Foster #2
“Walking around with no plan also works, now that I think about it,” I decide.
“We can do that, too,” Hayes agrees.
I eye the half-empty bottle of Scottish whisky that we only opened tonight.
This might be one of those nights that remind me of a normal day, when I haven’t had to share time with my brother or have conversations of doom.
I’m a laid-back guy. Strange for a man who is rigid with numbers and shows no mercy when dealing with clients and budgets.
But out of the office, I just want to enjoy life.
We hear the front door close. “Gentlemen, I have supplies,” Easton calls out.
We watch him enter, holding up a bottle and a case of specialty beer.
“Just throwing out options, but if Julian and Hayes want to stay in their settled-down cocoon, then Foster, you should join me, and we can head into town. There are swarms of women visiting this weekend. Some festival is going on, and I happened to chat with a pair who own a food truck. They’re fun, and they might meet up later at a bar.
On the younger side, early twenties, but I find that often equates to being a little wilder.
Who am I to ignore their needs?” He’s the guy who is rigid in the office, and out of the office, always living carefree.
Sometimes it is tempting to join him. But I prefer that my life is about discovering good places to eat, hitting up a hockey game, or watching my friends enjoy life from the sidelines, it seems. Some people say I have humor; I could see that.
However, as fun as his offer is to enjoy baseless conversations at a bar with women who flutter their lashes at us…
not tonight. “I’ll take a pass. I’m content here, and it’s been a week. ”
Plus, when I entered Everhope, my relax mode turned on.
“And if anybody ends up here later, then consider your guest room rights forever abolished.” Julian glares a warning at Easton.
Easton eases with a grin as he sets the bottle and case of beer down on the table, then flops onto the other side of the sofa. “Relax, I’m only joking… partly.”
It causes me to chuckle. Looking around, it doesn’t faze me that I have a solid group of friends. The kind that have every intention of ensuring success in business and that we don’t lose our bond as friends.
I consider myself lucky.
That’s probably why the events of the day slip into oblivion, and I remember that life isn’t so bad. I’m comfortable.
When I woke up the next morning with only tiredness and a faint reminder of last night’s alcohol, the events of yesterday were already in the past. I was ready for a good coffee and exploring, as I’m not familiar enough with the town. So I decided to drive behind Hayes into town.
I open the door of my sports car, which I park next to Hayes’s in the parking lot on Main Street, which only has a few spots left. We’ll go our separate ways because he’s trying to find Elodie so they can talk, a.k.a. do damage control.
The moment I lock my car, the chilly air hits the tip of my nose instantly.
“I’ll show you around, but as soon as I see her, I’m abandoning you,” Hayes feels the need to remind me.
Damn, the man still seems to be in misery. I have no plans to find myself in a similar position.
I grin as I click my key fob to lock the doors. “I’m very aware.” We both walk away from our cars. “You’re very confident that Elodie is around here. Couldn’t you just text her?”
“I’m supposed to be giving her space, but that doesn’t mean an accidental run-in can’t happen. Plus, I’m ready to ask to talk, and if Lola is at her grandparents' and Elodie isn’t in a great mood, then there is a strong chance that she’s at the coffee shop, Foxy Rox.”
A place called Foxy Rox is my kind of place purely by name alone. It’s clever, rhymes, and seems like it could be mellow.
I continue to survey the town curiously. “Point me in the direction of a boutique shop or something. My neighbor has her big seven-zero birthday. She lives a few floors down but always leaves me a tin of baked cookies at reception. Not quite sure why, but I like cookies.”
“There are a few places, I guess.”
We continue to stroll, except my legs don’t want to move when I notice someone up ahead in a dark gray coat with a matching beanie that still allows her long, rich brown hair to flow down, darker than it was when I first saw her a few weeks ago.
The maroon scarf wrapped around her neck accentuates her chin.
Not just someone. It’s her.
Even knowing the answer, I feel the need to touch Hayes’s arm to grab his attention and stop him. “We know her, no?”
He follows my line of sight to Sutton, who recently started in legal and is also friends with Elodie and Savannah. I’ve noticed her, oh, have I ever.
She slows her approach, and we do the same.
I’ve only seen her in a pencil skirt that hits below the knee with heels to accompany.
Her winter casual look suits her all the same.
My first impression at the office was that she has wit and some odd magnetic charm that I’m very aware of, and a part of me doesn’t mind this run-in one single bit.
“Hey, Hayes,” she preambles with sympathy for his cause.
“Hi, Sutton,” he greets her, scratching his cheek. “You know Foster by now, I guess.”
I catch her gaze, and I can’t help but let my best suave grin escape, and her wry smile seems to say she is very aware of my approach.
“I believe we’ve seen one another in the elevator, wasn't it?” She tilts her head slightly to the side.
“The newbie in legal, right?” I say.
In my peripheral vision, I see Hayes roll his eyes and cross his arms. Is our attraction to each other that obvious?
“I’m going to assume I’m going to find Elodie where I think I will?” he checks with Sutton.
Her attention drifts back to Hayes, and she sinks into the real situation. “I may be pleading the fifth on this.” He isn’t impressed. “Don’t do that.” She sulks and drops her shoulders. “Turn broody and ridiculously over the top, maybe borderline deranged on the tenacious scale.”
I try not to grin because I like her approach of brutal honesty.
“And?” he replies simply.
She takes a beat to study him before she grumbles with herself and admits where he can find her.
I faze out for the full explanation and Hayes’s own frustration. I only re-enter the conversation when he grabs my attention.
“I’m sure you can show Foster where to go.”
Wait, what?
Quickly catching up, it’s obvious he is fleeing and leaving me with Sutton.
He’s gone so fast that I don’t have time to question his plan, but it doesn’t matter because, well… I have no complaints.
Sometimes we have bad ideas in life. One look at Sutton with her lips pressed in a tiny smirk and I’m aware she might be one of them.
And sometimes in life, we have intuition that serves as a warning.
But when I meet Sutton’s dark brown eyes, I make the decision to ignore that warning.