Chapter 17 #2
“See, that wasn’t so bad.” I gathered the papers that Gage would need to see into a folder. “Before I go, we should take a look at your calendar, make sure you know what you’re doing and where you need to be.”
Chase had returned to his guitar while I pulled up his schedule on my tablet. His idea the other day about me becoming his assistant hadn’t left my mind. Combined with how quickly we accomplished these reports, the notion sounded even better.
“What? That can’t be.” I mumbled to myself my disbelief. How did I let this happen?
I knew exactly how. I’d been combining work with pleasure.
“Chase,” I said.
My nervous tone got his attention. He came to my side and peered over my shoulder.
“What’s up?”
The empty feeling in my stomach had returned.
“We won’t be able to go out Thursday night,” I said. “You have a dinner meeting that I completely forgot about. I haven’t even confirmed it with the client and it’s tomorrow.”
He nonchalantly walked back to his guitar and continued playing it.
“That’s no big deal, just reschedule it.”
My head shot up at his suggestion. That would not be acceptable. He wasn’t understanding. There could be no mistakes.
I was immediately back to my old, rule-following self. Afraid to make a misstep. And when I did, it felt as though my entire world was going to collapse around me.
“Mare, seriously, we’re dealing with staffing issues. Tell whoever it is that we need to reschedule because of that. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
My anxiety ratcheted up at the thought of Gage finding out, but why? He wouldn’t be upset about rescheduling a meeting either.
This was simply because I lost focus due to…
I couldn’t allow him to let me lose focus.
He scared me when he was suddenly next to me. He didn’t reach out or touch me, rather, he kept his distance with his hands in his pockets.
“Hey,” he said. “Do you want me to make the call? It’s my meeting and it’s me who lost an assistant. It would make sense for me to do it.”
All I did was look at the calendar on my tablet. My brain felt that if I stared at the mistake long enough, it might disappear.
“Or would you like to reschedule the night out?” he asked.
Oh my god. As soon as he asked me, I felt the anxiety in me dissipate. Having someone put me before them, someone understand my feelings, was life-altering. I spun toward him, a smile of relief on my face.
“Thank you, Chase.”
His disappointment was clear. I hugged him. Christ, I was continuing to break so many of my own rules.
“No, I don’t want to cancel our night out,” I said as I pulled back and looked up at him. “I just really appreciate you offering.”
Evie hadn’t stopped texting me the past couple days about Mitch. I had to turn my phone off at work for a while today to finish a project. She was lighting it up nonstop.
Is he hot
Tell me what he looks like
How much does he make
Does he have a girlfriend
Does he like girls
You can find out his salary, right?
OMG, this is going to be so much fun
She didn’t stop, nor care, that every text went unanswered. Chase was getting similar questions from Mitch. I felt as though our night was turning into a setup for these two.
As I stood in front of my closet, it was the first time in a while I didn’t know what to wear. We were going to a bar, so jeans would be an obvious choice. However, Chase enjoyed seeing my legs, and I was in the mood to make him happy.
In his office, he surprised me by putting my concerns and emotions before his own. That was a huge change in how he usually handles things. He was trying, really trying.
So, the miniskirt was staring at me.
I didn’t have a ton of options to choose from. My wardrobe was very basic.
Black. Gray. White. Cream. Tan.
Those were my color options I wore to work every day.
It made it easy to mix and match my limited pieces.
Slacks, skirts, blouses, and sweaters. My work uniform.
And for the weekend I had some shorts, jeans, and T-shirts.
I didn’t splurge on myself. I worked hard at taking care of my clothing, so it lasted.
The one miniskirt I had was a black leather one I found at TJ Maxx on a deep discount. It was sexy and solely for going out to clubs, which I rarely did anymore. I felt too old for that at almost thirty. It was still staring at me, so I grabbed it. I paired it with a baby tee and combat boots.
I thought I looked kinda good.
The knock on my door came at the same time as the text on my phone.
“One sec!”
Chase: Car pulling up in 5
I grabbed my coat and bag, and ran to the door, more excited than I expected to be.
“Shit,” Evie said as I threw it open. “You look fucking hot.”
She did as well. The jeans she wore hugged her perfect curves, and she had on these stiletto-type booties. Her suede jacket and scarf made her look as if she was right out of Cosmopolitan. Throw in the tiny shoulder bag and she could be in Paris for fashion week.
“So do you,” I told her. “I wish I had your style.”
I grabbed her arm and hurried her down the hall.
“I always tell you I want to take you shopping,” she said.
My dream would be to go shopping with her, but I was never willing to spend the money.
I was a saver, always too afraid not to have enough for an emergency.
Growing up, we never had enough. We lived paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes there wasn’t even one of those.
My fears were instilled in me from opening the cupboards and them being completely bare most of my childhood.
It made me such a rule follower as an adult. I always needed to make sure I was in control. But the way I got to where I am now…wasn’t easy. Leaving home at seventeen and heading to New York City alone was scary. I almost didn’t make it.
But I did.
I tried to focus on that most of the time, instead of focusing on my path here. It was hard when the reminders were in front of me so often.
“Hey,” Evie said as we walked out the front door. “Did I lose you?”
Turning to my best friend, seeing her concerned look, I only smiled.
“I’m good.”
When we looked to the street, there was a driver waiting for us. It wasn’t exactly a limo, but it was a super fancy SUV, like a Navigator or something.
“Are you Maryellen and Evie?” the gentleman asked.
We shared a look, Evie and I, and giggled like schoolgirls as we climbed into the truck. The driver introduced himself as Ben before closing the door for us.
It was luxurious inside. There were even bottles of water and snacks in the backseat.
“Chase sent this for us?” Evie asked.
When Chase told me he was sending a car, I protested.
My argument was that I traveled around the city, to and from work, every day.
I could get myself to the karaoke bar. He insisted because he was making us meet at a place that was so far from mine.
He won the fight when he pulled out the “I want you to be safe” argument.
“He did,” I said.
Evie grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it.
“I could get used to this. Hey, there’s seat warmers back here.” She started pressing all kinds of buttons. “And we can control the radio from here, too.”
That was the thing I wondered if I could get used to. This was a lifestyle so far beyond what I was accustomed to. It was quite enjoyable to sit back against warm leather seats and be taken care of. Before long, the truck pulled over and Ben was holding the door open for us.
“Thank you,” we both said.
He nodded. “I’ll be back later. Mr. Parker will alert me when you’re ready to go home.”
Evie and I giggled again as we walked through the bar’s front door. I’d been here before; Chase and I came a couple times last fall. He loved to sing up on stage but was upset he could never get me to do it with him.
He was probably going to be upset again tonight.
The bar was packed, but even with people standing shoulder to shoulder, I caught sight of Chase. He had to have been watching the door since he was moving our way already, his hand up in the air.
“Hey,” he said, giving me a hug. Turning to Evie, he did the same thing. “It’s great to see you again, Evie.”
We followed him to the back corner near the stage and saw that he and Mitch already had a table. By the number of empties on it, they’d been here a while.
“Maryellen, you remember Mitch, don’t you?” Chase said. Mitch stood and shook my hand firmly. Mitch was a good-looking guy. He was shorter and stockier than Chase with dark hair and dark eyes. But he was definitely popular with the ladies at Parker Financial.
“Yes, nice to see you again,” I said.
“This is Evie. Evie, this is Mitch,” Chase said.
Evie squeezed my arm she’d been holding as a sign of approval. She let go to shake Mitch’s hand, and he led her to his side of the table with that handshake.
It was obvious they were going to get along just fine.
Chase pulled my chair closer to his once I sat, making it easier for us to talk.
“You look fucking amazing, Mare.” His mouth lingered close to my ear, just enough to make bumps rise along my skin. When he pulled away, he looked around the bar instead of at me.
Was this his attempt to make us look casual?
I grabbed his knee to get his attention, and those hazel eyes found mine.
“You look good, too.”
He smiled. His stubble was more pronounced on his face by this time of night, and I found myself wanting to run my fingers through the tiny hairs along his jawline. He saw me staring.
“This is weird, right?” he asked. “I’m not sure how to act. I want to kiss you, or hold you, or something. I didn’t think this through well enough.”
It was weird. Being here as friends when we really weren’t would be tough. And I was the one who put these parameters on our relationship.
How long could we do this?