23. Piper
23
PIPER
“ L et’s go. Get up.”
I could feel Darcy staring at me from the doorway of my bedroom, but I refused to open my eyes.
“I know you’re not sleeping,” she continued. “I heard you go to the bathroom three minutes ago. So get up, get dressed, and let’s go to the farmers’ market. Saturday ritual.”
“This isn’t a regular Saturday,” I grumbled back at her with my eyes still closed, like a little kid pretending to be asleep.
“You’re right, it’s the morning after our triumphant partnership with Mercedes. Life is good.”
I knew she was trying to spin the evening and focusing on the positive to make me forget about the end of it, but Vincent’s cold dismissal was all I could think about. Yes, I was thrilled about sealing the deal with Mercedes, but despite what she told me, life wasn’t just about business.
Maybe she and Vincent believed it, but my heart wouldn’t allow me to.
“Are you still standing there?” I asked.
“Duh.”
I sat up and flung my blanket off in a huff. “You are so annoying!”
“Thank you. Now put a hat on that mop of yours and let’s go. I’m starving.”
I had zero appetite, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get it back. I had a headache, no doubt due to the combination of too much champagne, not enough food, and a massive helping of heartbreak. The last thing I wanted to do was go out into the sunshine and wade through the happy people stuffing their faces with croissants.
But Darcy was relentless—and once we were outside, I was surprised to find that I did feel just the tiniest bit better. Fresh air was clearing my head much more effectively than sulking in bed could have accomplished. Not that I was going to admit to Darcy that she’d been right.
“Remember when we talked about renting a booth here for Strapped?” Darcy laughed. “We were thinking so small. Look at us now, hooked up with the angel investor for women-owned businesses.”
“You’re right,” I finally agreed, trying to summon up some happiness for what was actually a huge deal. “We weren’t thinking big enough.”
Darcy slung her arm around my shoulder and squeezed me. “Not anymore. All of our dreams are going to come true! First, our flagship product. Then camera bags, then purses, then the next thing you know, we’ll be fighting for shelf space against Kate Spade and Michael Kors.”
I managed a smile. “I like how you think.”
Darcy pulled away and turned to face me. “Hey. I know our good news is under a black cloud thanks to your bosshole. And I’m so sorry he was such a dick to you last night. He doesn’t deserve you, Piper. Do you hear me?”
She waited until I looked into her eyes and nodded before she kept going.
“You’re going to get through this. I promise. You’ll quit, and when you stop seeing him every day, you’ll forget about him. And no matter what, I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”
She pulled me into a hug, which triggered an uncomfortable tingly sensation in my nose. I didn’t want to cry in the middle of the farmers’ market, but a few tears squeezed out of my eyes anyway.
“Hey, hey,” she said when we pulled apart. “We’ve got this. Okay? Go ahead and feel bleak for now, as long as you promise to remember how much good is in your life. We’re on the cusp of an amazing adventure together!”
Her excitement was almost contagious.
“It’s going to be great,” I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “Ugh, I need a tissue.”
“Hey, hey, looks like someone’s got allergies.”
I turned and there was Matthew, the second-to-last person I wanted to see on such a bleak morning.
“Ugh,” Darcy said, wrinkling her nose at him like she smelled sour milk. “You just don’t know how to take a hint, do you?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” he said with a good-natured laugh. “I’m just out here enjoying the beautiful day, hanging out, buying fresh produce. And enjoying some serendipity running into this one!”
He reached out to give my foot a little tap with his.
“Matthew, it’s not serendipity, and you know it,” I said, leveling him with an angry stare. “You never wanted to come to the market with me when we were, uh, doing whatever we were doing. It sure as hell wasn’t dating.”
“What are you talking about? We had a good thing together.” Matthew stared at me intently, like he could will me into believing his absolute bullshit.
Darcy sputtered out a shrill laugh.
Matthew shot her an angry look, then refocused on me. “Hey, can we talk alone for a few minutes?”
I sighed. “Darcy, give me two minutes to deal with this .”
She smirked at him and drifted over to a booth selling handmade jewelry.
“What do you want, Matthew?” I asked him warily. “Because I’m tired of you pretending there’s some big cosmic reason why we keep ‘accidentally’ meeting up. I’m not in the mood to deal with you. So tell me what you’re after, and let’s be done with all of this.”
“I can imagine you’re going through some shit right now,” he said, trying to sound comforting. “Looks like your company is dealing with some gossip, and you’ve got a co-starring role. That guy Vincent turned out to be a real asshole, huh?”
I wasn’t about to go there with Matthew, especially since I wasn’t sure exactly what he’d seen. I’d purposely avoided social media since last night, but Darcy had given me a couple of brief updates about the drama. By now, it was probably everywhere.
Which absolutely sucked. Not that I was in any mood to discuss that with Matthew. Much less—ew, even the thought was gross—accept any comfort from him.
“What do you want , Matthew?” I asked, not bothering to mask my frustration. “I know you have an ulterior motive, so spill it.”
He looked up and down the street and then fixed me with his attempt at a heartfelt expression. “Okay, I’m going to put it all out there. I need a favor, Piper.” He clasped his hands under his chin.
“Clearly,” I glared at him. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be stalking me.”
He squirmed, and I sort of liked making him feel vulnerable for a change. Watching him get ready to beg for whatever he needed from me made my day five percent less terrible.
“You probably heard that I started working for Waldorf Construction,” he began.
“How would I have heard that?” I demanded. “It’s not like we hang in the same circles. Clearly, since you didn’t think I was worthy of yours.”
He flinched. “Oh, come on.”
I stared at him and said nothing.
“Anyway,” he continued cautiously, less sure of himself as he finally realized I’d grown a backbone since we’d been together. “Things have been going really well, and the owner Bruce Waldorf seems to think I could fast-track to being a partner. Before his own son, even.”
He paused like he was expecting congratulations, which of course I didn’t offer.
Matthew cleared his throat. “There’s a huge distributor’s meeting coming up next month in Palm Springs, and one of our biggest suppliers is obviously going to be there, as a sponsor. They’re going to grant an exclusive East Coast distribution deal, and Bruce wants to make sure Waldorf is the one to get it. He’s convinced that if we play golf with that distributor, we’ll make them love us, and we’ll win the contract.”
The murky details of Matthew’s pursuit of me started to swim into focus.
“The golf tournament is a pretty big deal,” he continued. “It’s not some rinky-dink eighteen holes; there’s real money at stake. So I might’ve told Bruce…uh…that my girlfriend is a near-pro golfer, and he’s insisting you be our fourth. He thinks having a cute girl in the cart with us will help us close the deal.”
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. The presumption ! To call me his girlfriend now, after denying me for so long…for implying that my “cute girl-ness” is what would help close the deal and not my golf prowess or my well-developed people skills…and for lying that he wanted to strike up a friendship with me.
“Listen,” Matthew continued hastily. “It’s a weekend in Palm Springs, on a beautiful course! How can you say no to that? We could share a room, so that’ll be free. All you’d have to pay for is your airfare?—”
“Are you kidding me?” I interrupted him. “You lied to try to reconnect with me in the first place, you only want me to be there to make you look good, and you want me to pay my way?”
Darcy hovered in the wings, ready to jump in if I needed her. Matthew fidgeted at getting called out so loudly in public.
“You’re unbelievable,” I shook my head at him. “Seriously. What did I ever see in you?”
Vincent had shown me the kind of relationship I deserved, one where I felt appreciated and cared for. True, it had all fallen apart in the end when his only response to a massive humiliation for me was to worry about how his company would be impacted by the giant mess he had caused—but it had still taught me that I deserved a hell of a lot more than this. My lingering sadness shifted to fury at the current state of my life.
“Fuck off, Matthew,” I continued. “I hope you hack your way through that course and show them exactly who you really are: a fake. Lose my number, okay?”
“Yeah, fuck off for good,” Darcy said as she materialized beside me.
Matthew opened and shut his mouth a few times, like he was going to give it one last shot to try to convince me, but I guess my furious expression and Darcy’s backup muscle convinced him not to.
“Can I call you sometime?”
“ No !” Darcy and I both shouted in unison.
“Leave her alone,” she jabbed her finger against his chest for extra emphasis.
A few shoppers turned to look at us, which was enough to convince Matthew to finally walk away.
Darcy gave me a hug as we watched him disappear into the crowd. “Good riddance, I hate that fucker. You okay?”
I sighed. “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”
“He’s a loser, we both know that.”
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “I’m not thinking about him.”
“I get it.” She slung her arm around my shoulder again. “Let’s walk and talk.”
We started off, and even though everything in my life felt like shit, I could lean on the fact that I had a Darcy. Everyone deserved a Darcy.
“What’s the plan?” she asked as she paused to peruse the bread stall.
The sourdough looked incredible, but I had zero appetite. “With Summit?”
She nodded. “Mercedes made it pretty clear that we need to commit. I don’t think she expects you to blow everything up immediately but?—”
“I’m quitting on Monday.”
She jerked her head back in shock. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s not like Vincent cares whether I’m around. He made that abundantly clear to me. He’ll probably be happy to see me go.”
My heart cracked open admitting it out loud, and I dropped my head to hide the tears that flooded my eyes.
“I’ve been keeping up with the news,” Darcy said as she squeezed my shoulders. “It’s a shit-show of his own making. The guy needs media training, pronto.”
“Well, it’s not like he knew he was on camera,” I said.
“Hold on,” Darcy swung around to glare at me. “Are you sticking up for him?”
I winced. “You’re right.”
“Do you think he has a clue that it’s coming? That you’re leaving?”
I shrugged. “It’s not like he locked me into a long-term contract. I did what he hired me to do, and there’s no reason left for me to stay. But I don’t think he’s expecting it to happen this quickly.”
Talking about it made it real. Vincent and I were done. My incredible job was over. Yeah, I had an exciting new chapter ahead of me, but I didn’t have Vincent . The tears I’d been forcing down broke free, and I had no choice but to surrender to them.
“Oh, my friend,” Darcy said when she realized I couldn’t be strong one second longer. She swept me into a full hug. “Let it out.”
The crowd was forced to part around us as we embraced, like we were rocks in the middle of a stream. I didn’t care. All I could do was weep on her shoulder.
Darcy stroked my back until I finally pulled away.
“I’m hungry,” I said, amazed that my appetite had roared back to life.
“There she is,” Darcy laughed. “Okay, let’s eat cinnamon rolls, and donuts, and croissants, and drink all the coffee.”
“Deal,” I sniffled.
We walked on, and I tried to think about all of the truly good things that were going on in my life. It would be a long time before I could smile and feel like I wasn’t faking it.
“Wait here,” Darcy said. She broke away and disappeared into the crowd, which gave me time to stare into space and try to think of nothing. When she came back, she was clutching the biggest bouquet of sunflowers I’d ever seen.
“Did you buy out the entire supply?” I laughed.
“Close.” She shifted the bouquet. “I never knew sunflowers are so heavy . But you deserve it. This is a symbol of all of the sunshine to come, my friend.”
I leaned over to place my nose against the giant face of the bloom. I inhaled, but of course, sunflowers had no scent whatsoever.
Perfect. For now, I preferred life with no fragrance.