“Anita, shut up,” a male voice at the next desk spat out. My eyes flicked over as Shawn rolled his chair into my view and rolled his eyes. I gave him a grateful nod, thankful that, no matter what happened, this was Anita’s and my last day together.
I made it to my desk just as Duke stepped out of his office. He looked like he’d had about as good of a night as I had. His hair was messy up top, almost as if he’d run his hand through it all morning. His eyes were almost wild with some emotion I couldn’t quite place. When he looked me full on, it was the kind of look that stopped me in my tracks. The kind that put me in a trance.
My purse made a thud as I dropped it on my desk. Duke paused outside his door and watched me. All I could do was watch him back. My heart picked up speed when he ambled toward my desk.
“How does the website look?” he asked softly.
“Want to see it?” I wasn’t sure why I was whispering too. Probably because I could practically hear Anita taking notes.
“Yeah.”
He stood behind me as I turned on my computer, the low hum of the machine sputtering to life the only noise between us. His hands moved in and out of his pockets, fidgeting.
“Actually, Nora. Can I see you in my office?”
My hands that were reaching to type in my passcode for my computer stilled in mid-air. There was meaning behind those words. They hinted that, one way or another, we would not be the same people coming out of his office as we were going inside.
At my hesitation, he pleaded, “Please?”
Without a word, I stood, ignored Anita’s self-righteous look thrown my way, and followed him into his office. He shut the door behind him, and I moved forward and turned to face him, my legs nearly touching his desk. Duke stood in front of the door, his arms crossed.
“Are you alright?” he asked. He didn’t embellish or elaborate, but I knew what he meant. I drew in a shaky breath.
“I’m trying to be, but I don’t know.”
“Alright. Let’s have this out. Yell at me or whatever you need to do. I can’t handle not talking about it.”
“Are you sorry you did it?” I asked, suddenly curious if my reaction made him wish he’d handled things differently.
“Not one bit,” he said apologetically.
Well, there we go.
I laughed lightly. “Why do you look like you’re sorry if you’re not?”
“I’m sorry it made you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry it took you by surprise. But I’m not sorry I did it.”
“Duke, it was a freaking nice gesture. So nice I can’t even imagine…” I trailed off before starting again, this time with a quick breath expelled. “I’m so grateful I have a friend like you who cares for me like that. I haven’t had very many people in my life like that, and I…thank you.” Even amid my late night spent coming up with a payment plan, I couldn’t help but be touched. Duke just looked at me, clearly understanding that was just my build-up. “But the whole thing physically makes me sick to think about. I want you to know that. I appreciate the gesture, but I’m going to pay you back.”
“I’m not taking any money.”
Immediately, his abrupt refusal to budge made my temper flare. I had started out so nice. “You lawnmowered me!”
He had been about to say something when he stopped, a confused look on his face. “What?”
“Just like your parents.” My arms were flying now. “You tried to take this hard thing away, but you had no right. You can’t do that. It’s too much. I know you meant well, but what am I supposed to do? You dropped thousands of dollars on me without asking. There’s this enormous pressure in my chest, and I don’t know what you want from me.”
I watched as shock etched itself onto his face. And then I watched that shock morph into annoyance. “Nora. Good hell, I never even thought about it like that. I didn’t do it to pressure you into anything.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You were working yourself into an early grave, and I had the ability to fix that. I figured you’d be annoyed if you found out, but I had no idea I’d cause a reaction like this.”
“It’s not your problem to fix,” I insisted, taking on a fighting stance with arms folded and my heart bleeding on my sleeve.
“But I want it to be,” he said softly.
At that, my breath hitched, and he took a couple steps toward me. “But even if that never happens, I wanted you to have someone in your corner. Everybody needs help sometimes. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. And I have no intention of becoming my parents. But even if you’re only my friend, I couldn’t stand by and watch you do this to yourself. I can’t watch everybody use you until there’s nothing left. What’s gonna happen when you try to go back to school? You’re already working two full-time jobs.”
“It’s not full time.”
“Close enough. Is your mom working that hard? Are your sisters?”
