Brazen

After a deep rumbling of thunder, a crack of lightning screams from the sky.

It’s been raining for about twelve hours. Tourists know about the sun and the beach, but do they know about the kinds of storms we get? Every street looks like a canal. I swear I saw something swimming alongside my truck as I drove to work. Normally, rain would piss me off since I have to put construction on hold until it stops, but today, I don’t really mind it.

Noah enters the office in a pink raincoat with matching galoshes.

“You’re prepared for rain.” I don’t like the way her boots hide her calves.

“I’m from a rainy city. I was born prepared for rain, but that lightning, it’s on another level. Is that normal?”

She shivers under the air conditioner, and I move to turn it up, adjusting it for her.

“Yeah, for this time of year, it is.”

I’m at a loss for anything else to say. We’ve discussed the weather. Now, what other forms of polite chitchat are there? I felt so at ease with Noah before Sunday got me riled up. Speaking of my meddlesome friend, she walks in the door next, and I’m not sure whether I’m saved or in a worse position.

“Well, hello, you two!” Sunday closes her umbrella and fluffs her hair, which somehow doesn’t have a strand out of place despite the downpour.

Definitely not saved. I recognize that tone. Sunday has mischief on her mind.

“Morning, Sunday,” Noah says.

I stay quiet, waiting for the other pointed heel to drop.

“Brazen, how did you sleep? Are you nice and rested for a full day of being stuck inside? That rain is really coming down, isn’t it?”

“I slept fine, Sunday.” The annoyance in my voice is evident.

Sunday sits at her desk and shoots me a shit-eating grin behind Noah’s back. One that tells me this day is going to be much longer than I anticipated.

“So, Noah, tell us about yourself. I’ve gotten to learn so little about you since I missed your impromptu interview. Where did you meet Brazen?”

Noah shifts in her chair, giving both Sunday and me a peripheral view of her face.

“I just moved here and into the place across from your house on Oak Drive.”

“Wait! You’re Maddy’s new roommate?” Sunday leans forward, propping her elbows on her desk and smiling.

“Yeah, do you know her?” There is so much warmth in every conversation Noah holds, even this casual one.

“You could say that.”

“Madison and Sunday are friends,” I interpret for her vagueness.

“Oh! That’s awesome. I think I got really lucky with my living situation. Madison has been great.”

“So, is that where Brazen met you? He didn’t exactly tell me all the details.”

“Um, yeah. I was outside, and we sort of ran into each other.” Noah squirms in her seat.

Ran into each other? Sure, we’ll go with that.

“Sunday, let Noah work.” I come off too hard, as if I’m upset Noah isn’t on task, which isn’t the case. Sunday knows that, but Noah doesn’t. A tinge of worry slices through me when I think about her taking my statement the wrong way. I shouldn’t care, but I do.

“Don’t be surly, Brazen. I didn’t get to know Noah before you hired her. We’ve been without an assistant since we started this business. Surely, we can survive if she slacks off a little while her bosses get to know her. Besides, rainy days are bad for productivity.” Sunday gives me another smile, daring me to refute her and knowing damn well I won’t. Then, she turns back to Noah. “Did you leave anyone home? A boyfriend maybe?”

I’ve had enough. Casually, I get up from my desk and head for the kitchen. I don’t want to be out here for wherever Sunday takes this conversation, and there is seriously no telling with her. But my steps are just slightly sluggish as I wait to hear Noah’s answer.

“Nope, no boyfriend,” Noah tells Sunday just as the door closes behind me.

Sunday is a pain in my ass. The black coffee I pour myself won’t fix that. I sit at the little table that wobbles. I lean on it and thumb through my phone.

Facebook: full of shit I don’t care about.

Email: full of people that need stuff from me and a plethora of spam messages.

I have a text from a supplier. I’ll get to that later.

I don’t care about any of it.

Noah isn’t even in the room, but somehow, I can still smell her cake-batter scent. The lingering smell both elevates and worsens my mood. It’s the strangest thing. I can’t get enough of the fragrance wrapped around me, but at the same time, the notion that I crave it startles me. I need simplicity in my life—work, Sunday, sleep, and a few beers here and there. It’s been working for me, and the thought of disrupting that and tilting my world with anything more isn’t what I want. Women take work, relationships need nurturing, and all of that is complicated. I don’t want complicated.

I can’t.

I want her, but I can’t.

I’m her boss, and that rules out anything casual between us.

With Noah, it would be all or nothing.

At this point, I can only choose nothing.

“Are you really going to brood in here all day?” Sunday makes a dramatic entrance into my hiding spot.

“Are you really going to keep needling this Noah thing?” I counter.

“Are you really going to deny the fact the we both know that girl is perfect for you?”

“Am I attracted to her? Yes. I’m not going to lie to you because you know me, so it would be pointless. Perfect? Sunday, I just met her. Neither of us knows anything about her. You are jumping way ahead of yourself.”

“I might be on fast-forward, but I want you to be happy. Maybe overdrive is what you need. Don’t lose the opportunity with her before someone else comes and scoops her up while your head is up your ass.”

In her heels, Sunday is almost nose-to-nose with me, and her glare holds me stiff.

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you? You’re my priority, Sunday. There isn’t room for anything else while we’re dealing with everything going on!”

I throw my hands up in the air, and Sunday rocks back on her feet.

It isn’t often that Sunday gets quiet. She always has something to say.

Right now, her eyes drift down, and she rubs at her arm with nothing to say.

Maybe I could have phrased it better. Maybe Sunday doesn’t want to hear that my life is on hold until she’s safe, but if she isn’t going to let this go, then she needs to understand why. If I hurt her feelings, then so be it. Keeping her safe is even more important than using kid gloves with her.

“You can’t put your life on hold because of me, Brazen. It isn’t fair to either of us, and it isn’t good for our friendship. I never asked you to make these sacrifices. I don’t want you to.”

The thunder outside roars and plays as a soundtrack to our heavy conversation.

This seems to be a recurring topic for Sunday and me.

Her estranged husband rules our lives.

“Honestly, Sunday, it doesn’t really matter what you want. My choices aren’t sacrifices. They’re a necessity and ones I won’t change my mind about. If we don’t fix this, Matt is going to do something to you that you can’t come back from.”

“I’m handling it. I’ve told you that.” Her forehead crinkles, and her lip turns up.

“You’ve been saying that for months, but I still don’t know what it means. Spell it out for me, Sun. How are you handling it?” Give. Me. Something.

We continue on our typical circle, going around and around without much progress.

“I can’t, not right now.” She steps forward, closing the distance between us. “Promise me something? Promise me one thing, and I’ll get off your case about your persistence to protect me.”

“What is it?”

Sunday and I have been fighting over Matt and her safety for years. I know she doesn’t want me to step in, but I’d do just about anything to actually have this situation handled.

“Give Noah a chance. Open up to her. I’m not crazy. I see something between you two. Don’t shut that out. We’ll figure out the rest later. Promise me?”

“Give her a chance for what, Sunday? I’m her boss! Do you want us to go on dates to the copier? She’s here. I brought her here. Remember? I will inevitably be spending time with her.”

Sunday is asking me for something that I’ve already deemed a horrible idea. She and I are fighting over nothing, over a girl who works for us, over a girl who might not have any interest in me. Who am I kidding? The way Noah looks at me with stars in her eyes test every ounce of my control.

“Spend some time with her outside the office. Take some interest. Get to know her. I’ll back off about your incessant need to protect me if you do that one thing.”

“You realize this is a bad idea, right?”

She smiles in victory and doesn’t answer me.

“Fine. I’ll get to know Noah, but I need you to understand me, too. Something needs to be done about the Matt situation. His obsession with you isn’t your fault, and I know how much he interferes in your life even though you try to hide just how much. We need to do something about him, and you know it! Because, if something ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself. None of the things you’re pushing me to have in my life would be important anymore. I’ve been doing what needs to be done so that the both of us can move on.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise. You’re stuck with me.” She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.

“Okay, Sunday, you win. I give.” I huff in exasperation, and my breath blows her hair.

“Good. Now, go make kissy faces at that pretty girl in there!” She pushes against my chest as she lets me go.

I hate it when she makes light of her non-ex ex-husband. They haven’t been together for years, but Matt is still very much a part of both our lives. Unwelcomed and always in the shadows.