9. Laila #2
Bryce leads us to that piano, it’s black with gold accents but instead of being shiny it has a satin finish.
Bryce pulls out the piano bench and gestures for me to sit down.
I sit and hold my flute in both of my hands, being careful not to spill any champagne on the instrument that I know for sure costs more than my annual salary.
Bryce sets his empty champagne flute down on the floor next to the piano leg and sits next to me on the bench.
The side of his arm brushes against mine as he positions his fingers on the keys.
He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and then he begins to play.
I don’t immediately recognize the song, it’s familiar but the name escapes me until he plays a few more notes, getting further into the verse.
Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers.
I watch Bryce’s hands as he deftly slides across the keys, playing the notes of the song.
His movements are fluid and certain and though he isn’t singing I can feel the emotion of the song just from the notes he plays.
I am so engrossed in watching him play that I don’t realize the song is over until the sound of the last note lingering stops, leaving the room in silence.
“Wow that was beautiful,” I say..
“Thank you,” Bryce says. “That was one of Mrs. Roberts’ favorite songs so it was one of the first ones I memorized.”
I smile softly at Bryce, those damn flutters in my belly making an appearance once again.
“Why didn’t you bring your piano from LA?” I ask, trying to get out of my own head about the feelings I definitely didn’t want to be having.
“I left most of my things in my LA house. I’m not planning on selling it right now so it made more sense to me to get something that’ll fit the place I’m in right now better.”
“So Chicago is just temporary for you then?”
“Chicago will always be home. But I’m not sure if it’ll be where I am long term.”
“Oh, okay.”
Bryce looks at me and tilts his head to the side slightly, his eyes dancing around my face.
“What?” I ask, confused by the way he’s looking at me.
He shakes his head softly. “Nothing, you’re just hard to read sometimes.”
I want to ask him what he means by that but my phone starts to ring. I glance to see who’s calling and I see Cass’ name on the screen.
“I’m sorry it’s work, I have to take this,” I say standing from the bench.
I step down from the platform and walk a few feet away, turning my back to Bryce to answer my call.
“Hey Cass, what’s up?” I ask when the call connects.
“Hey I know it’s Saturday, but I need to ask you a huge favor.”
“Is everything okay? What’s going on?”
“The delivery dates for the new toners and serums got mixed up so instead of coming on Monday they’re being delivered today. I tried to call Reagan but she didn’t answer.”
Cass’ words are rushed and her voice sounds mildly panicked.
“I hate that I even have to ask this of you but we’ve been waiting so long for this shipment so that we can restock. And you remember the last shipment we weren’t there for the delivery for was stolen and I would do it myself but I’m down in Indianapolis with Cyrus-”
“Cass,” I say, cutting her off.
“Yeah?”
“I need you to take some deep breaths.”
I hear the sounds of her inhale and exhale through the phone, once and then twice and then I speak.
“I will handle the shipment. You don’t even have to worry about it. You enjoy your time with Cyrus okay?”
“Are you sure because I can come back tonight to -”
“Yes I’m sure,” I reassure her. “I will handle it and I’ll see you on Monday. Tell Cyrus I said ‘hello’.”
“You’re a fucking godsend, Laila. Thank you so much.”
I end the call and turn around to see Bryce standing near the door to the room, one hand in his pocket as he scrolls on his phone with the other.
“Everything okay?” he asks as I walk towards him.
“I’m sorry I have to go, my boss needs me to handle a shipment that’s getting delivered.”
“No worries, I can take you wherever you need to go.”
“Are you sure? You probably have more important things to do anyway. I don’t want to get in the way with that.”
Bryce shakes his head. “Laila you can’t get in the way when there isn’t anything there. Think of this as another part of the adventure. I showed you a piece of my world and now I want to see a piece of yours.”
***
I unlock the delivery door and walk in, letting the door close behind me.
“It’s nothing special,” I say, trying to keep expectations low. “It’s just our warehouse and office space.”
I’m flipping on the lights in the office when I hear the ring of the doorbell announcing the arrival of the delivery. I walk back to the door and open it to the delivery driver.
“Can you sign here?” The man asks, holding the signature pad out to me.
I quickly scribble out an illegible squiggle and pass it back to the man.
Bryce stands next to me with his sunglasses and beanie on.
I wait for the delivery driver to recognize Bryce and say something but he doesn’t.
He just tucks the signature pad in his pocket and goes to get his dolly to start unloading the boxes.
“Which one is your favorite?” Bryce asks.
He’s standing in front of the clear wall mounted shelves that display every product Lovely Day has ever sold. From the very first ones that Cassandra was selling out of her apartment to our last most recent release this past holiday season.
“It used to be this one,” I say pointing to our watermelon lip balm.
It’s been a part of the mainline for years and I have one with me at all times.
“But my new favorite is actually one from the new collection.”
“Really? Which one?”
I walk over to my desk and grab one of the samples of the collection that I kept for myself. I unscrew the lid and take a sniff of the familiar sweet scent.
I walk back over to Bryce and hold it up to Bryce for him to smell too. “This is our vanilla and lemon body butter.”
He inhales deeply, closing his eyes and taking in the scent. When he opens his eyes they lock with mine, his gaze so intense that I feel a chill over my body even though I’m still wearing my coat.
He smiles. “I can see why you like it, it’s really nice.”
I take a step back and screw the top back on to the body butter. “Thank you, you can keep this one if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
I clear my throat, trying to get rid of the dry feeling that has suddenly appeared. “I’m just going to count the boxes and then make sure everything is here and then we can go.”
“Take your time, I’ll be here.”