Chapter Eleven
2013
Chase
My plan had seemed simple.
Become friends and then work my way into her heart.
Well, fuck.
That was harder than I ever expected, especially when all I ever did was see her at work. I knew her schedule like the back of my hand. Erica came in every single day at eight in the morning, no earlier, no later, and stayed until six in the evening. I always made sure to walk her out whenever she was ready, but that was the extent to our relationship. I couldn’t even really call it that because we only worked together part of the time and now she basically shared an office with Greg since they worked so closely. I had gotten the chance a few times to ask her to lunch, possibly outside of work, but each time I did, I froze. I would make up some excuse and leave the room.
Because of that, we seemed to grow farther and farther apart as the years went on and we gained more clients. There was almost no downtime in the office and when there was, Max had us all in meetings on how to get more clientele.
Last month we moved into our new building and I tried not to let it show just how much it affected me that I would no longer be working so close to Erica. We would be on completely different floors, with no reason at all to see each other. I had tried to convince Max that I didn’t need my own floor, but he insisted that the editing department did, so that meant I got my own floor, same with Greg.
And where Greg went, Erica went. They were two peas in a pod, working side by side on our royalties and finances. I had nowhere to fit into their puzzle anymore, no reason to have to see them face-to-face on a regular basis.
Our first full working day I stopped by her floor to check to see if she was still there at six, but nothing. I checked with the twenty-four-hour security we had hired and they said she had left just five minutes earlier.
I knew we had never spoken about me waiting for her, or even that she would wait for me to leave, but I felt a pang in my chest that day that I’d tried to knock down since. I couldn’t expect her to know that those little moments meant something to me, especially when I couldn’t even be a man about it and fucking say something to her.
“Earth to fucking Chase.”
I brought my attention to my sister, Tabitha, as she waved her hand in front of my face in the middle of the grocery store aisle.
“Language.” I snapped my fingers at her.
“Whatever.” She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at me. “What else do we need?”
I looked down at the list Max had given me to pick up for the company holiday party tomorrow night. The last thing we needed to get was booze, but I wouldn’t be getting that with Tabitha around.
“Nothing else.”
“Liar. I can still see stuff written on there.” She tried to peek again at the list in my hand, but I brought it to my chest, not letting her see what was there.
“You know, for a sixteen-year-old, you’re pretty annoying.” I shoved the list back in my pocket and surveyed the basket I had in my hand.
“You love me nonetheless.”
“Yeah.” I grabbed her and hooked her under my arm, offering up a noogie.
Tabitha had been a surprise for our whole family, but she was a surprise I welcomed with open arms. I finally had someone I could talk to on a daily basis, what with our parents running around helping run an entire state.
“Ugh.” Tabitha pushed away from me and straightened her hair, trying to flatten it back down. “Could you not?”
She huffed and walked away, leaving me alone in the aisle.
I turned around to head toward where the wine was, but I stopped dead in my steps when I saw Erica walking directly toward me.
She had a list in her hand and was so focused on it that she didn’t even realize she was about to run right into me. I sat my basket down and grabbed for her arm, just as she came barreling toward me.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed as I caught her and she looked up at me. A smile formed on her face and I smiled down at her apology. Something she did far too often. When she was stuck in her head, it was a sight to see, but I had found myself over the years trying to save her from office accidents more than once. “I’m really sorry, Chase. I didn’t see you there.”
“Lost in thought again?” I teased.
“Maybe.” She laughed and peered down at her feet, then at the list in her hand, not meeting my eyes this time.
