Chapter 16
Dalton
SEEING MAE AND Raleigh with pinky fingers linked was like walking in on something sacred.
The two looked so sure, so determined, that I nearly kept to my own business by backing out of the room.
It was only Raleigh’s gaze that lured me in.
I’d overheard some of what had been discussed in the relatively quick meeting, and Raleigh had been uncharacteristically silent.
I’m sure the whole premise of days on end on the road with Trenton was not something on her bucket list, and yet, she let Mae make her own decision.
“Congratulations, Mae,” I say, stepping forward and shaking her shoulder kindly. “You deserve the opportunity.”
“Thank you, Dalton!” she answers, a smile on her face.
Raleigh’s phone dings. She immediately picks it up and scrolls. I see her face falter, but she covers it quickly when she notices my watchful gaze.
“Last chance to turn back,” she says, directing the statement to Mae. “They just sent over the social media guide to schedule posts from. Once it's out there, it’s out there.”
“Oh my god, let me see it!” Mae reaches over and grabs Raleigh’s phone. She scrolls down slightly, and I notice that it’s a digital version of a rolled poster a man had carried out moments earlier. “Approved!” Mae says in delight. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Me either, kid.” Raleigh takes the phone back and without another thought approves the post. She then sends it to the band, and then she approves the post by the label. They certainly aren’t wasting any time. Not even two seconds go by before the notifications start to pour in.
Mae’s bright eyes find mine. “This is what we’ve been working so hard for.” I think I see tears forming in her eyes, but the moment is broken by another phone ringing. Raleigh’s personal phone.
One glance down, and she shoots up from her chair. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take this.” She flees the room, clutching her phone like she wants to shatter it.
“I didn’t know Raleigh took personal calls,” I say, laughing. “Let alone answered them.”
Holding her phone in front of me, Mae points to the date for Hot Springs, Arkansas. “I can almost guarantee that her family just heard the news.”
I didn’t know Raleigh had a home outside of Nashville. I should’ve guessed—no, actually, I should have asked. Suddenly my mind is flooded with thoughts of what Raleigh’s life looked like outside of music city and before Mae. Do I even know what the capital city of Arkansas is?
“I’m going to go see what I can hear,” Mae says nonchalantly.
“That’s eavesdropping,” I remind her.
She rolls her eyes. “Trust me, it’s fine. She leaves it on speaker so I can listen.”
“You guys have a strange relationship.” I don't mean it as a dig, I just want to know more.
Mae studies me for a second, but ultimately sighs and lets me in on their secret. “It’s just hard for her to open up, okay? It just makes things a little easier if I know what’s going on with her and she doesn’t have to tell me.”
Do things go on with Raleigh often?
“I don’t have an understanding like that with her,” I say, shaking my head, refusing to eavesdrop.
“You’re part of the team now,” she says with a shrug. She’s out the door, and I’m following before I can think too hard on how messed up this feels.
Stopping short of her cracked office door, we can just make out the conversation that’s barely audible on speaker.
Mae steps up to the opening, still out of sight, and waves me next to her.
The anxiety in my stomach tightens. All of this feels so wrong, but a sick part of me wants to know what’s going on.
As Mae said, there’s no way Raleigh would tell me out right.
I wince when I hear a miffed male voice. “You honestly didn’t believe that the door was still open for us to try again, did you?”
Raleigh’s voice practically crackles with frustration. “I didn’t know what to think, Grant. I mean, I didn’t even know you were seeing someone …”
Grant cuts her off. “You haven’t exactly returned my calls the past few months.”
“That’s such bullshit, Grant. How was I supposed to do that? It wasn’t until the day you heard about what happened to Mae and me that you felt like reaching out. I mean, what was I supposed to think?”
“You’ll be home in a few months. We could meet up and talk about it—”
Enraged, Raleigh cuts him off. “I don't think your fiancé would find that very fun or appropriate.”
“I hate hearing you like this—”
“You know what?” she says through her frustration. “I’m busy. I have a colleague in the other room. I’m going to go.” Her voice calms as she finishes her piece before the sound on the other end of the line is cut off.
The silence lasts a beat and then Mae leaps from my side and pushes her way into the room.
Peeking in, I see the two women embrace.
To my surprise, Raleigh inquires after me.
“Is Dalton with you?” she asks quietly. Mae gingerly steps to the side, and the world stops for a moment.
I want to walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, but something otherworldly keeps me from doing so.
“Good,” she confirms with a nod. “We’ve got so much work to do. ”
The whiplash of the tender moment to the back-to-work mentality sends me reeling. Mae had said she wasn’t one to discuss anything she was going through, and that’s fine, but seeing her cry is never something I want to see again.
As Raleigh returns to her desk, she tosses her continuously pinging phone into a drawer and closes it. You’d expect her to slam it closed, but she gently latches it shut and places her hands on the desk, ready to work as if nothing had happened. As if nothing matters to Mae and me but the work.
Mae and I share a sad smile before claiming chairs at her desk. With no other choice, we bury ourselves in the tasks at hand right alongside our fearless leader.