Chapter 6
Brooke
“Will this work?” Titus scans the space he’s just brought me to at McKinley Security Systems. “I know it’s pretty sparse in here right now, but feel free to order anything you need.”
“This is more than fine.” I manage a smile even though my stomach is rolling. Focusing on my new office, I try to get my brain with the program. “Who do I need to reach out to for ordering?”
The room is plenty big enough, but Titus wasn’t exaggerating when he called it sparse. It currently has a desk, a chair, and…
That’s it.
But the view is nice. And the job he’s given me is exactly what I spent four years of college learning how to do. Once I start getting paychecks, my salary will provide more than enough for me to rent an apartment. Buy a car.
Start over.
And this time I’m determined to do it right.
“As long as you don’t mind handling it, you can order whatever you want yourself.” Titus pulls out his phone and swipes across the screen. “I’ll make sure Trevor gets you a company credit card before the end of day. Put whatever you want on that.”
My eyes flick to the open door—seeking a man I should not be looking for—before bouncing back to Titus as he continues talking.
“I’ve scheduled a team meeting in an hour.” He looks from the screen of his phone to my empty hands. “I’ll have Trevor get you a phone too.”
I know I should have gotten one of my own before now, but what for? I don’t have anyone to talk to.
And I sure as heck don’t want anyone trying to talk to me.
A laptop seemed like a better investment, so that’s what I went with. I’ve got to make the money Curtis and Lily paid me last until I get a paycheck from MSS, and between buying a new work wardrobe and shelling out for vet bills and doggy daycare, it’s draining fast.
But Bruno is worth it. He’s such a sweetheart. Even Deidre’s aging lab, Gunner, loves him. But that could just be because Bruno reminds him of the squirrel he’s obsessed with.
My new work wardrobe was also worth the expense. I love—and feel good in—everything I picked out. The best part was choosing items without needing anyone’s approval or facing questions about who I may or may not be trying to impress.
And I’m not trying to impress anyone. That would be a terrible, awful idea. I need time to get back to the person I used to be.
No.
I need to figure out how to be better than the person I used to be. Because the person I used to be is who ended up with Matt.
Titus spends the next hour going over the basics.
Having a badge made, assigning me a parking spot, getting my work computer set up.
The last one takes the most time. The process of signing in involves a special little device attached to a keychain.
It displays a series of numbers that change every ten minutes, providing the passcode to a super secret, especially secure site.
While I don’t understand all the words he’s saying, I do get the gist of what Titus is trying to tell me.
Be real fucking careful.
I’ve just set up my work email, when a reminder comes across that it’s time to head to my first team meeting.
I’m not sure what to expect, but I don’t know that Titus does either, which makes me feel a little less out of my element.
The job he’s hired me for is a newly created position, and my list of duties is going to be pretty fluid as we work through any kinks that come up.
It’s a little scary, but also exciting. To be back in the workforce. Making my own money. Creating my own future. Controlling my own destiny.
Titus’s team is significantly larger than I was expecting, and that has me already thinking about changes we’ll need to make.
I know I’m good at what he’s hired me to do.
I can juggle tasks and organize people based on their strengths with my eyes closed.
But no matter how good I am, if there are too many balls in the air, I’m going to start dropping them.
The minute the meeting ends, Titus heads out.
He can only stand to be in the office for a few hours at a time, and he was ready to get back to Mariah.
Instead of staying to mingle, I hustle back to my office and dig through my desk in search of a pen and paper.
Unfortunately, not only is there very little furniture in this room, there are literally no office supplies.
So I guess that’s my first task. Figure out where in the hell I can get stationery and writing utensils. With Titus gone for the day, I head for Trevor’s office, giving the empty desk outside of it a questioning glance before knocking on his door.
“Come in.” He sounds pissed. Not shocking based on what I remember about him. He’s only a couple years older than Tobias, but always acted like a grumpy old man with expensive taste.
I enter his office to find not much has changed.
Where my current space is sparse and utilitarian, Trevor’s office looks like it came out of a design catalog.
Considering who his mother is, it probably did.
Same with his suit. I will bet every penny I have—not that there are many—it’s bespoke.
Probably has to be. I imagine there’s no way a man built like he is could buy anything off the rack.
Between his shoulders and biceps, seams would be popping every time he moved.
“Holy shit.” Trevor stands quickly, the phone he was clutching dropping to the desk as his wide eyes fix on where I stand. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I look from side to side, as confused as he seems. “I work here? Titus hired me as a project manager.”
“You’re the project manager Titus hired?” He scrubs one hand over his face. “Fucking hell.” His hand drops, gaze snapping back to me. “Does Toby know?”
My stomach clenches just at the mention of his name. Not a great sign, but something I am going to have to get used to. “I’m not sure.”
“Goddammit, Titus.” Trevor’s mumbling under his breath now. “Just as bad as our mother.”
“If now’s a bad time, I can come back.” I don’t want to though, so I go ahead and ask the question that brought me here. “I was just coming to find out if you knew where I could get office supplies.”
Trevor goes oddly still, one eye twitching the tiniest bit as he stares at me.
Is he… Is he okay?
“I’ll… just figure it out.” I back toward the door, wishing like hell Titus hadn’t already left for the day. Maybe I can just email him.
“Sorry.” Trevor rakes a hand through his perfectly combed hair, messing up the style I’m sure he spent way too long coaxing the dark waves into.
“You just caught me a little off guard.” His eyes drop to the phone he was holding earlier.
“I guess this is yours then.” He picks it up and holds it out, along with a credit card. “This too.”
I take the items, grateful to have them, but uneasy Titus didn’t seem to tell anyone outside of his team he hired me. “And office supplies?”
His eye seems to twitch again. “Find Maren. She can get you everything you need.”
“Okay.” I drag the word out. “Any idea where she might be?”
Trevor shrugs, the movement weirdly exaggerated. “No. It’s not like I keep track of her location all day.”
The sharpness of his tone sends a shiver of panic down my spine and my stomach dropping to my feet. I work hard not to stumble as I step back, before quickly spinning on my heel and all but running out of his office.
I know Trevor is an asshole. That’s sort of his thing. But I’ve had enough of assholes in my life, so it’s probably best if I steer clear of him. I won’t be able to move forward if I’m constantly being reminded of what’s behind me.
Since I don’t know who Maren is or what she looks like, I go to the place I think I have the best shot of figuring that out.
The door to the security office is closed and locked, so I use my newly acquired badge to let myself in, smiling at the man sitting behind a large desk monitoring all the camera feeds.
“Hello. I’m Brooke. I’m working for Titus’s team as a project manager.
” I introduce myself, because if Trevor didn’t know I was working here, this guy for sure has no freaking clue who I am.
“I am in need of office supplies, and was told to find Maren, but I have no clue who she is or where she might be.”
The universe must finally be ready to take pity on me, because the security guard turns out to be a delight.
Not only does he tell me all about his wife and grandchildren, but he also explains exactly where the woman I’m looking for is and gives me a map he scribbles on with red marker to show the path I need to take to get there.
Map in hand, I leave Ray to his duties and hurry to a large room not far from where my office is located.
Stepping inside, I’m a little surprised at the condition of the place.
Stuff is everywhere. Like they just got the biggest shipment of supplies and stacked it all randomly.
There are boxes of pens and pencils piled high.
Crates of printer ink topped with plastic-wrapped rolls of packing tape.
Pallets of legal pads blocking any kind of path I might try to take.
But while I see everything I need for my office, I don’t see Maren.
“Hello?” I step farther into the room. “Maren?”
I nearly jump out of my skin when a small woman sporting a cutely curled bob pops out from behind a pallet of what’s marked as printer paper. She gives me a bright smile. “Hey there.”
One hand comes to rest over my heart as I stumble back a step. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Oh shit.” Her smile falls. “I’m super sorry. I was just excited to finally see you.”
I must not have heard her right. “Finally see me?”
Her head tips, confusion pinching her brow. “You’re Brooke, right?”
I’m shocked. “How do you know who I am?”
“I’m friends with Mariah and she told me Titus hired you.” Her eyes move up and down, looking me over from head to toe. “You are freaking gorgeous.” Her lips pull into a smirk. “No wonder Tobias is so fucked-up over you.”
My mouth hangs open as I try to respond. It takes a couple tries to get any words out, but I finally manage to say, “I’m sure Tobias isn’t…” I shake my head. “It’s been almost a decade.”
The woman—Maren, I’m assuming—gestures at me. “Have you seen yourself? Pretty much anyone with half a brain would be ruined for life if they let you go.”
I look down like I don’t know how my own body looks. Honestly, I might not.
I used to think it was pretty decent, but over the years, it’s become harder and harder to see past the lumps and bumps. The stubborn spots that wouldn’t shrink no matter how many hours I spent on the treadmill or how many carbs I cut out.
The parts that were pointed out to me over and over again as yet another of my failings.
“But you’re not here to talk about how much Tobias is still in love with you.” Maren grabs a cart parked against the wall, rolling it toward me. “You are here to get stuff to fill your new office.”
I have so many questions for Maren, but I’m pretty sure I can’t handle the answers she might give me, so I keep my mouth shut as she pushes the cart around the room, collecting items as we go.
Turns out I really don’t need to lead the conversation, because for every word I don’t say, Maren says at least ten.
“I am so glad you’re here. Everyone has been so freaking wound up since the explosion.” She adds a package of legal pads and a box of pens. “Which I get, because it was scary as shit.” Her eyes swing my way. “I’ll be happy if I never witness another person being blown up again.”
It’s been so long since I’ve gossiped that I’m a little rusty, but it’s also been so long since I’ve had a girlfriend that I’m willing to figure out how to get back into the swing of things. I need friends. Now more than ever. “You were there?”
“Right there.” Maren makes a gesture with her hands, starting with her fingers close together and then spreading them wide, mimicking what she saw. “Luckily, there was a lot of smoke, so I didn’t really see enough to have nightmares. But it was still pretty crazy.”
“I can imagine.” I lower my voice, because I don’t quite know who might be able to hear us. “Did you know the guy who blew up?”
Maren wrinkles her nose. “Unfortunately. He was creepy as hell.”
I’ve picked up bits and pieces of what happened, mostly from Deidre and Mariah, but I don’t know too many specifics outside of hearing there was an explosion and Titus pulled Mariah to safety.
Which has me wondering, “How did you get out?”
Maren groans, her eyes dramatically rolling back into her head. “I don’t even want to think about it, because it’s just going to annoy me.” She drops a ream of paper onto the cart, letting it fall a little heavier than the items before it. “Let’s talk about you instead.”
Dread grips my insides. At some point, someone is going to ask me what happened in California, and I’m going to have to tell them. Admit my shortcomings. How stupid I was. How na?ve.
How weak.
But like everyone else up to this point, Maren surprises me. “I heard you have a puppy, and I need to see pictures.”
“I don’t have any.” I’m a terrible dog mom. Maybe I should have sprung for a cell phone to commemorate Bruno’s first weekend with me.
But I do have a work cell phone now, and I’m sure it would be fine to take pictures on it, right? “If you give me your number, I can take some when I get home and send them to you,” I offer.
Why is it so scary waiting to see if Maren is okay with giving me her contact information? Probably because I haven’t been allowed to do this sort of thing for a long time, and it still feels illicit. Like I’m going to get in trouble for it. Like I’m doing something wrong.
When Maren grins at me, a little of the fear trying to spiral around my throat eases.
“That sounds like the best idea I’ve ever heard.
” She looks from side to side before adding on, “I need to live vicariously through you since I can’t have a pet right now.
” She sighs. “I’d also like you to teach me how to make a man pine for me after a decade apart, because I’m lucky if I ever get a second date. ”