4. Nate
4
NATE
F or three days, Rachel fit right in at the office and impressed damn near everyone she met.
Perhaps not the individuals she told to turn around and not bother her. Or me. Or Julie. They weren’t used to not getting their way from a lowly assistant who stuck to protocol religiously. If someone wanted to speak with me, they needed an appointment. If someone just wanted to show me something, they were redirected to email it as an attachment.
I didn’t know what Julie told Rachel about her responsibilities, but damn, was it nice to buckle down and focus for a change. It hadn’t occurred to me how interrupted I was throughout the day until all the distractions were removed or held back.
I was a laidback sort of guy. After all, there wasn’t anything wrong with being easygoing. I did my job well. There were no complaints. And I liked to be an extrovert and surround myself with others. That wasn’t to say I couldn’t also appreciate how streamlined my day was without people popping in my office nonstop. Or how good it felt to be this productive.
All thanks to Rachel. With stern diplomacy and unwavering professionalism, she refused to take shit from anyone. Not even when they challenged her and said she was “just an assistant who wouldn’t last past this month.”
She was stern and down to do her job. There was no doubt about that. But with the infrequency of her smiles, I wondered if she might be… down. If her mood was sour and that was how and why she could be so tough on the clock.
This boss-lady vibe she had didn’t match the young girl I used to know. And it shouldn’t have. This was the woman I wanted to get to know, not the former child I had as an acquaintance through the association with her brother.
Because day in and day out, for every one of those three days, I caught myself thinking about her much more than I probably should have been.
“Hey, Mom.”
I paused while walking down the hall. If anyone were watching me and witnessed me literally halt mid-step at the sound of her voice, it would’ve been a comedy act. That was how attuned I was to her sweet, sometimes sassy voice. When Rachel spoke, I wanted to listen. It was as simple as that.
Eavesdropping on her call with Mrs. Brown probably didn’t fall into the realm of anything I had a right to know as her boss, but I couldn’t bring myself to move away. Lurking in the hall, I settled in to lean against the wall so I could listen through the crack from her unclosed door.
If she hadn’t answered in such a tired, exasperated tone, I might not have been overly curious. I was drawn to her, yes, but this annoyed greeting really had me intrigued.
“Mom.” A soft sigh left her lips. “I’m not. That’s my answer. Again. Just like I’ve told you since the day I was offered this job and left town. I’m not going to be home for Christmas.”
You’re not? I furrowed my brow, curious. I had a job here in the city and I still made time to go home and see my parents. We made a big deal out of it every year. The McIntosh family had been so involved with Malley, Inc. that they had a standing invitation to come to the annual holiday party here. Once it was done, we’d all drive to Rockton and spend the holiday together there, with me taking the cabin for a getaway.
Brandon, too, lived and worked here in New York, but he went home for Christmas.
Why wouldn’t you go home for Christmas?
She had to have been offered this position quickly. Julie fired—or tried to fire—Jessica for the first time last Thursday. She must have applied over the weekend and been prepared to get up and just go.
But without a plan to come home for the holidays?
I rubbed a hand over my hair, confused. She was a go-getter, but even she had to understand the need for a holiday break. That was common sense.
“No, Mom. It will not be the end of the world if I skip Christmas,” Rachel said.
Skip Christmas? I shook my head, unable to make sense of it. It was unfathomable. I didn’t enjoy all the memories that led up to the big holiday party, but that didn’t make me a grinch about the whole season.
“Oh. Uh, Mom? I’ve got to go. Another call is coming in,” she said quickly.
I walked away, knowing this conversation I wanted to follow was over.
Instead of going back to my office, I decided to go over to the bar Brandon co-owned and worked at. I didn’t have a ton of things to keep up with, courtesy of all that productive, uninterrupted time I had with Rachel keeping the office running smoothly. With this unexpected downtime, I sought my friend to figure out why Rachel could be so down.
He was there, just getting the place organized for the evening, and he didn’t wait to ask about the very person I wanted to speak with him about. “How’s Rach getting along there?” he asked after we greeted each other and I sat at the bar.
“She’s settling in fine,” I told him honestly. “She’s efficient and sticks to the task.”
Brandon laughed, wiping the counter. “More than any other assistant you’ve had?” He shook his head. “I’m starting to wonder if Julie scares them all off.”
I shrugged. “Maybe she does. But Julie’s damned good at her job and she’s not unreasonable. If someone can’t measure up to what she expects, then they won’t last.”
“But Rach does?”
“Oh, Julie adores her,” I replied. She hadn’t told me that outright, but I caught several comments of praise.
“She’s not being too much of a grump, is she?”
Aha. He was expecting her to be grumpy?
“I told her to apply for that position just in case you needed a new assistant.”
I rolled my eyes. Being notorious for not hanging on to assistants couldn’t be a good thing to be proud of.
“She was grumpy and stuck at home, so I figured if there were an opening, it’d be a smart move to get her out of Rockton for a while.”
Brandon had always been like that for everyone, empathetic and quick to want to help others.
“Why would she be grumpy?” I set my elbow on the counter and leaned in to slant in a more comfortable position. “Not that I agree with that assessment. She’s not grumpy, per se, from what I’ve noticed. But she seems… down?”
He nodded, confirming my guess. “She was just dumped. Do you remember that dude she went to high school with?”
I winced, shaking my head no. “That would’ve been, what, five years ago?”
“More like six,” he replied.
“In other words, the aftermath of Yasmin?” I arched a brow. “I don’t recall much of that time other than what she did to me.”
“Which is understandable,” he ceded as he set the towel aside. “That’s when she hooked up with the neighbors’ son. Kyle. They played together as kids, were friends in school, then high school sweethearts.”
“What happened? They just didn’t last?”
“No.” He cringed. “He dumped her at Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. I don’t know why. Or any details, really. Rach isn’t saying much about it at all, but she’s had a rough time of it. I was there for part of dinner. I couldn’t stay because I had to come back and work, but I’ve talked to her every day since. I could tell that she was having a rough time.”
I sat back and crossed my arms. “Anyone would struggle with that. Being dumped at a family dinner? On a holiday?” I huffed, knowing acutely how hard that would hurt. Yasmin had ended our marriage with a public act as well. That sort of humiliation was no laughing matter.
“That’s why I said she should apply for your assistant job. Just to get her out of town.”
“A change of scenery always helps.” But is that the reason she doesn’t want to go home or celebrate Christmas at all?
“It’s not only that,” he said, slanting to lean his hip against the counter. “The Joneses live right next door. Kyle’s parents were at the dinner.”
“Jones?” I frowned. “Isn’t that your mom’s best friend?” It was sad, and interesting, how many of those details faded the longer you had moved away from home. All the who’s who intel ceased to matter as much in a new life.
“Yes. My mom and Emily Jones are best friends. My dad and Mr. Jones are good buddies too. So when Rachel was dating their son…”
“Yikes.”
“Yikes is right. Lots of pressure. You know how it is in small towns. And it didn’t help that the mothers are upset about this and wanting it to work out.”
“So, that’s why Rachel is dedicated to her job and eager to be here. Did you know she is the first one to arrive and one of the last ones to leave?” It’d only been three days, but she was starting up a heck of a pattern for being a workaholic.
“I imagine so.”
“Huh.” I looked down at the counter and rubbed my hand along my jaw. “This helps to clarify a bit. I overheard her talking to your mom on the phone and I couldn’t help but get curious.”
“Curious?” He raised his brows. “You’re curious about my little sister?”
“Curious why she would say that she wanted to skip Christmas.”
He didn’t break eye contact, staring at me seriously.
“What?” I laughed. “What’s that look for?”
“It’s just weird, hearing my old friend say he’s curious about my little sister.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, shut up.”
“Hey, I know you’re all generous and full of holiday spirit and all. It makes perfect sense that you’d wonder why she was down right now. But that’s it, right? Because it would not make any sense at all—to me—if you were curious about her in any other way.”
For fuck’s sake. Possessive much? I was an only child, so I wasn’t well-versed with sibling dynamics. But, damn. Was this supposed to be normal? The guy could be friends with me but I wouldn’t be good enough for his sister? How did that make sense?
“She’s still off-limits to you, Nate,” he reminded me. While his tone was teasing, I suspected it sounded like that only so he wouldn’t seem like a complete asshole.
“Oh. No worries there,” I replied, not losing my cool despite the slight edge he was speaking with. “I’m not looking for anyone.” I sat back and held my hands up in a truce manner. “At all.”
“Still?” He blinked in surprise. “I know the divorce was nasty. Yasmin hurt you, but it’s been years.”
I nodded. “It has been years. But I’m not looking for anyone. I’m definitely not in a rush to settle down with anyone.”
My ex-wife hadn’t only cheated on me. She also broke my damn heart. That kind of an ache wasn’t easy for someone free-loving and open-hearted like me to get over.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for anything serious again.”
“Hey, I’m in the camp that believes never say never .” He smiled. “I’ve got faith you’ll find someone to make you completely forget about Yasmin.”
Just not your sister, right? “Thanks, man.”
As we moved on to other topics, though, and set up a time to hang out and catch a game when he had a night off from this bar, I couldn’t help but wonder.
I wasn’t ready for anything serious. Even the concept of dating intimidated me. It would require me to put too much on the line.
But casual sex wasn’t a crime.
Especially if I engaged in it with Rachel. Why not see if I can’t help her move on from this ex who dumped her on Thanksgiving? Why not help her have a little more joy in the holiday season again?
The chemistry building between us was a real, tangible force I couldn’t deny. Nor could she. I knew she felt it. I noticed her watching me when she thought I couldn’t see. I struggled to stay away from her. Something was there.
Maybe it might anger Brandon. But if Rachel and I both leaned on each other to get through this holiday season…
What could be so wrong with that?