Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
TONI
Try as I might, I can’t get Shae’s jab out of my mind.
In a month or so, when you get bored with this loser…
I know Shae is a douchebag and said that to wind me up, but I didn’t need to be reminded that Audrey is out of my league.
“Toni, help me get the next round.” Greta grabs my arm and pulls me to the bar.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Greta got me alone. Max sees us coming and her eyes light up in the very uncharacteristic way they do when Max sees Greta. Max is pulling our beers out of the cooler before we order. In a move honed over years of bartending at her parents’ bar before opening this one.
“Only three, Max. Topo Chico for me,” Greta says. “I’m driving to Aspen tonight. One beer is my limit.”
“Cool. You can be my DD,” I say.
“The more things change,” Greta says.
Max opens three beers in quick succession. Greta slides one towards me.
“Audrey really undersold how toxic Shae is.”
“You can hardly blame her,” I say.
“Did you have any idea?”
“An inkling from a couple of things she said that night, but it was so much worse than I expected.” I take a long pull of my beer. God, it tastes good.
Max puts her forearms on the bar and leans in.
“Look, I know the chances of you listening to me are slim,” Greta says.
“What? That’s not true, I listen to you.”
Greta rolls her eyes and tries to hand her credit card to Max, who waves it away.
“I’ll be right back,” Max says before walking off to serve other customers.
“Be careful, Toni. I like Audrey a lot. But we just got a glimpse of the relationship she’s getting out of and you do not want to get in the middle of that right now. Audrey needs time to recover from what sounds, and looked, like an emotionally abusive relationship.”
“Yeah, I told her that too. She denied it.”
“Denied she needed time or denied it was abusive?”
“The second. Well, both, really.”
Greta’s eyebrows rise, waiting for me to elaborate. No way I’m telling her Audrey kissed me in the break room. She pours her Topo Chico into the glass of ice and squeezes the lime in it. I can see in her eyes that she’s processing everything. She sips the fizzy mineral water out of the tiny brown stirring straw, and puts down the glass.
“It would be hard for someone like Audrey to admit to themselves that they’ve been so thoroughly manipulated, and by someone they cared about.”
“Yeah, probably,” I say.
Greta looks into the near distance, deep in thought.
“What?”
“I just wonder how this will affect the project.”
“Jesus, have some compassion, Greta.”
She glares at me. “I do have compassion for her, but I’m also a CEO responsible for a multimillion-dollar business with hundreds of employees across the country counting on me. So, excuse me if I consider how the lead contractor’s emotional state will affect a pivotal moment in our company’s history.”
“You don’t have to worry about me fucking anything up. I told her that I realized now why she needs space.”
“Is that what you want?” Greta asks.
“Hell, no. I think about her constantly and I want to be with her every moment of every day. But that’s what she needs, and I’m going to respect it. I don’t want to be a rebound.” I look Greta in the eyes. “I want this to last.”
Greta raises her eyebrows. “That’s very mature of you.”
“Yeah, well this trail guide isn’t a total idiot.”
“Don’t listen to Shae.”
“She’s right, though. Audrey is out of my league.”
“Yes, she is,” Greta says, twisting the knife that Shae stabbed into my heart earlier. “But she won’t be forever.” She turns completely toward me and looks me dead on in the eyes. “I think Audrey is great for you, Toni. She challenges you in a completely different way than you’ve ever been challenged, and you’ve risen to it. The work you’ve done so far has been impressive. The way Audrey read your strengths and weaknesses and figured out a way for you to succeed?” Greta shakes her head in amazement.
Max walks back up to us and leans on the bar. “What did I miss?”
Greta’s focus is still on me. “I’m not an idiot, Toni. I’ve seen the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you.”
My heart flutters at that. So, I haven’t been reading into Audrey’s expressions what I want to see if Greta sees it, too. Excitement courses through me. OK, fine. It’s lust coursing through me.
“And I’m not looking forward to watching you moon over her for four days in Aspen,” says Greta.
“They’re coming to Aspen?” Max asks.
“For Christmas,” I say.
Greta continues. “I probably don’t show it as much as I should, but I care about you, Toni. I think there’s as good a chance that Audrey is perfect for you as there is that she will break your heart, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” I say.
Greta heaves a huge sigh. “Whatever happens, do not let the fallout affect the company, your job, or Audrey’s project.”
“It won’t. I promise.”
“Good. Because I’ve had Finance run the numbers and if we achieve what you want to with the adventure division, it’s going to be a huge revenue stream for us, and it will also increase sales in our core areas.”
Leave it to Greta to bring it all back to money. I’m about to call her out on it but she keeps speaking.
“But Mom and Dad only got me to agree to bring you into corporate if I had the authority to fire you without their interference, and if you fuck up this project because you’re sleeping with Audrey, I will fire you.” She takes her drink, and one beer, and walks back to the table.