Chapter 35
CALM AND ORDER
“Let me think about it some more, Don,” Arik said a week later.
“We need you, Arik,” Don said. “Name your price and conditions. I mean it. It’s a short-term thing, but I know if anyone can get the team back on track, it’s you.”
He blew out a breath. He was tempted. He really was.
“Let’s recap, you need me to get the right people in place and the roles that suit them the best, then layout plans and progression and where they should be after each step?”
“Yes. Regular check-ins to help, maybe even guide them in the right direction, but I’m not asking you to do the work. Not unless you want to.”
The laughter had a tingling starting at the base of his neck.
He’d taken his buyout and moved on. Don had been right there beside him, working just as hard, but without the same investment, his payout was smaller. Now Don sat in a corner office with a skyline view, giving orders instead of getting his hands dirty.
To each their own.
He’d take his life over that any day.
Even one that was spent floating more than staying upright.
He was there now. It only took time.
“Guiding is one thing. Busting my ass, I’m way beyond that.”
“Don’t blame you. But I mean it,” Don said. “Name your price. I know we can afford you because we can’t afford not to do this.”
Natalie was right. He took pride in the company he’d helped build, and it’d be a brutal blow to his ego to watch it fail if he could step in to fix it.
“Give me a couple of days to sort some things out. I’m working on something else.”
“Another company?”
“No. Nothing like that. An app I’m toying with.”
Don’s laughter shouldn’t have gotten under his skin, but it did. “I remember your opinion of writing apps.”
“Yeah, well, that was before I could do whatever I wanted in life.”
Might as well remind Don not to insult the hand they wanted to help feed them.
“Good point. I mean it, Arik. I need you. It’s hard for me to admit it, but I am.”
He was positive it had more to do with Don being the guy to turn it around. If Don could get this under his belt, he’d be looking at another promotion if not taking over completely.
“As I said, give me a few days. I’ll reach back on Monday.”
Natalie would be here soon, then tomorrow she was taking the day off and they were going to Boston for the weekend. Getting off the island and having some fun.
Nothing outrageous, but he wanted to take in a baseball game, check out Quincy Market, do a little shopping and have some touristy fun.
She knew by now he wasn’t out to impress, but he needed the break and so did she.
She confessed that her boss had told her to take some time before the busy season hit, which was the end of this month. Didn’t have to tell him twice.
“Have a good weekend,” Don said.
He hung up, pushed back in his chair and ran his hands over his face.
He had a few more things to get done on his app before he was ready to let it be tested. That wasn’t happening this weekend because he made a promise to himself that when it was time to step back, he would.
He wasn’t bound to a desk and he’d make damn sure it never happened again.
The empty energy drinks and candy wrappers were mounting. Good thing Natalie never came up here, but he’d take care of them just in case.
With the trash pail in his hand, he swiped it across the desk until everything tumbled in, noticing the smears of food and sticky drops of liquid left behind. Ugh!
He missed having a housekeeper.
There were cleaning products in the bathroom up here, so he grabbed them, covered the desk in spray, used a towel to wipe it up and carried it down with his trash.
The minute his feet hit the landing, he saw the rest of the place wasn’t looking much better.
Shit.
How had he not realized it before?
Because Natalie hadn’t been here since Saturday. Five days ago.
She’d spent the night on Friday, stayed all day and left around eight that night. Two nights in a row would have been asking too much. Prior to his moving here, he’d only stayed at her apartment on the weekends.
She’d had things to do on Sunday with her mother, then was busy and worked late a few nights this week. He took advantage of it and put more time in on his app.
They’d had dinner one night out and that was it.
There was no panic in the distance between them. Just the quiet reassurance that they were finding a rhythm that fit.
If he told himself that enough, he’d start to believe it.
Not that she’d opened up and regretted it.
That she was scared he was going to hurt her.
Or even that she was getting cold feet and not coming around.
Patience. That was what he needed bucket loads of.
He emptied his garbage into the trash can in the kitchen, stuffing it down and then changing the bag. Something else he hadn’t done in a while and was lucky he hadn’t spilled anything on the floor.
At least just now, but he stepped into some sticky substance on the kitchen tile. No clue what it might have been or when it happened.
When he returned from bringing the trash bag outside, his eyes took in the kitchen. Shit. Not much better.
Every room he went in was worse than the one before.
His hands were up as if he couldn’t control the chaos and didn’t know where to start.
It didn’t seem to matter when there was a knock at the door.
Fuck.
He jogged to the door and pulled it open. There was Natalie with two bags in her hand.
All neat and organized. One for tonight and another for their trip to Boston.
Why did it bother him to see that?
Because the minute she walked in the door she noticed his living room. “Have you been sleeping in here?”
He rushed toward the sectional and picked up the three blankets that were haphazardly lying everywhere. One even on the floor.
“Sometimes I get some work done here while watching TV.”
“And you’re cold?” she asked. “It’s been beautiful for days.”
“The mornings are chilly and I’m in shorts and a T-shirt.”
He picked them up in haste; she moved closer and grabbed the one on the floor to fold and put it over the back.
The ugly wicker and glass coffee table had an empty bag of chips, some crumbs and grease smudges. He snatched that up quickly.
She lifted the two empty glasses he’d left behind and followed him into the kitchen.
“Oh my God,” she said. Her hands were up and she walked back out of the kitchen as if he were holding a gun to her chest. “Did you have guests?”
“No,” he said. “Just haven’t really cleaned up.”
“Since I’ve been here?” she asked. Her wide eyes showed her disgust. Not much he could do about it.
“I’m kind of out of practice. I haven’t done it in a while.”
“I know what we are doing tonight.”
“No,” he said. “I’ll take care of it later.”
Her head was shaking rapidly, her shoulders twitching, and she even gagged twice. “I can’t. This is too much. Arik, how do you live in this? Or eat in here?”
“I need a cleaning person. I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to clean up right after you make something to eat? Or throw out something that’s empty? I thought you weren’t going to get into that situation again.”
“I’m not,” he said, pulling her out of the kitchen. If she gagged again he was going to feel even more like a dick. “The truth is out. I’m a slob.”
“Yes, you are. You’ve hidden behind housekeepers. I noticed some of it before at the hotel, but didn’t expect this. Were you like this at your grandmother’s house? Please don’t tell me she picked up after you.”
“I’m not that much of a jerk,” he said. “She has cleaners.”
Natalie laughed, looked around his living room where he’d made her sit on the couch, her eyes landing on the cookie crumbs nearby her stuck to the upholstery.
“If you can do this in five days, I’d hate to think what it looks like after a month.”
“Me too. There has to be someone who cleans on this island. Even if I tell myself I’ll do better, I’m not so sure I will.”
“I don’t think you will either. I’ve seen signs of it.”
“Sorry. We’ve all got flaws. Not everyone keeps their house neat and organized, the labels of all their cans facing the same direction and sorted by expiration date.”
“Hey. That’s how I know where everything is and nothing is wasted.”
“I was joking. Seriously? You do that?”
She stood up. “We need to clean. Now. I can’t take this. I won’t be able to relax until it’s done.”
There wouldn’t be any arguing with her. “I’ll start in the kitchen.”
“Yep, you will, because I can’t handle it. Not sure why, but something smells in there.”
“I don’t smell anything.”
“Because you’re living here and don’t notice it. Bring me some cleaners and paper towels so I don’t have to step foot in there. I’ll take care of this room and the dining room.”
She brought calm and order to his life. A structure he’d been missing for years.
He didn’t want to admit he might be falling back into his old ways and it was something he’d have to consider when thinking of Don’s offer.
When he came out of the kitchen with the cleaner and rag, she had the vacuum in her hand and was running it over the cushions. “Where did you find that?”
“The closet under the stairs.”
“There is a closet under the stairs?”
She just rolled her eyes. “Yeah. It has brooms and mops in it. Guess you haven’t used them yet either.”
He cringed. “Sorry.”
“I’m only sorry for the person you hire to clean up after you. It won’t be me again.”
He moved in close to get a quick kiss. “And I wouldn’t ask you. I was picking up when you knocked.”
“Sure, you tell yourself that,” she said, laughing. “Stop apologizing and get to work.”
“Yes, ma’am. You know, you’re sexy when you’re bossy like this.”
“Next time think long and hard if you want me sexy being a boss out here, or in the bedroom.”
He had to admit, he loved when she got the last word in.