Chapter 31 #2
Avery comes in and sighs as she hangs up her apron. She walks over to me with a conspiratorial look on her face. “Does Marco want us to help with the cleanup?” She looks nervous about it.
I laugh. “No, he just said we could take some food. Would you rather have the chicken parmesan or the shrimp scampi?”
She smiles. “They both sound delicious.”
“How about we share? I can’t decide which one I want.”
“That sounds great. It’s not often I find people who are willing to split with me. I want to try it all, but don’t always want to finish it.”
“Is there a place along the beach we can eat it?”
Avery makes face like she just tasted something bitter. “I love the beach, but I’m not a huge fan of sand in my food.”
I laugh, surprised at her reasoning, but I can understand it. The wind blows quite often here, kicking up the sand along the beach.
“Okay, how about we try out my new table?”
“Are you sure? Didn’t you say you weren’t impressed with the furniture?”
“Yeah, but there’s something about seeing it go from Sheetrock to an actual apartment that makes me want to celebrate.”
“I can understand that,” Avery says. “Let me make sure I know where Lila is, and that sounds great.”
“I’ll carry the bags of food while you do that.”
We start walking down the road, and while we don’t look like we’re completely put together with flour and other bits of food attached to us, I’m excited for a time out with Avery. Maybe it’s Marco’s words pushing me to test it out, or just the thought of a relaxing evening with enjoyable company.
I’ve been to a lot of fancy dinners, and yet, this is way more exciting than any of those ever were.
That’s the kind of life Victoria expects, being seen among people and being talked about. I just want to work and live a quiet life. Like this. I could live and die here and do all of it happily.
The realization throws me.
“Lila is having friends at our apartment, so it’s probably better if we’re across the hallway.” Avery puts her phone away, then turns to look at me. “Are you feeling better today?”
I look at her in surprise. “I’m a bit more tired than usual, but it’s a good thing. I haven’t been sick. Do I look like I have?”
She shrugs. “Last night you looked out of sorts, especially after the phone call you had.”
I force out a breath. “It was a call from my father.”
“I take it you don’t have a great relationship?” Avery asks.
“I wish I could say things were different, but over the years, it’s gotten even worse. He’s used to bossing me around with certain things, and he’s found a way to take it to another level.”
“Are you okay? What can I do to help?”
I smile. “I’m good for now, but thank you, Avery. I appreciate it. There are a lot of things I want to do, and I’m learning how to navigate that with a very controlling father.”
“That’s hard,” she says, shaking her head. “What are you going to do?”
“He gave me an ultimatum a few days ago, and last night I told him I couldn’t go through with what he wanted. He hung up.”
“Standing up for yourself is uncomfortable, but necessary. I know the advice you gave me has helped me find more confidence in my business.”
I laugh. “I’m not sure I want the world to know about your coffee shop now,” I say teasingly. “I’m not going to be able to make it to the front of the line before you run out of things.”
She nudges me with her elbow. “As nice as that sounds, I don’t think it will get to that point.”
There’s a comfortable silence between us, and I’m feeling grateful. Sure, I came out here on a whim because of what Wolfgang demanded, but it’s the exact thing I needed in my life.
“Hello, Max,” says a female voice. I glance up to see Maria Matthews walking toward us.
There’s a shift in Avery’s posture, and I turn to see her glaring at the woman.
“Has your boss given you the green light for anymore purchases?” Maria asks. It’s only then that her gaze shifts to Avery, and the smile is gone, replaced by a stony expression. “Do you two know each other?”
“We do, actually. How is Joey doing?” Avery asks, an edge in her tone.
“Keep my son’s name out of your mouth,” Maria says, and I’m surprised how quickly her demeanor changed.
“As long as he’s not bullying my niece, I have no problems with you,” Avery says.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Maria says, taking a step forward. “I have things to do.”
I glance at Maria and then Avery, trying to put the pieces together of what just happened.
Avery sees my curiosity and says, “Joey is the kid Lila punched.”
Light bulb moment. “I forgot. Then again, I wonder if he’s trying to get attention because of…her?” I tilt my head to where Maria had gone.
Avery’s irritation fades. “Probably. I mean, I can understand it. But, ugh. When we were in the principal’s office, she said, ‘Do you know who I am?’”
“People like that tend to be more insecure than most.”
“What did she mean when she asked about your boss purchasing more properties?”
I let out a slow breath. “I think she was the one who put the deal together for your building. And a few others.”
Understanding seems to hit Avery. “That’s interesting.”
We head upstairs, and I open the door to the apartment. We walk in, and I set the bags on the dining table.
“Oh, I was going to text you last night, but I don’t have your number,” he says, with a sly grin. The way he says it isn’t in a pushy way, more teasing. “Did you send those invoices already?”
Avery closes her eyes and crinkles her nose. “No. I forgot again. I apologize. I’m usually more responsive and don’t forget as easily.”
I reach out a hand and gently hold her arm. “You’re fine. You’ve had a lot of changes in the past week or two.”
“I will put those together and get them sent.”
Instead of going through Oliver, it might be easier to work with me on it. I need to tell her who I am soon, before things get too far and she resents me. I don’t want her thinking I’m trying to hurt her because of my secret.
“If I can see your phone, I’ll change the email. If you send it to me directly, I can get some things processed.”
She tilts her head to look up at me, curiosity in her face. “What do you need the invoices for?”
I reveal a slow smile. “To reimburse you.”
She blinks once, then twice, as if it’s taking a few moments to register. “Your company is going to pay me back for what I put into remodeling the space?” Her lip quivers, and she looks like she’s holding back tears.
“Hey,” I say, tugging her toward me. I wrap my arms around her and hold on for several moments as she sobs into my chest. “It’s okay.”
She quiets down and pulls back a bit, wiping the tears away with her fingers. “Why would they do that?”
“Because that’s how the owner works. You should’ve been given the chance to put that money into the equipment you need and not the walls and plumbing.”
“I hope to meet your boss someday. I want to say it’s okay and all part of doing business, but that would be a huge relief to me and my shop.”
“Why did you turn down the tip I tried to give you after you helped me get gas?” I ask. I still have my arms around her, but we’re leaning back enough to see into each other’s eyes.
She shrugs. “It was the right thing to do, and it didn’t take long from my day. If I’d driven by, you would’ve been walking for at least another hour or more.”
It’s then that we break apart, and I glance around.
“I feel like we’ve just walked into a dental office,” Avery says with a straight face.
“I can picture that,” I say.
“Let’s eat anyway, unless you’d rather go to my apartment and put up with five teenage girls.”
“Here is great.” Not that I mind Lila, but this is the most time we’ve had alone for conversation, and it feels almost like a real date. It would’ve felt more so at the restaurant, but it’s nice to have some quiet so we can actually hear one another.
She walks over to the table. “Did they give us any forks in the bag?”
“I hope so, because I’m not sure if we have the kitchen put together completely yet.” I pull out the Styrofoam containers. “Looks like there’s no silverware.
“We should just be grateful they had Styrofoam containers.”
“That’s so true,” I say, just now thinking about it. With the chaos in that kitchen, it’s a miracle they were stocked with a lot of things.
I walk over to the drawers and pull them out, happy to find a utensil drawer.
We sink into the overly stuffed chairs, sitting side by side. I don’t sit for long because something pokes my backside. I scoot forward so that I’m not sitting all the way to the back. Avery notices my expression immediately and says, “What’s wrong?”
“I think I sat on something, and it poked me.” I stand up and turn around, rubbing my hands softly on the cushion. There, near the middle, is the poke again, and I pull back as a small bead of blood wells up in my palm.
I hold it up, and Avery says, “Yikes. What is it?”
“Looks like a pin,” I say, pulling it out and showing it to her.
She stands up and runs her hands along the seat. “This seat is clear.”
“Maybe we should’ve gone to your place. I’m wondering what other hazards I’ll find in this furniture.”
I open one of the containers and pull off the top before dishing half of the pasta onto it.
“What are you doing?” Avery asks.