Chapter 22
Chase
The assistant Gage hired for me, Mallory, was extremely professional.
She knew what she was doing from day one.
Maryellen created the handbook for her this weekend while at my place.
She made sure to get to it since Gage gave us Friday afternoon off.
I told her not to bother, but she ignored me.
As it turned out, it seemed Mallory didn’t need it.
Her ability to jump into the position and be a team player was impressive.
The guys on the sales team found other things about her impressive.
Things I didn’t want to notice. Things I would have paid attention to before having a girlfriend. But I was still a guy, and she was a beautiful woman.
Not as beautiful as Maryellen.
I felt that in my whole body, even as Mallory stood in front of my desk.
“You have a Zoom call this afternoon at two, and then an in-person with your brother at three.” She had her tablet in her hand as she read from it. “That’s it for today. Shall we go over the rest of the week?”
She was doing a great job of keeping me on task with my new role. It was overwhelming right now, the amount of work I was undertaking. I wouldn’t ever admit it to Gage, but if I didn’t have Mallory, I knew I’d become lost. The time without Simon proved that.
“Not right now, thanks. Let me prepare for those two meetings. Don’t forget, I won’t be here in the afternoon on Wednesday. Make sure that’s on my schedule.”
She moved her pen around her tablet. “Yep, already there, sir.”
My head jolted up at the word. I guess it was the norm in the industry, but like Gage, I didn’t like it either. Simon never called me sir. We’d been on a first-name basis. Was it a male-female thing?
“Mallory, please just call me Chase.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll get used to it. Chase.”
We shared a smile, and she walked out of my office.
My office.
Looking around, my office was something I was grateful for. My brother did a fantastic job with it. He knew my style and the design was perfect. He did threaten to not put in a wet bar, but he pussied out. It’s not as big as his, but it’s in the corner, fully stocked.
“Knock, knock.” The girl who walked through my door could bring me to my knees. We gravitated to one another like fireflies to a light. Our embrace in the middle of the room was something we couldn’t do freely before, and I was thankful for it now.
“You weren’t at your desk when I walked by earlier.” My arms stayed around her waist, not wanting to let her go.
She pulled away before she answered.
“Yeah, I had a few things to do outside the office before my meeting at the coffee shop with Harper.” She increased the distance between us.
“Mallory seems really nice. And Gage is happy with her performance so far. I mean, it’s only day one, but it can be overwhelming.
It’s a good sign she’s not running to the restroom crying. ”
I’d learned that not pushing her was the best strategy. Getting used to showing any type of affection while at the office would take time for her.
“You and Harper are planning the party, right?”
She nodded. Her attention was pulled to her phone. She held it in a shaky hand as her eyes blinked rapidly at whatever message she read.
“I have to go,” she said as she spun on her heels and started for the door. No explanation, no nothing.
As she reached the door, I grasped her hand and turned her toward me. A pair of red-rimmed eyes stared up at me. “Hey, what happened? Are you OK?”
Her lips trembled.
“I missed a meeting with Gage.”
The strength with which she pulled her hand from mine alarmed me. The door flung open, and she briskly walked out.
“Will I see you later, Maryellen?” Mallory asked her as Maryellen flew by her new coworker’s desk.
Maryellen ignored the question and hurried across to the other side of the floor. I was in hot pursuit. Before I could reach her, she made it to Gage’s office and was already knocking.
“Come in,” Gage said.
I thought she would have at least looked at me before going in.
There was no way I wasn’t following her.
“Hey, Maryellen,” Gage said.
“Gage, sir, I am so sorry I missed our meeting,” Maryellen said. Her words were a plea as if she’d committed a crime. Her head hung and she sunk into a chair, defeated.
“It’s OK,” he said at the same time I belted out, “It wasn’t her fault.”
Unaware I’d entered the office, Maryellen turned toward me and squeezed her eyes tightly closed, as if hoping to make this all go away.
Gage came from around his desk, unclear what was going on as he looked between us. He lifted his chin toward her, silently asking me what was wrong with her. My shoulders went up in response.
“Mare.” I approached her from behind and put my hand gently on her shoulder. “It’s OK, babe.”
Her gaze met mine. The sadness in her eyes and across her face broke me. This was more than her missing a meeting.
“Maryellen,” Gage said. “If this has anything to do with the text I sent you, I’m sorry if I upset you. It wasn’t a formal meeting we had on the calendar or anything. We said we would talk after your meeting with Harper, that’s all.”
She cleared her throat before looking at her boss. I watched as a mask concealed her anguish, a wall between her and us.
“I guess I misunderstood, I’m sorry.” Her words came out stronger than expected.
Gage didn’t know what to do. He knew as well as I did this was unusual for her. He scratched at his neck yet never took his eyes from her. The amount of concern he exhibited was admirable. I appreciated it.
But it wasn’t going to help tell us what was going on with her.
Building my home studio was no easy feat.
To have a room in an apartment building, up to code, that allowed me to play an electric guitar without headphones and not have a noise complaint filed was an architectural accomplishment.
Not only was it a functional studio, but the design was stunning.
It was my favorite place to be in my home.
Other than in my bed with Maryellen.
Since Jerry booked my night at Iggy’s, I’ve been in my studio more than average. Every night, as soon as I got home from the office, I went straight in. If Maryellen was over, she’d come hang out and listen for a while.
Tonight was not one of those nights.
I wanted her to come over. Asked her to. But she said it had been too long since she’d slept in her own bed. There was no way with the show only two nights away I could stay at her place. I needed to practice.
I knew it was for the best since I didn’t want her hearing the song I was practicing. After her rough day, it just didn’t make me feel good knowing she was home alone in her apartment.
Plus, there were so many unanswered questions.
Because she did a great job of avoiding me for most of the remainder of the day. We had a late lunch together, but with other people. There were no private conversations. And her walls were still up.
I decided to call her.
She picked up on the second ring.
“Hi,” she said.
It was a cheerful hello. But there was something off about it, and I hated she was keeping something from me.
“Hey, how’s it feel to be home, at your place?”
The soft, breathy chuckle that came through the line sounded more like her, and my own breathing slowed. I hadn’t realized how anxious I’d been all day.
“I know you wanted me to come home with you, but it feels nice to be here. Me and Evie are gonna have some takeout and watch a movie tonight. And then I’m gonna catch up on some reading.”
The idea of her spending the night with her best friend calmed my nerves even more.
“Good, that makes me happy. I’m practicing all night anyway, so it’s perfect.” I kicked my feet up on the amp in front of me, relaxing into my leather chair. “I just wanted to check on you.”
There were muffled sounds as she moved around. “Yeah, today wasn’t my best day. I freaked out when I thought I missed the meeting and overreacted. I’m sorry.” I heard running water and more shuffling sounds. “I’m putting fresh water in the bouquet you got me. The flowers still look beautiful.”
I couldn’t tell if she was deflecting.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re seeing Evie tonight. Tell her hi for me, and that she needs to take care of my girl.”
Knowing Maryellen was in good hands allowed me to focus on my task: my music.
One of the songs I was putting into the playlist was an original. I wasn’t sure where to put it yet in the lineup, I was still working on that. I’d start with covers, allowing the crowd to be familiar with the music while hearing and learning my voice.
Sam: Hey man, wanna grab a beer I’m meeting Ely
On any other night I would’ve jumped at this, especially because of the shitty day with Mare.
Me: Practicing for Wednesday, save some cash, I have beer, you two come here and be my audience
I didn’t get a response, so I figured the offer wasn’t ideal. They were probably more interested in either watching a game out or being on the prowl, neither of which I had interest in. As I put my guitar around my neck, ready to get back to practicing, my phone pinged.
Sam: We’ll be right over
They would be the perfect distraction.
Both were at my place, beers in hand, within thirty minutes. They sat in my studio, on the couch, having fun as they critiqued my playing. This was exactly what I needed to get into the right frame of mind.
They loved the covers I chose to play and sang along, growing louder the drunker they got. But when it came time for me to practice my original, I found myself pausing.
Would they find it corny? I strummed the first few chords of its melody, and they both stopped and listened.
“What is that?” Ely asked. “Don’t recognize it.”
“It’s my original.” I played a few more chords. “So, I need you guys to let me know what you think, OK?”
They sat back, both ready to listen.
Once the words began to flow, their eyes widened. Whether it was the content or my voice, I wasn’t sure, but they seemed to be enjoying it.
A lot.