“The new guy who moved in on the floor below me.”
I rack my brain trying to remember if I knew about this. Concluding that I don’t, I launch into my investigation.
“When did he move in? What’s his name? How old is he?” I realize I’m hurling rapid fire questions at her, but I don’t care. I can’t believe she withheld this information!
I really look at her now, and sure enough, she’s got thatmy body was gloriously ravaged last nightglow, which prompts my next question: “And was it good?”
She smiles and sighs. “It wasverygood. He moved downstairs about a month ago. I’m going to guess he’s in his mid-thirties, and I think his name is John. No, Joe. Jim? It’s something with a J.”
“You’ve been hooking up with the guy and you don’t know his name?” I’m being judgy, but mostly it’s because I’m jealous. Viv was off with a man between her legs last night, and I fell asleep spooning my cat.
“First, jealousy isn’t cute on you, so cut that shit out.” She glares at me, sipping her coffee loudly because she knows I hate it. “I see him often on the elevator because our schedules must be similar, and my radar has been picking up that there is definitely some chemistry and sexual tension between us. So, last night I went for it. It was the first time, and it wasn’t like I had to twist his arm. We went back to my place, did wonderfully naughty things, and then I sent him home. A girl’s gotneeds,Liv. I can’t even tell you how much better I feel today. Releasing all that… tension? So needed.” Then she raises one eyebrow and cocks her head to the side. “You’re doing your vagina a disservice keeping her locked in a cage.”
“She is not locked in a cage! I just don’t have a hot neighbor I can meet on an elevator!” I whine, sounding like a toddler.
“I never said he was hot,” she says simply.
“Is he not?”
“He’ll do. You need to find yourself a booty call. It’s a game-changer.”
The meeting with the team of temps we hired to help with this project went as expected. While we ate the breakfast pastries Viv brought from Bean & Brew, we all shared in the disappointment of six weeks of hard work, planning, and prepping for a pitch that went down the drain.
Now I just feel… drained. I imagined our future, the possibilities. I allowed myself to plan for that future, only to find it’s still out of reach for Liv + Viv. My body feels heavy and my brain foggy.
I really should get something productive done.
“So, Claire recommended this cute little bed-and-breakfast—” Viv taps on my door frame, stopping in the middle of my office, looking at her open laptop balanced in her hand.
“What?”
“A B&B for a vacation,” she states matter-of-factly.
“You can’t really be considering this, can you?” Turning in my chair to face her, and planting an elbow on my desktop, I rest my chin between my thumb and pointer finger. Too tired to hold my head up on my own.
“I thought it was at least worth investigating. You know, take a little break from it all and regroup.” Viv sits and places her laptop on my desk, turning it to face me.
“We have a business to run. We can’t take a vacation,especially notnow,” I say, glancing at her screen.The Huffman House, Maple Cove, New York.
“I don’t know. It might be nice to get away, though. Claire said it was super charming.”
I turn the laptop back toward her. “I don’t think the timing is right, Viv.” I bite the corner of my mouth, shaking my head.We need to build momentum again, not become complacent. Maybe I should check and see when the next networking conference is.
Viv’s voice breaks through the current of thoughts. “Or—hear me out—it’s perfect timing. We keep the temps on for a little longer. Cori can lead andtotallyhandle everything. Without the EdenReed deal, we are kind of on cruise control right now. And if anything pressing comes up, it’s not like we can’t work remotely. We will have our phones and laptops. We’re not going across the country—only four hours away or something like that.” Viv must sense my next objection because before I can even open my mouth, she adds on, “Pop can take care of Sunny.”
I sigh. “You know Pop is allergic.”And I hate the idea of leaving him for any extended period.
“Well, then it’s your lucky day becausethisbed-and-breakfast allows pets. Sunny can just come with us.” Viv sits in my chair, hands pressed into a prayer in front of her. She’s giving me the ultimate puppy-dog eyes.
I push a breath through my teeth. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“Good enough for me!” She pops out of the chair and snags her laptop on the way out the door.
Six
THE HUFFMAN HOUSE
Liv
