Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
CHLOE
Fired.
You snap at your boss and tell him no means no and call him a handsy asshole one time, and you get fired. It’s not right. It’s fucking unfair.
I should have quit.
I knew it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Fired.
Such fucking bullshit.
What makes it even worse is the fact that the job market is absolute garbage right now. I’ve applied to everything that I’m even remotely qualified for. If I didn’t know better, I would guess that I’ve been blackballed.
“You okay?” Brantley asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I swallow hard. Between his schedule of leaving for away games and coming back on different days, I haven’t had to tell him that I’ve been fired yet. Honestly, I’m scared to. I don’t want him to say “I told you so” or feel like I am taking advantage of his generosity.
“Yeah, why?” I mumble, not looking over at him.
“Because you’ve been scrubbing the same spot for three minutes, and no offense, cleaning really isn’t your thing, so I figured it was safe to assume that something was up.”
I huff. Observant bastard.
“I’m fine. I just want to make sure the place is clean before everyone arrives.”
He raises a brow but doesn’t call me out on my shit. “Well, everyone is on their way and should be here in about twenty.”
My eyes shoot to the clock. Shit. Why am I so bad at time management? The last time I looked, I still had almost two hours.
“I’m going to go get ready.”
Instead of waiting for him to reply, I hustle out of the room and head upstairs.
Rushing into my room, I head into the bathroom.
I take a quick shower just to wash the sweat from cleaning up this morning off.
When I’m done, I get dressed and throw on a little bit of concealer under my eyes.
Not only to hide the yellow from my bruise but also to hide the purple from the lack of sleep.
Lord knows that the sleepless nights worrying over this job situation are catching up to me and Liv would call me out about it.
By the time I’m ready, there are voices floating upstairs from downstairs.
“Hey guys,” I say as I join everyone.
Adrianna and Liv come over and give me a hug.
“It’s been too long since we’ve gotten together,” Adrianna says.
“It has been. We should schedule something,” I tell her.
She touches the corner of my eye. “I heard about this. You good?”
I groan and shoot Liv an evil look.
She raises her hands. “I didn’t tell her. I swear.”
“How does one exactly punch themselves with a workout band?” Eli asks with a smirk.
“Wait, that’s what happened?” Brantley asks, looking over at me.
“We aren’t talking about it. Where’s my Littles?” I ask.
“In her massive playroom. She will come out when she’s bored.” Liv shoots her own glare at Brantley.
“I won’t apologize for spoiling my only niece.”
It’s endearing to see how much he loves Ari. Almost as much as I do.
I walk over to the island, and Brantley slides a glass of red wine toward me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You’re welcome.”
“You two seem to be getting along well,” Mason says as he pulls Liv to his side.
“Better than I thought you two would. I had two hundred down that you would have killed him by now,” Eli says.
Adrianna cuffs the back of his head. “Haven’t you learned to stop betting against people yet?”
“Betting on you turned out so good for me, though,” he teases as he buries his face in the crook of her neck, making her giggle.
Envy shoots through me. Not because I want Eli or Mason, but because I’m jealous the girls found men who clearly love them, and they love in return. I want that. Someday. I just have to be patient. Which isn’t my strong suit at all.
“We’ve found our pace. Besides, it’s not like I’m here all the time anyway. It’s nice knowing that someone is here keeping an eye on things when I’m not,” Brantley says.
“I’m still looking for a new place, though. It’s just a little harder than I expected it to be.”
“Is that really wise, though? Right now, I mean,” Liv asks gently.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Adrianna asks as she pops an olive in her mouth from the charcuterie board.
Subtly, I shake my head, silently begging Liv to shut up. Only she’s not paying attention.
“Because she lost her job.”
Shutting my eyes, I feel rather than see Brantley go tense beside me.
“What?” he asks quietly.
“When did that happen?” Mason asks.
“The other day. Her boss made another comment about her being nothing but a pretty face and told her she needed to stay in her lane. Then he tried to get all touchy, and she told him to fuck off. Then he fired her,” Liv tells them, basically giving them a replay.
“Liv,” I hiss.
She looks over at me and winces. “Sorry.”
I want to tell her it’s fine, but it’s not.
“Did you see that I announced this year’s theme for the gala?” Adrianna asks, taking the attention off me.
While she describes it, I stew.
I love Liv, I really do, but sometimes she forgets that what I tell her isn’t everyone else’s business.
The last person I wanted to know was Brantley.
It was bad enough that I had to move in with him because I was too stupid to read an ingredients list on a bath bomb.
I really didn’t want him thinking I was a bad employee too.
God, will luck ever be on my side?
A hand touches the small of my back.
“You good?” Brantley asks quietly.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
I’m not fine right now, but I will be. I’ll bounce back. I always do. This is just a setback. A temporary one at best. It’s going to be fine.
“Did you hear that, Chloe? Adrianna is doing an enchanted garden for a theme.” Liv claps, pulling me back to the present.
“That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”
“What even is an enchanted garden?” Brantley asks.
Mason shakes his head. “Your niece would be so disappointed in you.”
Brantley scoffs. “My niece loves me. I’m her favorite uncle.”
“Bullshit,” Eli throws back.
“You two can fight over who’s her favorite all you want, but just know you’ll lose. I’m her favorite,” I inform them both.
Liv winks. “Don’t you forget it, baby daddy.”
Mason groans. “Please stop calling her that. I’m your baby daddy turned husband.”
“It’s so cute when you get jealous,” Liv teases, making everyone laugh.
While everyone forgets about the bomb Liv dropped about my work situation, I haven’t. I can’t help but feel like a failure. I just hope no one else sees me that way.
brANTLEY
As soon as everyone leaves, Chloe falls silent. Ever since Liv let it slip that Chloe lost her job, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of her. As far as everyone else was concerned, she rebounded quickly, but I can see the truth. Every time the attention wasn’t on her, she was worrying.
Since I’ve started spending more time with Chloe, I’ve learned that the only time she’s really quiet is when she’s in her head. I hate it, and all I want to do is help her, but I know she doesn’t want it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?
I walk over to the pantry and grab a trash bag, trying to buy myself a little bit of time. “Here,” I say as I shake it out, opening it.
“Thanks,” Chloe says quietly as she drops some used napkins in it.
I follow behind her as she picks things up.
“I can feel you staring,” she says after a few moments.
“So?” I don’t even bother trying to deny it.
Chloe’s shoulders drop as she sighs, turning to face me. “Spit it out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I?” she asks, raising a brow.
“Because we live together…”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “Just because we live together doesn’t mean we are close.”
Something about that statement makes me feel like shit.
And here I thought we were getting closer.
“I was embarrassed, okay?” she says after a few beats.
“Why? We both know you hated that place, and he sounds like a fucking tool,” I tell her.
“He was, no, is a tool.”
“So then why are you embarrassed?” I ask.
Chloe sits down on the couch and pulls her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.
“I don’t think you understand what it’s like for me being friends with all of you.” Her voice is so small, so unlike her.
It is breaking my heart.
“Then tell me,” I say as I sit down next to her, giving her my complete attention.
“You guys are all stupidly successful, have your own money. You all essentially work for yourselves. Meanwhile, all I am or was, was a secretary.”
“Adrianna was a secretary,” I can’t help but point out.
“But everyone knows that she was running the business when she was a secretary. Well, until Eli stepped in.” She shakes her head.
“But hanging around you guys can be intimidating, especially to me. So to admit that I got fired, especially after I told you I already hated the job, it’s hard. It’s a really bitter pill to swallow.”
“You know we don’t think less of you, right? Like we don’t see a difference between us and you,” I tell her.
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know how you don’t.”
“Simple. We just don’t.” We fall silent for a moment. “So what are you going to do?”
She sighs, rubbing her legs. “Find another job.”
“Have you started looking?”
She nods before I even finish my sentence.
“Yeah, and the market is shit. I’m submitting applications for jobs that I’m overqualified for. If I don’t get a bite soon, I’m going to have to apply to McDonald’s.”
“You won’t be working fast food.” I won’t allow it.
“Never say never,” she says lightly and maybe a little resigned.
“What about you come work for me?” I ask without thinking about it.
Now that the words have left my mouth, though, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. It makes sense.
“What? No.” She denies it right away.
“Why not? You have a degree in marketing, right? We need all the help we can get for the Foxes. You’d be perfect for the job.”
“Brantley, you already gave me a place to live. I’m not taking a job from you too. That would just be too much. I already feel like I’m using you,” she admits.
“You aren’t using me,” I say adamantly.
“Agree to disagree.” She rolls her eyes.
“Seriously, you’re not, though.” I can tell she won’t believe me. “Just think about the job.”
“Fine, I’ll think about it. Just know it’s not going to change. It’s important to me that I do this on my own. I hate relying on others.”
Hell, I know what that’s like. As much as I hate it, I get it.
“Never say never,” I say, making her roll her eyes again. “So any more big secrets I should know about?”
“I have a body hidden in the basement,” she deadpans.
If I didn’t know her as well as I do, I would probably be concerned.
“I’ll make sure to cover for you if the cops come knocking,” I promise her.
“I appreciate it. You have a road trip soon, right?”
“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it,” I tell her as I relax into the couch.
“Why not?” she asks as she takes her hair down.
I watch it fall around her shoulders, and I fight the urge to touch it. I want to know if it’s as soft as it looks.
That doesn’t sound creepy at all.
“I hate staying in hotels and with the team like they are.”
She makes a face. “Yeah, I can see how that would be rough. It will be okay, though. They are young.”
“At this point that’s not an excuse. I’m going to have to figure it out,” I admit, letting the stress show on my face for once.
I feel like we’ve crossed a line here tonight. She opened up and shared with me some of her feelings, so it feels safe for me to do the same.
“You know, if you ever repeat this to anyone, I’ll deny it, but I find it admirable how much you care about the team and how hands-on you are.” She gives me a small smile.
Pride fills me at her acknowledgment.
“Thank you. I love the team, and the last thing I want is for them to fail under my watch.”
“They won’t,” she says so confidently that I almost believe her.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” I murmur as I stare at her.
After a moment, she looks away and clears her throat. “Should we finish cleaning up? It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, come on.”
Standing, I hold my hand out to her. Chloe places her hand in mine, and I pull her up.
She shoots me a quick smile before she turns away.
Meanwhile, I’m left wondering what she would have done if I did what I really wanted to do.
How would she have reacted if I pulled her body into mine and kissed her?
I guess I’ll never know.
Then again, never say never.