Page 18 of Fall Apart

“But let me be very fucking clear, we aren’t friends. Friends don’t just waltz in and assume I’m a piece of shit.” He glares at me and any hint of playfulness is gone. His eyes almost look dead, like a pale gray in this light. “We can start over as strangers, because that’s what we are. Strangers that will do what we need to so we can get along for my brother and your best friend. That’s it. Nothing more. That should be easy between now and the wedding. It’s not like we have to see each other every day.”

Well that’s not what I expected. But he’s right, we shouldn’t have to see each other very much between now and the wedding.

After an unexpectedly nicenight of sleep, courtesy of Clay’s crew not working on the holiday, the morning on the slopes was pleasant with everyone. We even stopped by the race course and watched one of Kayleigh’s practice runs. After saying goodbye to the Jackson Hole crew at lunch, I make my way back to the condo for the night to pack and enjoy a quiet evening alone. Just me, a bottle of wine, and the book I plan to read.

As I walk into the condo, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s my boss. Not what I expected on a holiday.

“Hey, Jessica. What’s up, girl?” I’m lucky to have a relationship like this with my boss. Ireallylove having a great female boss.

“Sorry to call on your trip. I assume you’re having a good time?” I can hear her rummaging around and I’m pretty sure I even hear a toilet flush. We clearly have no boundaries between us.

“Yeah, it’s been great. Honestly, I wish I was out here more. But looking forward to catching up with you. We need to talk about my next project.”

“See? This is why you’re my favorite, Lizzy. You make things so easy.” I hear a door open and shut in the background.

“I know I’m pretty good at reading your mind, but you’re going to need to elaborate a bit more,” I say, taking off my jacket and setting my keys down on the kitchen island.

“Well, since you’re having such a great time, how would you like to stay out there?” I stop, standing up straight in the kitchen.

“What do you mean? You better not be firing me!” I meant it to come out jokingly, but she is being a bit weird, even for her, and it might have come out a bit genuinely startled.

“No. I’m not firing you. You know they’d have to fire me with you. And not likeliterallystay there right now, I assume you need to come back and pack. But our plant in Salt Lake, it’s only like half an hour from Park City. They’ve been struggling.” I exhale the breath I was holding in, getting an idea of where she’s going with this. “We’ve been looking at everything. Overhead costs, labor rates, optimal shift schedules, and scrap rates. We’re going to do a deep dive project on their financials. Since your current project is wrapping up, I thought you might be interested.”

I pause, thinking about it. Normally I’d want to think about something like this, but it just seems like perfect timing. I’ve been desperate to get away from my apartment at home. I already planned on moving out as soon as my lease was up this summer. But it wouldbe nice to get away, even if just for a bit and feel like I’m moving on from that mess finally.

“Hellooooo?You still there, Lizzy?” Jessica’s voice in my ear snaps me out of my head.

“I’ll do it.” I blurt out the words so fast, catching myself off guard. “Send me the details, but I’m in.”

I can hear Jessica already clapping in the background. “That’s great! I was hoping you’d say yes. It’ll be a great opportunity and I know you’ll kick ass. It’s totally fine if you want to work remote the next week or two so you can pack, prep, whatever you need to do to be ready to get back out to Utah. They want you to kick off this project two weeks from now.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Perfect. And we’ll give you a stipend for a short term rental. But I know your family has a place out there, so if you just want to stay there, by all means, pocket that stipend or go out for extra happy hours and buy all the books you want. Whatever suits you best.”

Now that I can get behind.

After getting off the phone with her, I look around the condo again. This place is free from memories of Johnathan. I love being out here. This could be the fresh start I need to move on.

CHAPTER 9

CLAY

PENTHOUSE

“Where is that dumbass plumber?”I glare at Luke. He’s the best guy on my crew, one of the few I actually trust to do things right besides myself. And he’s also one of the few friends I have besides Kayleigh.

He lowers his head and lets out a muffled grunt before looking back at me, already knowing I’m in a mood. “He said he’d be here this morning. I’ll call him.”

“Yeah, you better fucking call him back. We need him here if we’re going to stay on track.” I take a deep breath and sigh. “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. I’ve just been-”

He laughs and cuts me off. “An even bigger asshole than normal? Yeah. Why do you think the guys have had me do all the talking with you?”

I lower my eyes at him. “Have I been that bad? Jesus fuck, dude.”

He shakes his head and chuckles, patting me on the back. I hate not being in control and do everything in my power to make sure things go smooth. It’s taken me years in this job to finally accept that some people are just flakes. That’s not why I’m a particularly grumpy asshole today though. I’ve been on edge the last two weeks, ever since Lizzy stormed into and then right back out of my life in a matter of days. Thankfully, I’ve been getting closer to keeping her out of my thoughts and focus more on work, my usual distraction in life.

I look back at Luke, who already has his phone out, and pat him back on the shoulder. “Still, it’s less than an hour ’til lunch, so there’s not much morning left if he’s going to show up. We need him here today to get the plumbing turned back on so we can have it leak testedand inspected before we blow in the insulation and move on with the job.”

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