We dig into our lunch wordlessly, and I can’t hold in the moan of deliciousness that comes out of me. These paninis rival those that are mostly overpriced in Austin.
“Oh my god, this is so good.”
“Right? Oakley is from New York City. Was a big-city chef and got burnt out, and decided to make Bluebell Falls his home. Can’t say I’m sad he dropped big-city life to grace us with Grind Time,” she tells me before digging into her sandwich.
“That’s amazing. This definitely rivals most places in Austin. It’s nice to see the area grow a little.”
“So, what’s your story? What made you move back here?”
My chest clinches tight with anxiety. I knew this would come up. Hell, I’m shocked most people don’t already know, thanks to who I have for a father, but I’m somehow grossly unprepared for it.
“Umm, I used to work in the financial field. It was super cutthroat, but I was climbing the proverbial ladder.” She nods while maintaining eye contact as I continue. “I’ve always been good with numbers. It felt like a natural place to fall to with finance. Financial planning promisedto be a great career—stellar pay and longevity within the company that hired me.
“They passed me up for a promotion not too long ago. The guy who got it had been with the company less time than me, and I had better numbers than him. I knew it was a boy’s club, but shit, it was hard to live through it.” I wipe my hands on my pants, wondering why I’m spilling the whole sordid story to this poor woman who’s just taken pity on me.
“When I was in trade school, I was the only woman in my class. It’s not often a woman dives headfirst into the furniture building department. It felt like I had to work ten times harder to get the same respect,” Rina offers.
“Yes! You totally understand. So, that’s not even the worst of it. The guy who got my promotion started harassing me. He wasn’t technically supposed to be my boss, but the owners shifted him and he ended up being my direct supervisor. He saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of me—well, try to take advantage of me. He would walk by my office every day at the same time and try to hit on me. When that didn’t work, he resorted to threatening me and my job.”
“What an asshole!”
“Yep. I went to the partners in the company and told them what was happening. They said they’d look into it. Four days later, I was called to one of their offices. The asshole was standing there with a smirk on his face. I just fucking knew he managed to undermine me. I was in utter shock when they fired me. It wasn’t until I was escorted out by security that the reasoning finally registered. He said I was harassing him. Borderline stalking, I believe was the term he’d used. None of what I said or did was ever going to matter.”
“I have a lot of sharp tools. Austin’s not that far away. You could just text me an address, and no one would have to know,” Rina says witha gleam in her eye, and laughter so loud bursts from me, it draws the attention of the entire restaurant.
“Thank you for that. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a while.”
“Well, my job here is done! But seriously, fuck that guy. And fuck that company!” She says it like a war cry, and I think I kind of love her. I didn’t expect to make friends here, but she’s kind of forcing my hand. I don’t know that Icouldn’tbe friends with her at this point. I mean, she just offered to do some physical damage to the asshole. That’s like a blood bond, right?
“Thanks for making me come out for lunch. I’ve been a little cooped up lately, and this has been nice.”
“Not a problem. I’m glad I could help. So, how is everything going? That’s not exactly an easy transition.”
“Honestly, it’s going better than I expected. The little house I’m renting is quiet, and the job’s actually not bad either. I think I came here wanting to hide away and figure things out, but it’s going surprisingly well.”
“You’re working for Ledger, right?” she asks.
“I am. He’s a great boss. I didn’t know they made them that way.” I chuckle.
She stares at me a beat too long. “He’s a good guy. Hard-working, reliable, and always puts his employees first. He’s built that company from the ground up during a really hard time in his life, and he’s never let his success take over what’s important to him.” Her impassioned words just solidify what I know about him.
“He is a good guy,” I whisper as we finish up our food.
“Alright, this was a blast, but I’ve got to get back to my shop and finish out this bookcase I’m working on.” She grabs our trash, walking it over to the trashcan asI slowly stand up.
This is not how I expected my day to go. First, I’m getting more responsibility at work, and now, I’ve made a real-life adult friend. It’s weird… When you change everything in your life, you realize just how hard it is to make friends as an adult. I have no willpower to do a whole get-to-know-you routine to figure out if we mesh well. Because what happens when we don’t? You ghost them, and in a small town that’s impossible to do. I wanted no part in it, but Rina just imbedded herself in my life, and I’ve never been happier to be dragged to something I wasn’t happy about than I am about this lunch.
“Let’s both get back to work. What are you up to this weekend?” she says as we both walk to the door.
“Umm, nothing?” I go to reach for the door, but it opens first.
“Oh. Hey,Dean.So nice to see you here. Will you be at the nursery this weekend?” Rina asks, but it’s got a teasing edge to it.
“H-hey. I don’t think I’ll make it this weekend, sorry.” He looks highly uncomfortable. His eyes keep darting between the two of us.
I throw him a little wave and move to the side so he can come in.
“Hey, Ainsley. It’s good to see you.” He smiles down at me as he passes. He abruptly gives a death-stare to Rina, but she smiles as if the cat ate the canary. Knowing what I know about Rina now, their dynamic makes a little more sense.
