Jayded (20 page)

“
Um, okay. What time should I meet you guys there?
”
she asks.

“
How about I pick you up at quarter to seven? I would hate for you to get lost,
”
I propose.

She smirks, understanding just what I have come up with. I know; I am a sneaky guy. I get to spend time with her and make my mom happy all at once. I also know with her being there, Junior will keep his ass in check.

“
Okay, sounds good to me,
”
she agrees.

I give my mom a kiss on the cheek and leave them to their meeting. On my way back to my desk, I unfortunately have to pass Beth. She watches my every move but doesn
’
t say a word. Maybe she has finally gotten the hint.

The rest of the day actually flies by. When I leave to grab a quick lunch, I come back to find Jeff hanging at the reception desk talking with Elise again. I shake my head as I walk by. He just tosses a crinkled up piece of paper at me as I pass by. There is definitely something up with him. He doesn
’
t usually put too much effort into the girls he flirts with, and the girls always look like tens but are complete and total bimbos. Elise is a ten, but in the most natural, subtle sort of way.

I clock back in from my lunch. Before I can put my headphones in, Junior stops by.
“
You really went and invited Max to our family dinner? You
’
re such a fucking idiot. If you don
’
t think Mom
’
s going to catch on to your schoolboy crush, you
’
re wrong. Max
’
s too smart for your ass anyways. She
’
s way out of your league,
”
he jabs a finger into my chest, trying his best to piss me off.

I look him straight in the eyes before he walks off.
“
Fuck you, Junior. Get a fucking life instead of stalking mine.
”

He rolls his eyes and walks away. God, he is such a dick! How is it that I am related to him?

CHAPTER TWENTY

Max

"Elise?
”

“
Yes, Mrs. Daniels?
”

“
I wanted to see if you wanted to grab some lunch
—”

“
Okay, what should I order for you?
”
she asks, clearly misunderstanding me.

I laugh.
“
No, let
’
s go together. I figure you know the places around here. I
’
m in the mood for a good turkey club; know any places?
”
I ask.

“
Um, yeah, I do. There
’
s a good caf
é
a couple streets down.
”

I close up my laptop.
“
Okay, I
’
ll be in front in just a second,
”
I tell her.

We ride in her car since she knows where this caf
é
is. I
’
ve already made my decision that she needs a friend who can help bring the confident, real her out, and that
’
s going to be me.

“
So, how long have you worked for the agency?
”
I ask her.

“
It will be two years in March,
”
Elise answers.

“
Did you grow up around here?

She stops for a red light.
“
Yup, I grew up in Brighton. I always thought I was going to get out of this town, but things didn
’
t work in my favor,
”
she states.

“
Why not? What stopped you from trying?
”

“
The summer of my senior year, my father left us. He told my mother he wanted a divorce, and the next thing I know he
’
s moving out. I barely hear from him. He just stopped trying,
”
she reveals.

We turn into a small parking lot. It looks busy, but I expected that since its lunchtime.
“
Why would he stop trying?
”

She finds a parking spot in the back of the caf
é
.
“
He stopped because I wouldn
’
t respond. He left my mom for another woman. I just couldn
’
t forgive him for that. Once he left, my mom fell apart, and I couldn
’
t leave her to go to college. She couldn
’
t have dealt with another person she loved leaving her, so I stayed here to look after her.
”

Her story
’
s even worse than I imagined. I thought maybe she got made fun of in school, which made her withdrawn, but her story hits home. Reminds me a lot of my high school years.

We head into the cramped caf
é
. It smells so delicious in here. The menu on the wall is drawn out in chalk; the glass case is full of muffins, cakes, and danishes. The room is happily filled with chatter and laughter. The environment is so warm and inviting.

“
Elise, this place is so cute, and the menu looks so good. I don
’
t know what I want now.
”

We both laugh.
“
I would stick with the club. I
’
ve had it here, and it
’
s awesome,
”
Elise advises me.

We order our food, then head to a two-top table.
“
So, do you have any brothers or sisters?
”
I ask her.

“
No, I
’
m an only child.
”

That explains her being the one to stay back to take care of her mother.

“
Our stories have a lot of similarities. My parents got divorced when I was in high school. Those were a touchy couple of years, but it gets better. You know, I think it
’
s time for you to start living. You don
’
t get out much, do you?
”

She looks down at her hands before answering.
“
No, not really. I don
’
t have too many close friends.
”

I reach over to put my hand over hers.
“
Well you have one now.
”
She looks up and smiles. The waitress comes over with our food.
“
Okay, now let
’
s eat!
”

We head back to the office after lunch. It feels good taking someone under my wing. She
’
s a sweet girl who
’
s got the shit end of the stick in life. I think we
’
ll be good friends in time. Kyle stops by my office to see me and to confirm the time he
’
ll be picking me up. I want so badly to kiss his sweet lips. I see the same thing in his eyes. Once it
’
s announced that I will be accepting the partnership, my office will be moved to a permanent place down the hall
—
a lot more private and out of sight from the other employees. With a locked door, the possibilities are endless! 

I accepted the partnership with the Saunders Literary Agency; we just haven
’
t announced it to anyone yet. Greg and Connie are planning an agency brunch for the announcement in the next week. We
’
re all very excited and just working on tying up the loose ends. I think this is definitely going to be a life-changer. Now I just have to break the news to my brothers.

My phone rings. It
’
s Cody. I still haven
’
t talked with him either. I do owe him an explanation, so I get up to close my door and finally answer his call. 

“
Hello?
”

“
Wow.
You finally picked up. I thought you were dead!
”
he says with exasperation in his voice.

I take a deep breath.
“
Yeah, I
’
m sorry. I should have told you I was leaving.
”

“
Why did you leave without telling me?
”
His voice sounds strained.

I bite on my pen cap.
“
Cody, I told you before I left that I couldn
’
t marry you.
”

He raises his voice this time.
“
I thought we were just taking a break! I was giving you space. You said you needed time, so I gave you time. What the
fuck
Maxine?
”

I jump from his aggression.
“
Yes, I
did
tell you I need time to figure things out,
but
I also told you I couldn
’
t marry you!
”
This time I raise my voice.

“
We were together for three years, Maxine. You can
’
t just up and leave without talking to me face-to-face.
”
He sounds like he
’
s crying. I hate this. I hate that I had to do this to him, but I couldn
’
t continue something that I knew in my heart wasn
’
t right. I only said yes because I thought it was the right thing to do, and I thought once it sunk in, I would be okay with it. I thought I would be able to love him like he loves me, but that didn
’
t happen. I can
’
t delay the inevitable anymore; it
’
s not fair to him, and it
’
s not fair to me.

“
I
’
m moving, Cody.
”

“
What? What do you
mean
you
’
re moving?
”

“
I
’
m leaving South Carolina. I got a great opportunity to partner with another successful agency, and I accepted the offer. I
’
m moving to New York,
”
I finish telling him. I hear silence on the other end.

“
Where in New York are you? I
’
m coming up there.
”

I immediately sit up, panicked.
“
Um, no! You
’
re definitely
not
going to do that. It
’
s over Cody.
We
’
re
over.
”

“
Not in my eyes, Maxine. This definitely isn
’
t over,
”
he states. The call ends abruptly.

Well that didn
’
t go as well as I planned. I
’
m not sure I actually planned anything, but if I did, this definitely wasn
’
t it. I have to push this to the back of my mind. I said what I needed to say, and there
’
s not much else I can do. I do feel bad, but in the end, I have to focus on what
’
s right for me.

I keep my door closed the rest of the day. After that phone call, I need to concentrate on work with no distractions. I know this is just the calm before the storm. I don
’
t have a team assigned to me yet, so I can work without being bothered. Once the announcement has been made, I
’
m going to have managers, team leaders, and a team to actually run, on top of my authors. It won
’
t change too drastically. I just have some new people to get to know. I just hope I don
’
t scare them away. When I
’
m in my working mode, I can be quite a diva with high demands and expectations.

I take a bathroom break. When I come out of the stall, Beth is walking in.

I smile. What Kyle told me the other day pops in my head for one split second.
“
Hello, Elizabeth,
”
I greet her.

“
You can just call me Beth. My mother calls me Elizabeth when I
’
ve done something wrong. That
’
s been her thing ever since I was a little girl,
”
she says with a giggle.