CHAPTER 16
LANA
Joe was taking too long inside the house. Now that I was alone in his garage, I took in my surroundings—damp, dingy, and dirty. I put my bra and underwear back on. There was a small work sink in the garage. I rinsed Joe’s T-shirt under the water at the sink, then I rang it out as best as I could and pulled it on. I’d be taking it home with me—thank you very much—since my options were extremely limited at the moment. I also managed to shimmy into the jean skirt even though it was dripping wet too.
During sex—the most amazing sex of my life, by the way—Joe had been present and loving. I felt like I was the center of his world. Then, the moment he pulled out and moved me off his warm chest, something changed. He grew distant, distracted. Maybe it was a part of his ADHD, but most likely, I bet he was realizing he’d broken his two-year celibacy streak. On me, no less, and he had to be freaking out about that. Or facing old demons. Whatever it was, I could tell something was bothering him. I felt like I had to leave—I needed to give him his space.
The moment he came back into the garage, looking fresh and dry, the first words out of my mouth were, “I have to go. I have work I need to catch up on.”
“Okay,” he said, not fighting it, staying a distance of about four feet away. “I’ll open the garage.” He hit the button.
Fresh air and sunlight poured in as the old door started to creak upward. Why was this turning awkward? Luckily, it only stayed awkward for a moment when he closed the distance and wrapped his arms tightly around me, getting his fresh clothes wet. “I’m going to miss you so damn much, woman. I’ll come back to you, I promise.”
My heart pounded. He kept saying things like this that took my breath away. “You mean this week while you’re in Tacoma working with Abe?” I asked for clarification.
“Yes.”
Why did I feel like that wasn’t what he meant at all?
Because I don’t think it was.
The garage finished lifting just as I heard Kitty’s voice scream about something from inside the house.
“Kitty has drama I need to help her with. Like usual. You better get going.” He squeezed my ass just as the door to the garage finished opening. Not wanting to stick around for that, I left Joe and hurried off down the driveway. The rain had let up in the thirty minutes or so that we’d been in the garage. I grabbed my shoes and his coffee cup at the end of his driveway as I jumped into my car. I shot Joe one last look. Both he and Kitty were watching me leave, and they weren’t talking.
***
Sunday came and went with no texts or phone calls from Joe, though I didn’t think too much of it. Then Monday passed. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday. Once again, Nancy became our middle man. When Thursday and Friday passed without hearing from him again, I was starting to freak the hell out.
What happened between us? Was he done with me once he had gotten me off, gotten himself off? Because I was hearing radio silence on his end. It was Friday, and our Friday meeting was quickly approaching.
Needing a friendly voice to talk to, I called Abe. We hadn’t spoken yet this week, and I needed a progress report from him anyway.
He answered right away. “Hi, Abe. It’s Lana.”
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“I just wanted to check in.”
“We’re ahead of schedule. Equipment was delivered today. My team already installed most of it.”
“Wow, that’s great,” I said, and I meant it. But I really couldn’t beat around the bush with this. “I have complete faith in you. I’m not surprised. The real reason I’m calling is about Joe. What do you think of him?”
“Well, um . . . honestly? He’s a work-horse. He’s out here every day—first guy in, last guy out. I’m not talking about just with the supervising stuff, like me. I’m talking about the ‘get-your-hands-dirty’ stuff. He’s the reason we’re so far ahead. He was telling me about his ADHD. I think the physical labor is good for him.”
“I didn’t hire him for your position,” I reminded Abe.
“I know. I’m just saying.”
“What about other stuff? Like, can you read him as a person?”
“What exactly are you asking?”
I sighed. I really, desperately needed someone to talk about this with. My ‘second dad,’ as I often called Abe, wasn’t the same thing as chatting with a girl friend. But since I didn’t have a plethora of those I could call, Abe would have to do. “I like Joe,” I confessed.
“I see. Well, I think he’s a great employee. I think if he does the rest of his job description half as well as he’s working for me, then you’re going to be lucky to have him. My concern is . . . I’ve never been a fan of office romances. They don’t always end well. In fact, most of them end messy as hell, and then you’re stuck working with the person. So, if you like him, Lana, you’ve got to ask yourself—is he worth losing as an employee? Because that’s what you’re risking. But then again, it’s not everyday something special comes along. Trust me, I know. If that something special ever does come along, you fight for it.”
Just then Nancy’s voice played over the intercom. “Joe Coffee is here.”
“He just got here,” I said to Abe. “I gotta go.”
“Okay. I’ll keep my eye on him next week. I’ll try to dig a little deeper into his character and report back. Okay?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, Abe.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up just as Joe came into my office. He was even more handsome than I remembered. His dark hair loose and free. A light beard coated his face as if he decided not to shave the last couple of days. His pretty eyes were intense like always. But it wasn’t exactly a look of relief or excitement on his face when he saw me.
In fact, he was cold as ice. He came in and sat down in the seat across from me.
“How was your week?” I asked.
“Abe’s ahead of schedule. Equipment was delivered and installed today. If I have your permission, I’d like to start advertising and interviewing for positions. That is the next step, right? Will I oversee that?”
My heart was racing. So, this was how it was going to be? All business. As if nothing had happened between us last weekend.
“It’s something I usually do,” I answered. “But if you think you can handle it—”
“I can handle it.”
I swallowed.
“Lana, I don’t need my hand held. I know it’s a new job for me, something I’ve never done before. I know I’m jumping in from minimum wage to what, a six-figure salary? But you know my background and you know I’m brilliant. You know I can do any job, anywhere, with ease. You know my shortcomings. You know you can trust me. So, really, why are you hesitating? Let me fucking run with this and do the job you hired me to do. If it’s okay with you, then I’ll be taking the steps necessary to move forward past the construction phase. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss in this meeting? Because if not, then I’m supposed to be meeting with Kirk in advertising in like two minutes.”
I think my jaw was on the table. He was me—in male form. Take no shit and take no prisoners. I believed him, that he could do this job, that he could ‘fucking run with it,’ as he’d put it, if I let him. But that wasn’t the point.
None of this talk of business was the point.
I wanted to know why he slept with me and never called. I wanted to know if our ‘relationship,’ or whatever it had been, was over. It sure as hell felt over.
“So?” He was waiting on me to answer.
“Yeah.” I shook my head in utter disbelief. “Fine. Yes, by all means—fucking run with it. Go meet with Kirk in advertising. Just, remember to run all major decisions by me.” There was a stack of Post-it notes on my desk. I might have left them there on purpose. And I ever-so-slightly nudged them in his direction as I sat back in my seat.
He saw.
He shook his head no.
And then he left.
He just fucking left.
Tears burned behind my eyes.
That was it? I’d waited all week for that? Rejection was a bitch and she stung in places I never knew could sting.
I had to get out of my office before I fell apart. “Nancy,” I said into the intercom, “something has come up. Clear my schedule.” I slipped my shoes back on under the table, grabbed my purse, and left my office.
“Bye, Ms. Bitt—” Nancy started to say as I passed by her in a blur. Joe was still here somewhere, but luckily, I didn’t run into him on my way out.
Once I hit the elevators, once I was safely on my way down, the tears started to fall. It felt like a beast was clawing apart my chest. I’d never experienced heartbreak to this magnitude before. I told myself it was stupid because I’d only known Joe for a short period and that I shouldn’t let this affect me, but it still hurt like a mother.
I hit a random floor number on the elevator, and I stepped off onto a floor to a company I didn’t know.
They had a very posh waiting room. I sat down in one of the empty seats and quietly cried in the corner. After a moment, the receptionist came over with a box of tissues. She didn’t say anything, she just quietly sat next to me.
It was what I needed.