Page 47 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 29

Abby glanced over the press release Meg needed edits for, her mind miles away from the Love, Austen office. Greyson was usually really good at responding to things, and even though it had been a relief to receive his short response that morning, she hadn’t heard from him again, sending her brain into a spiral.

She focused on the words in front of her, adding a few commas and restructuring a sentence to read easier. But her mind kept drifting back to her long-time best friend, spinning possible scenarios of what could have happened. Big project at work. Lost phone.

The bell above the door rang, and she glanced up, able to see who it was directly through her office door. A guy with jet-black hair walked through the door, heading straight for the reception desk.

“Hey, Jorge,” Tiffany said.

Abby recognized him from the few times she’d met him as Greyson’s college roommate. If he was back, did that mean Greyson was done working on the matchmaking app? She paused, straining to hear the conversation between him and her roommate.

“How is your dad doing?”

Jorge’s voice came out much deeper than she’d expected, the lower tones making it harder to hear. She stood, stepping toward the door so she could hear.

“My mom is practically living at the rehab center, and I just figured it was time to come home. How has it been working with Greyson?”

Abby peeked around the doorframe, seeing the man leaning on the desk.

Tiffany laughed, her eye catching Abby’s. “I talked to him once or twice, but Abby was the one who worked with him the most. Abby?” she called out to her.

Abby took in a deep breath, pushing down the emotions so close to the surface. She needed to know why Greyson wasn’t there and why he hadn’t texted, but she already had a feeling it wasn’t going to be what she wanted to hear.

Stepping out of her office, she said, “Yes?”

Tiffany waved her forward, and Abby took a few reluctant steps. “This is Jorge, our IT guy. I think you communicated through email before Greyson came.”

Jorge turned and smiled at her. “Abby! It’s been a while. I didn’t realize you were the one I was emailing. How have things been with Greyson? Has he been treating you well?”

His question threw her off guard, and it took several seconds before her brain was able to come up with anything coherent. “It’s good to see you too. Yes, he’s been good to work with. Is he not coming in with you today?” She’d hoped the question would be innocent, but she caught the concern on Tiffany’s face.

Jorge shook his head. “No, he said something about a lot going on this week. I know his dad wants to do some upgrades on their software and Greyson has been pushing him off until I returned.” They stood in silence for several seconds before he spoke again. “Are there any issues you need me to go through right now? I just wanted to check in since I was in the area.”

Tiffany shrugged and turned her attention to Abby.

“I don’t think we have anything just yet. All the information has been put into the document Greyson asked for, and I was just waiting for the file to go through and make sure everything was correct before you send it to beta testers.”

“Awesome,” Jorge said, patting the counter. “Let me know if you need anything.” He waved and turned to leave.

When the door closed, Tiffany leaned forward and whispered, “What was that about? Did Greyson not tell you he wasn’t going to work on the app anymore?” Something about her tone caused Abby’s defenses to rise.

“I told him I wanted to talk and he said he couldn’t today. But I usually get at least a quick text throughout the day. It’s all radio silence right now, and I’m confused that he wouldn’t have told me about being done.”

The door opened again, and Meg walked in, sipping from an insulated cup. “Hey, girls. What’s going on?”

“I actually need to go finish editing that thing for you, Meg,” Abby said, inching her way to the door. “I should have the whole thing ready by the end of the day.” Before either of them could say anything, she turned and took several long strides to her office, shutting the door once inside.

Frustration webbed through her chest. She’d thought they were making progress at communicating, but something was off.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the editing she needed to do, she grabbed her backpack and rushed outside, jogging to the T stop where the train was pulling up.

The ride took about twenty minutes, during which her brain went faster than she could control. Stepping out at one of the downtown stops, she walked in the direction of the large business building with the wordsCampbell & Sons, Inc.in bright orange letters over the front entrance.

“Greyson Campbell, please.”

The receptionist looked her up and down as if sizing her up and finally picked up the receiver and dialed. After a few seconds’ pause, the woman made the request and then waited, agreeing several times before hanging up.

“He’s in a meeting right now. May I take a message?”

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