a way that said, ‘If you have an issue with this, shove it wear the sun don’t shine, because she is staying’.

Nick was the first to speak. “Addison.”

Her smile faltered. Her voice trembled. “Nicholas, hi.” She looked around the booth and I knew she felt out of place. “Hello.”

He watched her so closely that I felt her squirm beside me. I was extremely grateful when he jerked his chin to the booth seat. “Sit. We’re just talking about the Maginty deal and what we can do to improve their outdated Christmas dinners.”

We all watched in complete silence, holding our breaths as to how she would react. Addison stood there a moment before breathing deeply then exhaling slowly. I took a seat in the booth and she sat beside me. Then she started, “Well, the first thing we can do is try to persuade them to update their logo. I think they’ve had the very same one for about fifty years.”

Nick’s eyes smiled. “I was just saying that.”

Addison blinked down at her hands. “Oh, sorry.”

Nick shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. What else?”