He wasn’t so sure of that because he’d heard others complaining in the past about loud neighbors blasting music. You couldn’t always pick your neighbors and even if they were good, it didn’t mean it’d stay that way.
A risk he was taking by moving into Jocelyn’s when her house was done. But she’d tell him if there were issues.
Anything was worth having his own space.
His parents were great, he couldn’t complain there, but he was too old to be staying in his childhood bedroom much longer.
Not that he thought having his own space would give him more time with Farrah. That made little difference since it had more to do with Archer.
And as much as he’d love to stay the night with her, it was her call and he was following the rules in front of him.
He turned when his attorney came in with someone else. He assumed it was the buyer’s attorney. The closing was quick and he was handed over a check for the remaining amount after they’d paid off his mortgage.
The six figures was sweet to see and he’d be running to the bank to get that deposited quickly.
Thirty minutes later, he was leaving the bank and on the way to the Hornets’ office. Walking in and getting a visitor pass felt…odd and distant.
“Jayce,” Corrie said. “It’s so good to see you. Tell me you’re coming back, please?”
“No,” he said. “Sorry. Just stopping in to talk to Henry since I was in town.”
“I, for one, miss your smiling face. I was stunned when I found out you were leaving. It felt like it came out of left field. Noone believes what was said.” Corrie leaned in. “Well, those who believed changed their minds when Levi broke up with McKayla. Guess Levi hated feeling like a fool when he saw proof that you were working.”
“Not my problem,” he said. Not something he wanted to discuss either. “And it wasn’t the reason I left. Not fully. It was the wind pulling the trigger but not the cause for the loaded gun.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Sometimes you just need to make a change.”
“What are you doing now?”
The last thing he wanted to do was sit here and chat. His phone went off and he looked at his watch. “That’s Henry asking if I’m here.”
“Sorry,” Corrie said, handing over the pass and asking him to sign on the screen in front of him.
He knew the routine and did it, then walked up the stairs to the offices over the elevator like always. Again, didn’t feel any warmth or pride being here now. Probably a good thing, making the move feel like the right decision.
He passed a few more people who wanted to stop and talk, but he politely moved on.
Thoughts of missing this quickly evaporated from his mind. The ten minutes it used to take for him to go from the front door to his office, then the next twenty beginning his job.
Everyone wanted to chat, see how his weekend or night was, even look for gossip.
Did he feed into that back then? He hadn’t thought he did. He was positive he was always coy and maybe that was why everyone asked so much hoping he’d slip.
Two months and he was out of practice.
He liked his routine better.
His new office in Durham was smaller now. A lot of employees, sure, but most were on-site.
There were maybe twenty in the office if he really counted and he hadn’t. Hadn’t gotten all that close with anyone either and no one tried.
He walked in the door, waved, got to his office and spent more time chatting with his family and it was only work related.
Crazy how accomplished it felt for him when he thought he had it all before and realized half of his days were spent wasting time blowing smoke up each other’s asses.
“There he is,” Henry said. “Come in, shut the door.”
