“I’m sorry. I should’ve called. I moved out of my parents’ house, and tax season…” And then the other Ryan had entered the picture, and any hope for this nice but boring man had evaporated like a puddle after a monsoon storm. She had no excuse, other than avoiding the confrontation. Confrontation was not her jam.
He waved it off. “I get it. You’re busy. After April?”
He looked so hopeful, but it was best to burst his bubble now.
“You’re a nice guy, Ryan, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for us.”
Anger flashed across his face so quickly that if Elissa had blinked, she would’ve missed it. His hands clenched at his sides, and a strained smile found its way to his lips.
“Well, excuse me for thinking we’d connected. Sorry I was wrong. Have a nice life, Elissa.” He stood and hurried away, and the tension left her body with a long whoosh.
She’d dodged a bullet with him.
Elissa pushed into the building. If he came by again and sought her out, she’d let Karina know. Her boss would have her back.
She spent the afternoon concentrating on the DeMarco box. She’d been so tired when she’d gone through the contents on Friday, she hoped she’d merely made a mistake. Hours later, after going through every single damn—swear jar!—piece of paper, she knew she’d missed nothing. A few papers they needed simply weren’t there.
Glancing at her watch, Elissa still had thirty minutes before close of business. Just enough time to call over to the DPM office so someone—hopefully not Ryan, she hated confrontation—could pull the files. She stopped by Karina’s office to let her know what was going on before picking up the phone on her own desk.
“DeMarco Property Management,” a cheerful, feminine voice answered.
A part of her was deeply disappointed, another part greatly relieved. Ryan DeMarco had gotten under her skin in a remarkably short time.
“Hi, this is Elissa Wright with JMS Accounting. We seem to be missing paperwork. I was hoping to speak with Annetta or Ryan about stopping by tomorrow.”
“They have both left for the day. I’ll take a message, though.”
Elissa left her name and number and ended the call.
Karina paused by her desk on her way out the door a few minutes later. It was still early enough in the season most of the staff could leave at a normal time. In a couple of weeks, that would change.
“Were you able to talk to anyone at DPM?” her mentor asked.
Elissa shook her head.
“Stop by before you come in tomorrow. I’d like to start ASAP. There have been some changes with the death of Giorgina DeMarco last year. It might complicate matters enough to cause a headache or two.”
“I will. Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
She watched Karina leave and stared at her phone. She hated mixing business with pleasure, and she hadn’t been lying earlier. Despite making a date to go over Ryan’s business plan Thursday night, she had no time for extracurriculars at the moment. She barely had time for curriculars. This entire enterprise was ill-conceived and would likely lead to heartache.
Can you live with the heartache of never trying?
She texted him anyway.
E: Hate to bother you after hours, but we’re missing some files. I’ll be stopping by first thing to look for them.
He texted back right away.
R: Yeah no problem. Do you have a list? Do you need to meet tonight?
She smiled. Though he could be trying to still get on her good side, something told her he’d offer the same to anyone. Maybe she was delulu, but she’d misjudged him on their first meeting.
E: Tomorrow is fine.
R: cu then
