15. Bryn
Chapter fifteen
Bryn
Jameson
Thanks again for last night. I had a really good time.
I’ve been in the office since 5:30 this morning, trying to track down one of our development team leads in London.
I hate being in the office on the weekends. I’m not someone who loves to work just for the sake of being busy. I like being good at my job, I like getting things done, but I hate working more than necessary. Unfortunately, it’s currently necessary for me to spend a lot of time at the office. Some of it is getting in-person face time with the teams who are pushing extra hard on this new campaign. I also have so much work to do that forcing myself to go into the office every day I’m in California is the only way I’m going to get it done.
Me
I did too. What are you up to today? After establishing your trip isn’t your foray into the porn industry, we didn’t ever actually talk about what you are doing out here.
Jameson
Would you believe me if I told you I had meetings with my agent and a couple of potential sponsors?
Me
I would have believed you if you had simply told me you had meetings with your agent and a couple of sponsors. Now that you asked it as a question? Most certainly not.
Jameson
I knew it was a mistake as soon as I sent it. Let me try again.
I had a last-minute meeting come up with my agent and a couple of potential sponsors.
Me
Too late. I know it’s a lie now.
I shake my head, laughing. This side of Jameo is so much fun. He’s not just the witty, sarcastic guy from the golf course. He’s also kinda a goofball who has, surprisingly, been very open. I was expecting him to be a bit more of a player based on the way he’s been portrayed in the media. That worry was actually one of the main reasons why I’d so readily agreed I wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Jameson
I actually had a few hours open up today. Want to grab some brunch or something?
I’m surprised by the invitation but remind myself that he’s likely just bored.
My phone buzzes with yet another incoming message.
Kelsey
Iz told me you had a date last night with Jameson Walker.
I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but I’d be careful. He seemed to be dating around a lot this time last year.
Me
Thanks for the warning, but we are keeping it super casual.
Kelsey
I don’t think you know what super casual dating actually looks like. How many days last week did you text him?
Me
I want to say all of them, but it feels like the wrong answer…
Kelsey
Just be careful. You’re a loyal person. It’s very possible he’s texting other women too.
Me
Is that a general feeling or one based on cyber hacking?
Kelsey
*zipped lips emoji*
Nah. I wouldn’t waste the resources on that. He’s a professional athlete. I’m just playing the odds.
Even my ex, Peter, for all his flaws, had been loyal to the very end. Or, at least, he hadn’t cheated on me. I’m not sure it counts as loyalty, since he never once sided with me or stood up for me to his mom. It’s what, in the end, had been our downfall. Eleanor—or Mrs. Easley, she insisted I call her—never liked me. I wasn’t at Peter’s beck and call, didn’t quit my job to move to the same city as him, and wore my hair in a messy bun far too frequently to be good enough for her baby.
Peter never seemed to care about those things, and, considering he was the son of a billionaire, was surprisingly low-maintenance himself. But, as it turns out, his expectations of me were to be more. To be like his mom.
Even with his mom regularly trying to undermine me, I thought Peter and I were the real deal. Then things started to go south. His usual disappointment when I couldn’t make one of the many events he was attending each week started morphing into frustration. He started actively siding with his mom, saying things like, “I know your work is important to you, but I can’t be in a relationship with someone who cares more about their job than me. I need you here. I need you at these events with me.”
I tried explaining I was committing as much time as I could to being with him. That I was the one who was always flying to see him, even though airplanes work both ways (and one of us had access to a private jet). That my job wasn’t more important than him, but it was important. I told him about all the work meetings I’d joined from the car rather than in person so that I could make it to a gala or charity event with him.
He just didn’t understand that I couldn’t dedicate every minute of my time to us…to him.
A couple weeks later, as I left work right at closing time yet again to sprint to the airport, I ran into my then boss’s boss, Tara. She let me know that, while I was still performing fine at my job, I was starting to be overlooked when management was discussing up-and-comers. I needed to focus if I wanted to be on the leadership team someday.
When I finally opened the door to Peter’s apartment—four hours late because I missed my flight—I heard him say my name and walked toward his kitchen to find him. Realizing he was on the phone, I slowed down, unabashedly listening in on his side of the conversation.
“No, Mom, I knew Bryn wasn’t going to be able to be at the event tonight. I told you she’s having a hard time at work and really needed to stay there for a last-minute meeting with her boss.” I tried to slow my breath, hoping he wouldn’t hear me and censor his thoughts.
“Yes. Yes, I know. We both know how important it is that she comes,” he said, followed by a creak as he stood from a chair. “She just can’t do both things.” He started pacing. “Mom, she just can’t excel at her job and as a girlfriend. It would be hard for anyone.” More pacing. “I don’t know, Mom, I guess maybe she just can’t juggle both.”
I could picture him, running his hand along the back of his neck like he does when he’s frustrated. It was a gesture I’d seen frequently lately.
“Maybe, Mom. I mean, I loved Bryn.” He sighed after he said that, and I felt the d on the end of the word love like it was a knife thrown straight at my heart. “You’re right. Maybe we just aren’t a good fit anymore.”
All I heard was yet another person saying I wasn’t good enough on that same day.
We broke up that night, and I flew back to Wild Bluffs knowing the only way I could ever be enough was to focus 100% of my energy on my job.
So what am I doing now, letting myself develop an interest in a professional athlete?
I have three minutes before the team leader said he could meet, so I quickly dial Izzy.
She answers with a yawn, asking, “Why are you calling me so early?”
“Am I ridiculous for going out with Jameson Walker?”
“Why would you be? And are you going out with him?”
“He’s a professional athlete. He’s likely not just going out with me.”
I turn around, startled by the masculine “knock, knock” behind me. Ugh. Why does it have to be Kyle? Gosh, I hope he didn’t hear anything.
“Is he, though?” Iz asks in my ear.
“I gotta go, Izzy,” I say, hanging up before she can say goodbye.
I straighten my back, refusing to seem any more rushed by Kyle’s unexpected appearance.
“What do you need?” I ask, not at all pleased that I get to see him on the weekends as well now.
“Just wanted to see how things were going with the development team. You know marketing is waiting on that update.”
Marketing doesn’t actually need to know about the update. It has almost zero impact on anything they are doing. This is just typical Kyle, needing to be in the know about everything while doing absolutely nothing.
“I actually have a call with them right now,” I say, swiveling my chair back to face my computer. “Bye, Kyle.”