Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Unknown: Bitch! You’re an ugly cunt who could only get laid if you paid someone or if you had a bag over your head.
I’m going to ruin you! Don’t think I can’t.
I’ve already started spreading the word about you.
About how cheap your shit is. How horribly you treat your clients.
Mark my words, you’re going down. Fuck you!
Brinley sighed as she read the most recent text from Tamika.
She and Dash had been back from Arizona for a week, and she was more than tired of the messages she was still receiving from the pissed-off woman.
It made no sense. She could find a hundred other designers to work with, why she was so obsessed with Brinley was confusing as hell.
It was time to do something about it. She had the file with all the emails Tamika had been sending, and all the saved voicemails and texts. She needed to go to the cops and see if there was anything they could do.
Dash would be relieved. Brinley could tell he was worried for her, which felt great. For so long, no one other than Cypress had ever truly cared about anything going on in her life.
Ever since they’d gotten back from Arizona, things with Dash had seemed…
different. She’d caught him staring at her more than once with an expression she couldn’t decipher.
He was just as attentive as he’d been before, but now, instead of asking if he could come over or if she’d come to his place in the evening, he said things like, “What do you want for dinner tonight?” or, “What time is good for me to come over?”
It seemed a given they would spend their nights together, and it felt good. Really good.
“Is that another message from the bitch?”
Brinley looked up at Cypress, who was leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in her hand and a hard look on her face. “Yeah.”
“You know you’re being stupid by ignoring her threats, right?”
Brinley sighed. Cypress hadn’t hidden her concern about the messages and had told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to end up being featured on some random crime show, probably something with a ridiculous title like, The Beauty Pageant Murder, or She Should’ve Seen It Coming.
“I’m going to call the police today.”
“It’s about freaking time.” Cypress stood up straighter. “Do you want me to call in? What do you need from me? I can be a witness.”
“I appreciate that so much, but I’m just going to call the non-emergency line first, see what they want me to do. They might send an officer here, but if I need to go in, I will. You’re taking another measurement of the glacier today, right? You can’t miss that.”
“I can totally miss it. We’ve got two interns going with us today, and I like to make sure they don’t mess anything up, but you’re more important, Brin. If you need me there, I’m there.”
Brinley might not be close to her family, but Cypress more than made up for it. She’d always had her back, just as Brinley would do anything to have hers in return.
She walked over to her friend and pulled her into a hard hug. “I love you,” she said softly. Ever since she’d heard Dash’s eulogy for his mom, she’d been more open about how much her bestie meant to her.
“Love you too. What else do you have going on today?”
Cypress wasn’t big on touching. Which sucked only because of the reasons behind it.
But Brinley didn’t take offense. She stepped back, giving her friend some space.
“Finishing up another design, then that new client I’m working with, Natasha Blue, is arriving.
We’re going to go over designs and fabrics and get to know each other. ”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to meet her here? Why don’t you go to a public place instead?”
“Because all my stuff is here. Look, I’ve talked to her several times. I’ve looked her up online. Watched her videos. She’s legit, Cypress.”
“What if she’s friends with Tamika and is just using you? She’ll show up and get you to open the door, then she’ll step aside and stupid Tamika will be there waiting to kidnap you.”
Brinley laughed. She couldn’t help it. “You really need to stop watching all those true crime shows. Natasha has been nothing but nice. She’s coming with her mom and boyfriend.”
“At least call Dash and have him be here when you meet with her.”
“Fine.”
“You will?”
“If it’ll make you feel better.”
“It would. Thank you. One of the things I love most about you is your innocence. But sometimes you just don’t see the bad in the world when it’s right in front of you.”
Cypress wasn’t exactly wrong, but Brinley didn’t want to go through life thinking the worst of everyone she met.
It would paralyze her and she wouldn’t be able to leave the apartment at all.
She also hated that her friend had such a paranoid view of people because of the things she’d been through at a young age. It broke her heart.
“I’m not the kind of woman anyone would want to kidnap.” Brinley wasn’t being dramatic, just pragmatic. “No one looks at me twice. They might use me, and attempt to scam me out of money, or try to take advantage of me, but I don’t think I’m in any danger of being kidnapped.”
Cypress blew out a frustrated breath. “You’re a woman, Brin. You could have a horn growing out of your head and some asshole would still decide he wants to exert control over you.”
“I swear I’m not dismissing your concerns.
But I’ve been communicating with Natasha for weeks now, just as I do all the clients I agree to take on.
But I hear you. I can let her know that there’s a change of plans, and along with having Dash with me if he’s free, I’ll meet her at the drive-through coffee place down the road.
If nothing seems hinky, then we can come back here and get down to business. ”
“That would make me feel a lot better. And you need to text me when you get there, and when you’re on your way back to the apartment, and when you get here, and when she and her entourage leaves.”
Brinley chuckled. “That’s a little overkill, don’t you think? You’ve got the tracker app, you can stalk me at any time.”
“I can stalk your phone, not you.”
“But if Natasha steals my phone and uses my face to unlock it, she could be the one sending you messages, pretending to be me.”
“You’re right. So make sure you use our code word then.”
Brinley smiled. Cypress was being ridiculous, but she loved her anyway. “Fine.”
“You remember what our code word is, right?”
Rolling her eyes, Brinley nodded. “Muppet.”
“I just need you to be safe. Without you…”
Her words trailed off, but Brinley knew exactly how she felt. Neither of them made friends easily. They’d leaned on each other for years now. She couldn’t imagine what she’d do if she lost Cypress. “Gonna hug you again,” she warned.
Cypress rolled her eyes this time, but Brinley felt her arms tighten around her more than usual when they embraced.
“Proud of you. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are today. Those pageant girls have no idea how lucky they are to have you designing for them.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do. Be careful today, and I’ll be waiting on your texts.”
“You be careful too. I mean, with those glaciers melting at an alarming rate and all…wouldn’t want you to get hit in the head with a piece of falling ice or anything.”
Cypress gave her a look. “That’s not how it works, Brin.”
“Whatever. Just be careful.”
“I always am.” Cypress chugged the rest of her coffee and put her empty mug in the sink.
She gathered up her purse and bag and headed for the door.
She turned at the last minute. “For the record, when you’re ready to move in with Dash, go for it.
I’ll miss you, but it’s not as if you’ll be leaving the state anytime soon… right?”
Brinley’s throat instantly tightened with emotion, but she did her best to sound as normal as possible. “Dash said he and his team are here on special assignment and the Army is letting them stay longer than the usual two years.”
Cypress nodded. “Good. I can afford rent here by myself, so you don’t have to worry about that. All I want is for you to be happy, Brin. And I know being with Dash does that. It’s easy to see. You deserve a guy who finally sees you for the amazing person you are.”
And with that, she turned and walked out the door.
It took Brinley a moment to regain her composure.
She hadn’t even thought about moving out.
Even though she spent at least half her time sleeping at Dash’s place, it hadn’t occurred to her to move in with him permanently.
She wanted to be with him, actually didn’t like sleeping without him now, but it was too soon to make such a huge commitment… wasn’t it?
The thing was, it didn’t really feel too soon.
Especially considering their closeness over the last week, since returning from Arizona. After what they’d gone through together with the death of his mom. It brought them closer, both emotionally and physically.
But thinking of leaving Cypress was hard. They’d been through so much over the years. It would be weird to not see her every day. But as she’d said, it wasn’t as if she’d be moving to another country or anything.
Brinley sighed. She had things to do, and Dash hadn’t asked her to move in, so it was a moot point anyway.
But she couldn’t help thinking it would be awesome to be with him all the time.
No more packing a bag, or figuring out if she was going to his place or he was coming to hers.
Or having to leave him to go home to work.
He had an extra bedroom he didn’t even use; she could set up her business in there, instead of using the dining room table like she did in her own apartment.
Shaking her head, she picked up her phone. Clicking on Dash’s name, she brought the cell to her ear. It rang and rang before going to voicemail.