Chapter 5
Harper
At some point in my life, I was going to make good choices. I was going to eat vegetables and floss my teeth twice a day, and I wasn’t going to maul Bas no matter how he looked at me.
I was on my way in my newly borrowed car to meet up with Nova. Now that I had a ride, I figured it was easier to meet her at the bookstore than to have her drive all the way to pick me up. A new book was just what I needed after the past two days.
I’d been so flustered after my encounter with Bas that I’d immediately gone home and turned my phone on for no other reason than to take my mind off him.
I’d been prepared for a slew of emails and voicemails, but the sheer number of them had been a surprise.
Paige had called me fourteen times and left twelve voicemails.
She’d emailed me five times. HR had also called.
A colleague from work that I thought was almost a friend had sent a couple of emails.
Refordable had left three messages on my phone and two emails.
Bas had called four times and left a voicemail.
It was a lot.
I’d gone through the voicemails first. Paige’s messages had gone from cajoling me to calling her back so we could work things out to eventually threatening to sue me for breach of contract if I didn’t contact her right away. HR was trying to get in touch about my separation paperwork.
Refordable’s attorneys had reached out to verify that I hadn’t taken any internal files with me when I’d left—which was ridiculous but easily answered. I never took any work home with me, including theirs. I’d always worked on their computers using their encryption software.
I called Refordable back first, assuring them that I never took any files out of the office. Then I called human resources and told the woman I talked to that direct deposit worked just fine for my last check and asked her to email me any paperwork they needed, and I’d send it back to them.
I didn’t bother calling Paige back. I’d read my employee handbook cover to cover.
She had no grounds to sue, and if she wanted to go that route, I’d see her in court.
I was pretty sure they were empty threats, though.
If she sued, discovery would bring all of Refordable’s shady business practices to light.
That was the last thing any of them wanted.
I briefly considered going over her head and speaking to Paige’s boss but ultimately decided against it.
I wasn’t interested in jumping back into that drama.
If they didn’t realize what Paige had asked me to do—that was on them.
If they did know, they were just as complicit, and calling them wouldn’t do shit but piss Paige off. I just wanted a clean break.
I blocked Paige’s number but kept the voicemails in case I needed them later.
The emails were easier to deal with, but they still took me a couple of hours to go through.
My colleague had written because she was being sent to Refordable and was understandably nervous after I’d walked out on the project.
I didn’t write her back. She’d have to deal with the situation on her own and decide for herself whether she wanted to be a part of it.
I wasn’t responsible for that, and telling her why I’d left would open me up to all kinds of lawsuits after signing an NDA.
I’d spent the last two days reaching out to old friends and contacts to let them know that I was looking for a new place to work. I hadn’t gotten any leads yet, but I told myself to be patient.
Now I was going to hang out with a friend and get some dinner and try not to think about any of it for at least two hours.
I found Nova standing outside the cute little bookstore and waved as I crossed the street.
“Hey,” she said as I got closer. “How’s it going?”
“It’s a stormy day, and I’m on my way to get some books,” I replied with a smile. “Not so bad.”
“I was glad to see you turned your phone back on,” she teased as she led me inside the shop.
“It was time, and I needed a distraction.”
“Been there,” she said understandingly. “Sometimes, I play games on my phone and tune everything out. It drives Rum crazy.”
“That’s because he needs your attention at all times.”
“I’d laugh, but you’re not far off,” she replied. “Plus, he doesn’t like to see me overwhelmed, and that’s a sure sign of it.”
“Aw. He wuvs you.”
“Got him wrapped around my finger,” she confirmed with a grin.
We wandered through the store and ended up separating when she stopped in the mystery/thriller section and I made my way to romance. The books were a mix of new and consignment, and I practically squealed with glee as I noticed a whole line of bodice rippers older than I was along the bottom shelf.
I was still reading the backs and adding to my pile when Nova finished up and came to find me.
“Dang, girl,” she said, dropping to sit beside me. “Not planning on going back to work for a while, huh?”
“These’ll last me about a week,” I confessed, pointing to the stack that was a couple feet tall. “I’m a fast reader.”
“No shit. That would take me months.”
“Did you find anything good?”
“I got a couple. I love thriller books, but I can only read them when I know Rum’s going to be in town for a while because if I’m at the house alone, I’ll freak out at every little noise.”
“Doesn’t your grandma still live with you?”
“Yeah, but that just makes it worse.” Nova laughed. “Because then I have to protect her from the scary house settling, too.”
“You’re very brave,” I joked.
“Did it ever freak you out when you were living alone?” she asked as I carefully picked up my books and rose to my feet. “You didn’t even have anyone you could call if something happened. At least here I know I could call any of the Hawthornes if shit got rowdy.”
“No, it didn’t really bother me,” I replied as we walked toward the register.
“I usually lived in corporate apartments, so there were always people coming and going. Everything was well lit. In Chicago I actually had a doorman who was pretty cool. His name was Max, and he would’ve fucked up anyone who messed with me. ”
“I’ve never lived alone,” she said, widening her eyes. “I’ve always had Gran or Bird or Rumi with me.”
“How is Bird?” I asked. I hadn’t seen Nova’s little brother in ages.
“He’s good. I keep telling him to move home, but he’s working in Seattle, and he loves it.”
The line moved, and our conversation stalled as we paid for our books, then picked up again as we carried them outside.
“I bet he’d get job offers anywhere. I thought I was smart, but he’s a freaking genius.”
“Unfortunately, he likes where he’s at,” she joked. “But I hope at some point he’ll want to be closer, even if he doesn’t come back to Eugene. Hell, I’d be happy if he settled in Portland. At least it wouldn’t take all day to drive there.”
“Let me throw these in the car,” I said, pausing at the edge of the sidewalk. “I don’t want to bring them in the restaurant.”
“No worries.”
I jogged across the street and pushed the key fob to unlock the doors.
The noise it usually made when I unlocked them sounded weird, but I didn’t think much of it because the door was unlocked when I got to it.
I put the books on the passenger seat and then stood next to the car to make sure it locked.
There wasn’t anything worth stealing inside, but I didn’t want anyone to swipe my new books before I could read them.
Nova and I sat down in a little Italian place with tea lights on the tables, and I took off my coat and settled in for some girl time.
I never really noticed how solitary my life had become until I was home and hanging out with people again.
It was awesome to sit down with a friend and talk about everything and anything for a while.
The food was good, but the company was even better.
Nova and I had always gotten along well even though she was a few years younger than me.
When we were growing up, I didn’t really spend a lot of time with the cousin group, preferring to hang out at home—but it would’ve been impossible not to know Nova. She and my cousin Rumi had been friends since they were kids—long before they’d ever gotten together.
We knew all the same old stories and had a lot of the same experiences since her grandpa had been a member of the club.
“We just…it just hasn’t happened,” she said softly. “Everyone else is having babies, but we’re not.”
“Have you been to the doctor?” I asked, my heart breaking for her.
“They don’t know why it won’t happen for us. They said to keep trying and said we could discuss more invasive testing and solutions, but I’m just not there yet.”
“I’m sorry, no.”
“We’ll probably do it,” she said, swallowing hard. “I know Rumi has been socking away money, even though he hasn’t said anything about it. Once he knew how expensive it’ll be to do IVF or any of that, he just kind of quietly started doing side jobs for Tommy.”
“Thatta boy, Rum.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload.”
“No way,” I argued. “You weren’t unloading. I asked how things have been.”
“It’s just nice to talk to someone about it that doesn’t have a vested interest in whether or not Rumi and I procreate,” she said with a little laugh.
“My grandma and Heather both get these sad looks on their faces, and I always feel like I’m guilting my sisters-in-law when I bring it up since they’ve never had any issues getting pregnant. ”
“Well, I’m happy to listen any time you want to talk about it. I don’t have any experience, because preventing pregnancy has always been my goal—but any time you want to vent, I’m here.”
“Thanks, Harp.”
“You guys’ll figure it out. Whatever you decide to do is the right choice.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She nodded firmly. “Now, let’s change the subject. It’s your turn to spill your guts.”
I laughed.