“Girls’ night?” Kylie shrieks. “I haven’t had girls’ night in well…a long time, since I moved here and don’t know anyone. And girls’ night was dwindling even more by the time I moved from Phoenix, so it’s been forever and a day.”
“I didn’t know you moved here just for this job,” I tell her.
“Yeah.” She leans her hands on her desk. “He’s been wanting to start this foundation for a while.” I smile when I think of Kirby’s smile and then my heart literally skips a beat, but then it gets tighter knowing I put the brakes on the whole thing.
“Well, it’s going to help a lot of people,” I affirm to her.
“Then it’s good I jumped on the train. Besides, I think I’m finally in the headspace to help. You know, since I’m over the trauma.” I smile at her sadly.
“Don’t we all have trauma?” I lean against the doorjamb. “Or at least that’s what everyone says.”
“We do.” Kylie folds her arms on the desk. “Some of us just don’t see the trauma before we know it’s trauma.”
I smile at her. “Isn’t that the truth?” I push away from the doorjamb. “It’s a good thing I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”
“I wasn’t going to turn down the offer, so there is that.” Kylie laughs. “I’ll bring dessert.”
“Perfect, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” She nods. “I’ll text you my address; you can come whenever you want.”
“Don’t say that.” She points at me. “I literally have no life, so I’ll be showing up at noon.”
“We can have no life together.” I point back at her. “Plus, you can help me decorate.”
“Ariella is coming over to your house.” She gawks at me. “You think I’m going to put anything anywhere where she can ask why I put it there, and then she tells me how wrong of a decision it was?”
“I never thought about that,” I say, thinking about all the decorations I put out. “Thanks for that, now I’m going to spend all night overthinking everything.”
“You’re welcome.” She pushes away from the desk and shuts her laptop. “That’s what friends are for.”
I shake my head and walk back into my office, shutting down my desktop and packing my laptop. I walk out of the office at the same time as Kylie walks out of hers and we head down to the garage at the same time. She gets into her own SUV while I wave at her and pull out at the same time my phone rings and I see it’s my lawyer.
“Hello.”
“Hey.” Her voice fills the car. “I’m just following up on my previous call. Trent’s lawyers are breathing down my neck with calls daily.”
“I can imagine,” I mumble as I pull onto the highway, heading to my house. “I’m still thinking about it,” I tell her, except it dawns on me that I haven’t thought about it once since she called me.
“I don’t know if that answer is going to be good enough for them,” she huffs.
“It’s the only answer I am going to give them right now.” I stand my ground.
“I’ll let you know what they say,” she says and disconnects. I look at the display screen and I know exactly what I should do, but I also am afraid of doing it.
I pull into my garage at the same time the phone pings with a text.
Marley:
They will give you until the following Monday for an answer and then the offer is off the table. It’s twelve million dollars, it should be a no-brainer.
“You know what also should be a no-brainer?” I say, getting out of the SUV. “Firing you and actually getting someone who is on my side.” I shut the door and head into my house.
“Look at this view,” Ariella gasps, walking out from the living room to the patio while I hold Jagger in my arms. “No wonder you wanted to move out so fast.”
“Oh, would you stop?” I kiss his head and he looks up at me. He’s been in my arms since they got here over twenty-five minutes ago. “I was in your hair.”
The doorbell rings and I look over at her. “Make yourself at home.”
I turn and walk back to the front door, Jagger on my hip as he looks around. I open the door and smile when I see Kylie there with two clear bags, holding four boxes of what is probably dessert. “Hello,” she greets, smiling big. “Am I too early?” she asks me and I shake my head. “Good. Here, take this, I have more in the car.” She hands me the bags and runs back to her SUV that is parked in the driveway.
