“Chase, don’t you have anything better to do?” Gage asked.
And that was exactly the response I expected.
“Currently, no.”
“Well, I know Maryellen does. Can you let her get back to work? Besides, come with me so I can show you the progress on your new office.” Gage’s words faded as he walked farther down the hall.
Turning my attention back to the blonde bombshell in front of me, all I could see was a pinched brow and downturned lips as she watched her boss walk away from us. If I had any interest in winning her back, this wasnotthe way.
“Hey,” I started. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll, um, see you later, OK?” I slipped from her desk and started in the same direction as my brother.
“Chase.”
I stopped in my tracks, then walked back toward her desk. I leaned in close, making sure no one could hear the words meant only for her.
“Listen, I don’t want to do this to you, I really don’t. I’m sorry, Mare, I am. I shouldn’t keep putting you in this position. Just know, when I say I miss you, there aren’t truer words.”
I turned from her and kept on walking.
CHAPTER 2
Maryellen
Walking up four flights to my apartment every day after work was exhausting. And that was after a thirty-minute subway ride from lower Manhattan to the Bronx, then a ten-minute walk to my building. I didn’t mind. It brought me home. To my tiny little apartment. To my sanctuary. No one could take it away from me. The six hundred square foot space was all mine.
As small as it was, it felt monstrous compared to the bedroom I grew up in. I locked myself away in that room for so many hours. I don’t remember my dad. But the assholes my mom brought home fought all the time, and my tiny 120-square-foot room saved me.
It made this apartment feel like a palace.
Parker Financial paid me well. They paid me enough that if I wanted it, I could afford a larger place to live for sure, even here in New York City. I didn’t need a larger place to live, though. There were plenty of other things I could do with my money.
Like save it.
You never knew when a rainy day was going to present itself.
One thing I did splurge on was an in-apartment stacked washer and dryer. It was such a luxury not to have to lug my laundry all the way down to the basement. Plus, the machines down there were disgusting. My miniscule wardrobe deserved to be well tended so it would last.
Getting a stain out was calming for me, it was like my therapy. The smell of the dryer running was better than any scented candle I could be burning. As soon as I finished stripping off my skirt and sweater from the day, there was a knock on the door.
“One sec!”
I scrambled around searching for my robe. It wasn’t on the hook where it should have been but on the chair beside my bed. Looking through the peephole, I smiled at the face I saw on the other side and threw the door open.
“Hi!” I yelled out to the tiny dark-haired girl standing in the hall outside my door. She held a bottle of wine while in sweats and slippers.
Not only was Evie my neighbor, but she was also my best friend.
“Wine on a Tuesday?” I asked.
She trudged past me into my kitchenette, straight to the cabinet, and took out two stemless glasses.
“Yep,” she said. “It was that kind of day.”
Evie worked at an art gallery in Manhattan. One of the more exclusive ones. She was their events coordinator primarily but chipped in with almost every other position when there wasn’t a major event scheduled. It was kind of cool having her as a friend; it gave me something to do most weekends.
“Was ithim, or work?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
