“Do you always have to work so hard?” Alex, my secretary, asked.
Five years ago, I started at Premier, Inc., a top public relations firm in New York City. I loved it, loved the fast-paced city life. It made it easy for me to forget about all I gave up coming here in the first place. The same day I got hired on here, Alex has been appointed to me. The rest is history. Even though she had the same degree I did, I had more of the killer instinct; whereas, she was a little bunny in comparison.
The main reason I kept her around was because she was my absolute best friend. I only briefly met her in college, but she never stood out to me; or, I just didn’t take the time to get to know her. Hell, we were even in the same graduating class. I felt bad for not noticing her all those years ago, but we made up for the time difference in becoming fast friends. She understood my drive to be the best; she didn’t agree, but she understood.
“Yup. There’s no other way,” I chuckled, scanning over the printouts I had on my desk.
She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and eyed me. I couldn’t see her do it, but I could feel her beady little eyes. “Claire, live a little. My God, you’re only twenty-eight.”
I full belly laughed at her. She was always trying to get me to ‘live a little’ as she liked to call it. I called it a blind date with yet another loser. She hadn’t asked me yet, but it was coming. I could feel it. It was always the same with her. Her favorite saying, one that made me chuckle just thinking about it was: “A cock a day will keep the doctor away.” Man, she was a hoot. I loved her to death.
“I know. Any day now you’re going to be planning my funeral.”
She huffed before walking out of my office. I laid the paper down on the desk and swiveled my chair to look out of the window. Looking down at all the people running around, there were times I missed the small-town life. But then I remember that in a small town such as Cedar Grove there was always a Brad there to tear you apart. Just the thought of it put everything back into perspective—pretty damn quickly.
I closed my eyes and sighed. Thinking things just got people into trouble. There was no time to think about things that no longer mattered. I was the best for a reason, and it wasn’t because I fiddled around; it was because I worked harder than anyone here at Premier. I swiveled my chair back toward my desk and got back to work. I have a huge client coming in for a meeting, and I needed to be ready for when they showed up. Booting up my computer, I got to work on the files I would need.
The next thing I knew Alex was at my door asking about lunch. Looking at the Cartier watch gracing my right wrist, I saw that it was indeed time to go out. I stood, stretching my tired muscles. Grabbing my purse, I shut my door and locked it. Most called me paranoid for doing that even if I was walking down the hall for something. One can never be too careful in life; trust me, I should know.
“Where should we eat today?” Alex asked excitedly, pushing the down button on the elevator.
I chuckled. She was always like this when it was lunchtime. “Anywhere that serves margaritas.”
She giggled. We have what we call a ‘midday-fuck-it-all’ drink. Ever since we started getting lunch together, it just became a thing that we did. It wasn’t professional to drink on the job, but we had to have something to keep us from clawing someone’s eyes out. So far, five years later, it was working amazingly well. Neither one of us has been arrested for committing murder—which is a feat all on its own.
The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival. I checked to make sure that I had everything in my purse, only to find that my phone wasn’t in there. I cursed inwardly before telling Alex that I would meet her down at the restaurant she chose. She nodded in agreement and left me to go back and retrieve my phone. Unlocking my door, I walked over to my desk and saw my lifeline sitting on the desk where I left it.
As I went to pick it up, I saw a blue light flashing on it, signaling I had missed a call. Swiping my finger across the screen I saw my mother tried to call me. I groaned. It was only Tuesday and she was already calling me. More than likely she was calling to gush over her new beau that she’d started seeing a few months ago. It was all I ever heard her talk about. She never would tell me a name—just that he went by Shawn. It was a funny name to call someone her age, but then again, she could be with a man my age. The little cougar. I smiled before dialing her number.
Within two rings she picked up on the other line. “Sweetheart, I’m glad you could call me back.”
I laughed. “Mom, you know I always return your calls. You stubborn thing.”
She snickered over the line. “You forgot overbearing.”
“Yes. I do believe I did,” I chuckled, locking the door behind me on my way out. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a midday call?”
With that, she squealed. I held the phone away from my ear, almost certain she ruptured my eardrum. “I’m getting married!”
I stopped walking, almost causing the mail clerk to run into me. I mouthed an ‘I’m sorry,’ before continuing my way toward the elevator. “Um… Can you repeat that? I seriously think I heard you wrong.”
“Nope, you heard right,” she giggled.
For once, I was actually speechless. To say that my mother hadn’t dated when I was home was an understatement. She wouldn’t even let men calling on her to come over to the house when I was younger. So to hear that she was getting married was a big, big deal. My mouth suddenly felt cotton-filled, and I started sweating. The dating world was so new to my mother that I didn’t want her to make a mistake. Gripping the side of the elevator for support, I let her know my feelings.
“Mom.” I stopped to clear my throat. “Are you sure this is something that you want to do? I mean, you’ve only been with Shawn for a few months now.”
I was supposed to be the child. She was supposed to be the voice of reason. But somehow, I felt like the roles were reversed. I was the one talking her down from her excitement.
“Claire Gabriella James, I’m forty-six. I do believe I know how to make my own decisions,” she shot back in a stern tone.
Damn, she was right. She wouldn’t have made it this long if she was making the wrong decisions. I hated it, but there was nothing I could do.
I sighed. “I’m sorry, you're right. It’s just that… This is a bit new, don’t you think?”
She laughed. “New to you sweetheart, maybe. But to me, I’ve known for quite a while.”
Well, shit. I couldn’t think of anything to say to that besides what any person in her spot would want to hear. “Congratulations.”
“You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” she snapped.
I groaned. “I am happy, Mother. It’s … I don’t know … It’s been me and you forever now, and adding someone to the mix is going to take some getting used to,” I said in a resigned breath.
“Oh, but dear, we aren’t just adding one person to the mix. We’re adding two. You’re going to be getting a new stepbrother,” she explained excitedly.
Well, fuck me swinging.