Page 23 of Say You Remember Me
“Yeah…” I furrowed my brow. “I work for Ian Hastings.”
And then, it hit me. Ian had mentioned having a friend named Owen who was bartending at The Garden the night we met. And when I saw the knowing look in Owen’s eyes, like he was probably thinking about the kiss he’d apparently witnessed me giving his friend, my cheeks suddenly flamed hot.
“So, how have things been going with Ian anyway?” Owen asked. “Last I heard was that things got off to an interesting start.”
My face grew even warmer.Why is he asking me this?
Was he trying to do some sort of detective work for his friend? To see if I was going to talk about our now forbidden meeting in front of all of these people?
Not knowing if I should really be super open about anything, since it was a possibility any slip-up could get me fired, I forced a smile and tried to tread carefully as I said, “It’s going all right.Some...awkward situations when you first start somewhere new, you know? But he’s a good boss.”
“That’s good to hear,” Owen said, his smile widening. “Ian’s my best friend, so it’s nice to know he’s treating you well. If he gives you any trouble, let me know and I’ll whip him into shape.”
I chuckled awkwardly. Okay, so maybe this hadn’t been a test at all.
Maybe he just wanted to know if his friend was a good boss.
“So, where are you from?” the guy on the other side of me asked. “I’m Theo, by the way.”
“Hi, Theo,” I said, thankful for the shift in the conversation. “I’m actually from a small town in New York called Ridgewater.”
“Ridgewater, you say?” he asked, like he was trying to decide if it rang a bell. “What part of New York is it in?”
“Central New York. Between Syracuse and Ithaca.”
“Ah, nice.”
“So, how do you know Sloan?” I asked, seizing the moment to turn the focus off myself.
“I actually first met Sloan at the academy.” He smiled, revealing a cute dimple that I hadn’t noticed before. “I was a house dad at the boarding school—got free room and board while I was in law school.”
“Smart.” I chuckled, appreciating his practical side. “Not a bad deal at all.”
“I thought so,” he said with a grin. “It kept me from racking up student loans, at least.”
Was it weird that I found it oddly attractive that Theo had gotten his law degree without any debt? Because yeah, after being married to a man who couldn’t hold down a steady paycheck, a man who knew how to avoid debt was definitely a turn-on.
With Jaxon, money always seemed to slip through his fingers. We were constantly scrambling to pay the bills, always one step behind.
I hadn’t necessarily married him for financial stability since we were so young when we got married, but a little extra cushion would’ve done wonders for my stress levels through the years. There’s only so much robbing Peter to pay Paul you can do before you had to face reality and make the hard choices.
I took a deep breath, pushing away the familiar frustration that always bubbled up when I thought about Jaxon’s failed business ventures and empty promises.
That chapter was closed now. And even though I was still working to pay off some of the debts he’d stuck me with, I had a good job now and his financial irresponsibility couldn’t hurt me anymore.
“And what do you do now?” I asked. “Are you using that law degree you were working on?”
“I am.” He nodded, licking his lips. “I’m a corporate lawyer now.”
“Oh nice,” I said. But since the extent of my knowledge of what corporate lawyers did came from bingingSuitsa few years ago, I asked, “What exactly do you do?”
“Essentially, I’m the legal expert who ensures businesses operate within the boundaries of the law and navigate complex legal situations.”
“Oh, of course. That makes sense,” I said, even though his explanation was a little over my head. “That sounds like a lot of responsibility.”
“It is,” Theo said, nodding thoughtfully. “Definitely keeps me on my toes, but I like it.”
I smiled at that, appreciating his down-to-earth demeanor. We continued chatting for a bit, the conversation light and easy as the warm evening breeze carried the smell of campfire and thelow hum of voices around us. It felt nice to relax, to feel like I was starting to make connections in this new town.
