He really wanted to know, and to hear her talking in her bubbly, happy voice before he broke the news. He could hear her heels clicking along the tile floors of the airport.
“Good. Crazy. I called for your advice. You didn’t call back,” she said.
“You did?”
“You didn’t get my messages?”
“Nope, I’ve been kind of out of touch.”
“Have you been busy? What have you been up to these last six weeks?”
He paused. “You’d run away screaming if I told you,” he said dryly, picturing Tish’s look of horror and Orchid’s amplified one from his dreams.
“Let me guess. Clients from hell? Creative teams pitching multiple accounts at once? Don’t tell me you lost that coveted elixir brand.”
“No, I’m happy to report we landed REBBL.”
“Wow, congrats, that’s a coup. I didn’t keep up on the news much from over there.”
“Yeah, we know how much you love watching the news,” he said.
“Very funny. So, I’m all screwed up on time and desperate for a shower, but we should make plans. To catch up.”
End of the idle chitchat.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” His throat tightened, giving away more in his tone than he intended. He heard her footsteps halt on the other end of the line.
“Orchid, you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. What do you mean, you want to talk to me about that?”
He almost changed his mind. He didn’t want to do this. He thought about telling her the truth. The truth would end up damaging her more than his evasion of it.
“Orchid, I can’t be your mentor anymore.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Meaning?” Her tone sounded hopeful.
“Meaning that we shouldn’t work together. It’s probably better if we don’t see each other.”
“Why?” Her confusion pained him. Then, the pain of his wounds steeled him.
“I’m really sorry. It’s just not a good idea.”
“Um, you know, if it’s that silly thing I said at the airport, just ignore me. I hadn’t really slept the night before. I was rattling off some nonsense. Like now. When I’m tired, I’m a mess. Really, I’m not expecting any—”
He could hear the hyperventilation in her machine-gunned words. He cut her off.
“It’s not you. It’s me. I really don’t have time for anything extra. I’m all tied up with the agency and everything.”
“Well, if you’re going through a busy period, we could just catch up afterwards. You know, figure out our next project to work on?”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Better just make a clean break.” His voice stumbled at the unexpected image of clean breaks where limbs had been.
“Well, I don’t see what the big deal is. Like I said, it’s just work.”
He wavered, wanting to buy into her optimism. He pictured what she pictured. The two of them, bent over drawings, pointing at one headline or another, debating each other in his agency’s board room. That was the old him.I’ve been hurt, he thought of saying now.You’re not going to like this. Instead, he spoke different words, imparting gentleness in his tone.
“It’s not you. You’ve been great. But best not to call anymore, okay?”
