“For what?”
“For somehow getting my twin back to who he used to be. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this side of him.”
She wasn’t so sure what they were talking about or how she had a hand in it. “What side is that? I’ve only ever known one side and he seems the same to me.”
“That’s the side that’s back,” Stacy said. “The one in Charlotte hopefully is a thing of the past.”
Farrah looked on while Jocelyn and Stacy shared a silent glance. As much as she wanted to ask what it was about, something told her it didn’t matter. He was here and not there, and with any luck, here would be where he stayed.
27
FOLLOWING THE RULES
Four days later, Jayce was pulling into his lawyer’s office in Charlotte for the closing of his condo.
Could he have done it electronically and saved himself this trip? Yeah, he could have.
But he’d been texting with Henry and a few other staff in the marketing department for the two months he’d been gone.
It felt like two years and he didn’t miss it.
He’d promised them he’d stop in to go over a few things when he was here, but the closing had been put off a few times between the buyer’s bank and their attorney.
The texts from Henry and others in his department hadn’t lessened like he’d hoped. Each ping was a reminder, part balm and part wound. Knowing he wasn’t so easily replaced fed his ego, sure, but it still scraped against his pride that it was over.
That his career in this field hadn’t ended the way he wanted.
It was still on his terms, but others might think otherwise.
He hadn’t asked, hadn’t wanted to know what could be whispered in the halls of his old job. Best to let it lie.
He told himself he was better off now, and deep down he knew it was true. Still, he couldn’t ignore that so much of his lifehad once felt right here. The memories, the laughter, more than a decade of what he’d thought was his best life. Ego again? Most likely.
But lately, he realized that maybe his best wasn’t behind him after all. Maybe it was standing right in front of him, waiting for him to be brave enough to reach for it. Not just with his new career, but with a woman he might have been waiting for and never knew.
Some of his internal struggle of failure was diminishing. He had to get over himself. He let no one see it, and could be that was part of the stress he had in his life.
Should his job have been easier than it was in his mind? More like fun and less like work?
There were so many things he was wrong about.
He shut his car off, got out and walked into the building, gave his name and was shown to a conference room where a young couple was sitting by themselves.
“Hi,” he said, putting his hand out. “I’m Jayce McCarthy.”
The guy stood up. “Mason Brown and my wife, Katie. We’re buying your condo.”
“I figured as much,” he said. “Hope it gives you some good memories like it did me.”
“We’re excited,” Katie said. “It’s a much nicer place than we’ve been in and a shorter commute. Can I ask why you’re leaving it?”
“I moved back home to Durham,” he said. “I’ve got another job there.”
“Oh good,” Mason said. “So not a problem in the building? I know you probably wouldn’t tell me that, but we’ve tried to find out. We’ve had some terrible neighbors in the past and it’s a risk you take.”
“Honestly,” he said, “I was on the road a lot, but when I was home, I never noticed anything. No voices through walls orthings like that. Do people talk loudly in the hallway at times? Sure, but nothing that sticks out at odd times.”
“I told you,” Katie said. “This place is too nice to allow those things.”
