Page 60 of Semi Sweet
I looked up at her and smiled. “I do.”
***
About an hour before I would have been done for the day, I got a text message from Sean.
What is the address for the Rocky Mountain Press?
560 West Ave. Why?I texted back.
Don’t take the train. Just stay put until you hear from me again.
My stomach dropped. Had Evan been to Cash Value Market today? Had Sean overheard him say something about looking for me? I pictured him pacing outside of the building, waiting for me to come out. I couldn’t deal with confronting him again. Not after how he’d been the night before.
I sat nervously in Chloe’s office as Tasha and I shared our findings for the day. Chloe was looking for the perfect science fiction romance to add to her list–she was determined to make it the next big thing–and Tasha was convinced she might have found a possible prospect. I wondered if there was a Tasha in Aspen or if I would be doing all of the slush pile sorting myself. Would the silence of reading would help soothe my troubled mind?
“Olivia, I’m very sorry we didn’t get to work together longer,” Chloe said as she made note of who to ask for full manuscript requests and who to send a form letter to. “Though I highly doubt this is the last I will be seeing you. I think Angie is going to know a good thing when she sees it.”
After so many years of working for a person who seemed to despise me, I would be happy if she just honored the rest of my internship and didn’t make my life a living hell.
The Rocky Mountain Press began to shut down for the day and I went to collect my things, wondering if I could linger until the last editor went home for the day. I checked my phone, relieved to see that there was a new text from Sean.
I’m here.
I looked at the time. He shouldn’t have been out of work for another hour. I tapped his number and held the phone to my ear, waving goodbye to my colleagues as they went home.
“What do you mean, you’re here?”
Sean laughed on the other end. “Come outside and see.”
When I went out the door and down the steps there was a tough SUV parked on the curb. The passenger side window rolled down. Sean was in the driver's seat. A very excited Bear was panting on a blanket in the back.
“Get in,” he said with a grin. “We’re going to Aspen.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Mizuno-San
“Haveyoualwayshadthis?” I asked as he pulled away from the Rocky Mountain Press. The vehicle had nice leather seats and lots of electronic bells and whistles like a sunroof and fancy display screen in the dashboard.
“It’s a rental,” Sean answered with his eyes on the road. “I have a car, but it’s in Aspen. It’s a Saab 900.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Russian-born. Japanese parents. Swedish car. My theory that you aren’t a real person still stands.” I shook my head when I realized I was getting sidetracked and a bunch of things didn’t add up. “How are you here? Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”
“I might have lied a bit,” he admitted. “Told them my grandparents surprised my parents and I had to leave early to pick them up at the airport. I pulled some strings and asked a couple of my veteran employees to stand in, but I’m able to stay with you in Aspen until Sunday.”
I hadn’t considered what would happen once we got there. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how serious he’d been when he brought it up this morning. Here I’d been telling myself I didn’t want to rely on him, but now I had no choice but to do just that. I felt my confidence wavering.
“Might have to borrow that car of yours,” I said. “I’m going to work with the editor of Rocky Mountain’s satellite office on Monday.”
“Good thing it’s an automatic.”
Sean drove out of the city. The GPS said it was three and a half hours to Aspen. He told me his parents knew we were on our way and his mother was buzzing when she heard he had someone coming with him. I found myself feeling nervous at the admission.
“Who does she think she’s meeting?” I asked. When he wouldn’t look at me and his face turned red, I pressed. “Sean….”
“She may or may not know how I feel about you,” he mumbled. “I had to explain it wasn’t that kind of trip. This is an emergency, you know?”
While that eased my anxiety, another worry quickly amped me up again. “You’re going to leave me with them, aren’t you?”
“Olivia, I know it’s not an ideal situation, but it’s better than risking running into Evan again, don’t you think?” Sean answered.
