“Kaia… hi.”
I honestly didn’t know what else to say. There was so much I wanted to say, but I needed to play it smart. This might be my last chance, and I didn’t want to fuck it up again.
“What…” I cleared my throat and tried again. “Please, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?” I was a mess. My emotions and words were all over the place.
She shook her head. “No… I’m not here to stay.”
My heart sank. Of course, I knew that. I knew we couldn’t pick up like nothing had happened, but it still hurt to hear it.
“Right, of course. How… how are you?”
She blew out a breath and slowly walked over to my desk. “We aren’t doing this, Drea. I just came for my last check. Maybe I should have waited until you mailed it?—”
“No!” I stood up, stopping her from turning around. “No,” I said in a more inside-voice type of way.
“Right… So if I can just get it, I’ll be on my way.”
I nodded. “Of course, please have a seat. It’ll just take a minute.” I motioned for her to sit down, but she didn’t move.
“Drea…” She sighed and relented when my stare didn’t waver. “Fine.”
She sat down and refused to make eye contact with me. I knew this was hard for her as much as it was for me.
I didn’t waste time and got out my checkbook. After pulling up her file and seeing her hours, I wrote the appropriate numbers on the check and handed it to her without a word.
She took the check and stood up, heading to the door. “Thank you… What is this?”
I was sitting in my chair with my legs crossed, exuding professionalism and acting as if everything was totally normal, when she stopped and turned around sharply to glare at me. “It’s your check. Is something wrong? I paid you for your hours of work. I thought it was an adequate amount.”
She scoffed. “Adequate? You think this is adequate? Drea, you overpaid me… by a lot!”
I smiled and sat up in my chair. “I paid you based on what I feel you are owed.”
She shook her head coming back to my desk and throwing the check on top. “Is this some sort of joke or a bribe? To forgive you? I don’t want your money, Drea. I just want to get paid for what I worked and move on. Please don’t make this any harder for me.”
Her eyes were filled with tears, and I didn't want to play games anymore. I stood up and took the check, handing it back to her. “Read it, Kai.”
She furrowed her brows. “What?”
“Read it, Kaia.”
She sighed and took the check, clearing her throat. “Pay to the order of Kaia Rhodes for the amount of… Drea, I already read how much it’s for. Why do I?—”
“The bottom, Kaia. Read the bottom.”
She looked skeptically at me and rolled her eyes, clearly getting more annoyed with every second.
She cleared her throat and continued reading. “An advance for the new… co-owner of Open Book Bookstore if she chooses to forgive her idiot boss? Drea, what… co-owner?”
She slumped in the chair opposite mine and stared at me, complete shock on her face.
I sat down and took a deep breath, preparing the courage I needed to say what I had to.
“You were right, about all of it. I didn’t appreciate everything you did for me. I knew you would do anything I asked, so I took it for granted, and I’m sorry. I was so wrapped up in my own life and dealing with things, or trying to deal with them, that I lost sight of what was really important—making sureallaspects of my life were taken care of. That includes this business, and you. This is just the start of my apology. I want you to come back, Kaia. I want you to be your own boss and have fifty-fifty ownership of the bookstore, with contracts and everything. Legit businesswoman-type shit.” We both laughed, and I was grateful for the lightness that filled the air.
“You were right about Blair. I drove her away, just like I did with Skylar. But you were wrong about one thing. I do care about her, quite a lot, actually. I love her, Kaia. I am a mess without her. I was addicted to her, and I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. I’m still trying to work through my issues, but I can admit that I fell head over fucking heels in love with her, and I’d move to Antarctica with nothing but a towel if she asked me to.”
The entire time I was talking, Kaia stayed in the chair, fidgeting with her jeans. Her eyes never left mine, and I hated the redness that formed around them. I was determined to get the words out, though. If this was the last time she would be in this office, I had to lay everything out on the table.
