Chapter 4 #4
Her face scrunched up, trying to remember how she’d felt that night.
She’d been… confused, for lack of a better word.
Sure, she’d been approached by men before, but once they talked to her for long enough that they realized she lived in a very different world than the one her formal dress and makeup implied, they usually excused themselves and disappeared into the crowd.
Grant hadn’t done that. And then, he’d called her and asked her out on a date. He’d kept pursuing her, too. He’d pushed forward, Brynn willingly along for the ride, as he’d shepherded them through every relationship milestone like they’d come from a manual.
God… had they?
Why had he even done all that?
Not because he really wanted to be with her, that’s for sure.
Could it all have been about getting into business with her dad?
She’d made the comment to Hallie, surprised at herself when she’d admitted it out loud.
It was something she hadn’t voiced to anyone since their split—not even Gregory, with whom she’d delved into things the most due to his insistent prodding.
But even when she’d said it in the hallway that morning, as plainly as she could manage, she’d still had trouble believing it. Even though she tried not to think about Grant, it was impossible for her not to replay the series of events that had led her to her current place in life.
The sad conclusion, after extensive internal investigation—she refused to call it “soul searching” since she wasn’t even sure that souls were real—was that his intentions toward her were driven by something more important to him.
And there was nothing more important to Grant than becoming the head of The Devereux Group.
If you’d have asked her what the worst thing she could think of someone doing to someone else was, fabricating an entire life with someone in order to get a promotion wouldn’t even make it into her imagination.
She hated that she took a decent amount of satisfaction in the knowledge that The Devereux Group was in shambles.
She let out a sigh under her breath, which wouldn’t have been noticed except that the conversation around her had come to a stop.
Hallie, sitting next to her at the table, lifted her napkin from her lap and wiped her mouth before placing it gracefully next to her plate.
Then, she took a much deeper, more punctuated sigh and said, “Oh, come on, guys. We can talk about it. We just need to put it out there, and I think we’ll all be better for it. ”
All the hair on Brynn’s arms stood at attention, wondering how the next few minutes would play out. She couldn’t bear to make eye contact with anyone at the table, especially Sydney, who was sitting diagonally across from her. Instead, she looked at Reese, who wore an inscrutable look.
“Hallie…” Sydney cautioned, shooting her friend a glance before she looked at Reese.
There was a lot of nonverbal communication happening. Brynn could tell at least that much, even if she didn’t know exactly what it all meant.
Strangely, given what it seemed like Hallie was about to do, she shot Brynn a playful smile, like it was another one of their private jokes, before looking back toward Reese and Sydney.
Brynn had absolutely zero clue what was about to happen.
“We should talk about it, really,” Hallie said seriously.
The whole room was deadly quiet except for the soft instrumental music floating from the speakers hidden in the walls.
Hallie put her palms down on the table. “Brynn’s better at managing the inn than Reese.
Whew,” she said, letting out a deep breath before continuing.
“It’s not a taboo thing to admit. I think, actually, that it’s good to say it out loud.
I already feel better.” Hallie leaned back against her chair, like she was truly the embodiment of relief after holding in a secret for too long.
Brynn didn’t say anything, looking at Reese to see how she was going to take the comment.
Her goal was never to overshadow anyone.
Or make anyone look bad. Especially not Reese.
And really, she didn’t even think what Hallie was saying was true.
Sure, she’d memorized everything that Hallie had thrown her way, but there was no way that Reese could be even worse than she was at dealing with the guests.
It was factually, scientifically impossible.
The tension in the moment broke when, suddenly, loud and full, Reese started laughing. Hallie joined in quickly, shooting Reese a charmingly guileless smile.
“Really, Hal?” Sydney deadpanned, but she looked more affectionate toward her best friend than anything as she tried to hold back a grin.
By the time Hallie found her voice again, she was wiping away tears.
“God. I had to do that. This was killing me,” she said before her tone grew more earnest. “But seriously, we can all agree that everyone here except me has been, at times, taken for a ride by the unspeakable one. I hope that we can also agree, though, that not speaking his name gives him more power than he should have at this table. I refuse to sit with three incredible women and have our experience muted by a man that has a fucking pompadour.”
“You really do hate that hairstyle,” Sydney interjected at the same time she picked up her wineglass. She took a sip of the deep Italian red that Brynn had agreed to have with their dinner when Reese suggested it. She knew zero about wines.
“If it’s on Grant, definitely.” Hallie looked at Brynn then and added, “I’ve brought up this sticking point previously with Sydney, and yes, I do hate it.
Like he’s a freaking peacock or something.
I refuse to respect a man—don’t even get me started on dating one—who spends more time on his hair than I do. ”
“What about a woman?” Sydney challenged, her voice light as she held her glass near her lips.
Hallie held her hands up in mock surrender. “Women are perfect and can do no wrong. I don’t make the rules. I would probably ask her if I could help; maybe brush it out for her,” Hallie said whimsically, carding her hand through her own hair, which she’d worn down tonight.
Brynn had thought about commenting on it earlier when they’d driven to Sydney and Reese’s together.
But then she realized that it would probably be weird to give her boss a compliment like that.
She’d read the employee conduct handbook very closely.
Not that she’d be making an advance, but…
it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to admiration of personal appearance.
But Hallie’s hair really did look so, so soft. And it had this natural wave to it once she’d taken it out of her ponytail. This was, coincidentally, the first time she’d seen Hallie in anything except her work uniform.
She snuck a look next to her, Hallie’s black jeans a great contrast to the emerald green sweater that she wore.
It was a deep V-neck that Brynn herself could have never pulled off.
She stuck with classics. Anything that had stood the test of time for at least the last century had the chance to be included in her wardrobe.
Considering different style options was way too much for her brain to handle.
She had spent a lot of time studying color palettes one summer, though, so at least she had a cursory understanding of which tones played well together. Tonight, she’d selected a tan cashmere sweater and a pair of jeans with her favorite boots.
“More wine?” Reese asked, pulling her attention back to the table.
Brynn shook her head. She wasn’t a huge drinker, and by virtue of that, more than a glass or two, and she was on a different planet.
She had to hand it to Hallie, though, who’d succeeded impressively well in making everyone more comfortable.
Brynn, who’d been looking between everyone for most of the night to try and get a sense of how she should best behave, leaned back in her chair and took a small sip of her almost empty glass, drinking it for enjoyment instead of to quell her unsteady nerves.
“And how is your extra free time going? Now that Brynn’s here to help manage the inn,” Sydney asked, eyeing Hallie as her vibrant smile turned a little wolfish. “Since we’re putting everyone’s lives on full display.”
Hallie’s mouth dropped open. “Sydney King. I didn’t expect this from you. Airing my personal business.” Again, Brynn didn’t know what was being alluded to, so she looked toward Sydney in the hopes that she’d clarify things.
Sydney tipped her head to the side and beamed a megawatt smile in Hallie’s direction. Grant must have really wanted to work with her dad because Sydney was objectively gorgeous. What a bonehead.
“If you must know,” Hallie finally answered, “Brynn’s only been working the desk alone for three days. And people aren’t exactly champing at the bit to go on dates the week before Christmas. And,” she added, jutting her chin out, “you invited us to dinner, taking one of my possible free nights.”
“You’re right. This is on me. How could I have been so careless?” Sydney batted back sarcastically.
Brynn suddenly grew curious, and she leaned forward to make sure she didn’t miss anything.
She didn’t know that Hallie was dating. Like…
she knew conceptually that, at any time, any single person could go on a date if asked—people in relationships, too, as Grant had taught her—but her dating life hadn’t come up in their conversations over the last week and a half.
“You’ve got a captive audience, Hallie,” Sydney said as she shot Brynn an impish smile. “And I know for a fact that you downloaded a dating app over a month ago. I was literally there with you.”
“And I had to rewrite almost everything you tried to lie about,” Hallie defended immediately.
Sydney threw her hands up. “It’s not a lie that you’re beautiful and hilarious and the best person I know.”
Brynn was appreciating—and agreeing with—all the kind things that Sydney had just said about Hallie when Hallie cut back in, her voice rising.
“Except that people don’t actually write those things about themselves.
They put something witty and charming in one of the prompts and pick super flattering photos.
You, my dear best friend, literally wrote, ‘I’m the best person you’ll ever meet,’ in my profile.
Just call me Narcissus—because if I got a match, it would’ve been my own reflection. ”
Brynn’s ears perked up, wondering if they’d get into a conversation about Greek mythology. That had been another one of her short-lived fixations.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be the case. Sydney folded her arms across her chest and argued, “Well, I’m sorry, Hallie. I’ve never made a dating profile before.”
“Exactly.” Hallie looked triumphant. “It’s bad out there. Like bad bad. Men are now wearing mullets unironically, and women want to know my astrological sign to determine compatibility.”
Reese laughed and placed a steadying hand on Sydney’s forearm, looking at her lovingly. “She’s got a point, babe. Neither of us have been on the apps.”
Neither was Brynn, and from the picture that Hallie was painting, she didn’t know that they’d be in her future either.
Hallie nodded seriously and then pointed her fork at Sydney. “Listen to your girlfriend. She’s a smart woman.”
Sydney gave Reese an adoring look back before setting her sights on Hallie again. “You gonna stab me with that?”
Hallie squinted and half-heartedly jutted the fork forward. “Will it get you to shut up about this?”
It only made Sydney smile wider. “Not even a chance.”
Hallie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, putting down the fork.
She quieted for a moment before she cleared her throat, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Well, misery loves company. If I do end up going on dates, you can be sure that I’m going to come over afterward and cuddle up on the sofa, right between you two.
It shouldn’t take me more than two, maybe three hours to retell the evening.
” She lifted an eyebrow and looked between Sydney and Reese.
“Especially with all this extra time I have. I may even sleep over in the guest room.”
Reese finally looked like she wasn’t sure if Hallie was joking or not. “For the record, I was on your side, Hallie.”
“Well, you two are a package deal now. You have a king bed, right?” Hallie asked as she looked toward the staircase across the room. “I probably don’t even need to use the guest bedroom. We can all just shack up together and have a slumber party.”
Brynn was watching all of this play out, transfixed by the three women’s verbal sparring. It felt like she was living inside of a sitcom, where the characters bantered at rapid speed but the episode always ended with everyone smiling, like her three dinner companions were doing right now.
She finished off her glass of wine at the same time Sydney finally acquiesced. “Okay, Hal. You win this round.”
Hallie pumped her fist. “Yes! You get true love, and I get…?”
“People who love you, truly.” Sydney’s voice was surprisingly full, her eyes trained on Hallie.
Hallie struck her hand out for Sydney to shake. “I’ll take it.”
After shaking Hallie’s hand, Sydney stood up from the table and started clearing the plates. “I need to do something before this devolves any further.”
Reese stood up, too. “I’ll help.”
Despite Brynn and Hallie’s attempts to assist with the post-dinner cleanup, they were told to stay in their chairs while the plates were taken to the kitchen.
Hallie looked toward her then. “You’ll see what I mean, if you join a dating app.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder, toward the kitchen. “Don’t tell these two, though. They’ll be so excited at the possibility of love for you that you’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Sounds like this has been an ongoing conversational topic?” Brynn asked, shifting her body so they faced one another.
“They mean well. It’s just… a lot,” Hallie breathed out into the space between them.
Her cheeks were a little red—maybe from the warmth of the house or the few glasses of wine she’d had or a little bit of both—and Brynn wondered, truly, how anyone in their right mind, bad profile or not, wouldn’t want to go on a date with someone like her.