Page 64 of Love.V2
“Maybe this time you put a ring on that finger? Lock it down?”
“Yeah…” I sighed, trying to come to terms with the new roadblocks that had just been lobbed into my path. “Maybe.”
***
I didn’t knock on Tess’s open office door when I slipped inside. Her nose was scrunched, eyes locked in on the newest iteration of the Botto concepts. I got the feeling a marching band could parade through the cubicles and she’d barely glance up.
It reminded me of when I’d peek into her studio back in Nashville to find her hunched over an easel, so absorbed in her work it took me physically touching her for her to realize I was standing there.
It was the look she got when she disappeared into something she loved.
I couldn’t let Henry close this place down. She belonged here.
At her elbow, Tess’s afternoon coffee sat, full and untouched. I’d asked Meery to deliver it, since I’d been stuck with Danny for the last few hours.
“Oh, so you only drink the latte when it’s hand-delivered byme. Noted.”
She blinked, brow furrowing as she came back to reality, glancing at her cup and then at me. “Oh. Right.”
“It’s probably cold by now. Might I suggest swapping it for a glass of wine? We could grab a bottle on the way home.” That was the ticket. Danny was great, but diving back into Worther-world with him had made me itchy, old habits and the nearly inescapable compulsion to check my email tackling me from behind. Some wine on the couch with Tess, though, was compelling enough to keep the feeling at bay.
“I need to catch up on some work here. Just leave without me.”
A trickle of unease slid down my vertebrae, and I closed the door behind me.
“I’d prefer not to. What’s wrong, Angel?”
Her shoulder jerked as she spun back to her computer screens. “Nothing. Just need to focus.”
The trickle turned into a flood. She was shutting me out. Again. I crossed the room in an instant, spinning her to face me. “Hey, don’t do that. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She let the silence stew before she gave in with a sigh. “When were you going to tell me you’re still working with Worther? Or that you’re going to California this week?”
Her accusations were fast, sharp. My brain scrambled to catch up, mostly because she was only half right. “Where did you hear about that?”
“It doesn’t matter where. I thought we were past this, Dylan. We were doing so well, and now I hear you’re leaving fordaysand didn’t care to fill me in? It’s like Nashville all over again.” Disappointment dripped from her words. Something went spiky and blood-red in my brain.
“I’m not going to California, Tess.” I sounded calm, wholeheartedly trying to suppress my rising blood pressure.
“Danny said—”Ah. Of course.
“Dannyis going to California. I’m attending the presentation virtually, from the Jinx office.” I shook my head, but I wasn’t sure if it was to assure her, or out of disbelief. “Danny’s taking over more of the meetings because I’m actively reducing my workload at Worther. Yes,I still have my job there, but I’m offloading as much as I can to focus here.”
Hopefully. I really needed to get Henry on the phone. But not until I sorted this out. In her orange swivel chair, Tess looked suspicious, which just took my irritation up a notch.
“You’re offloading your Worther work?”
“I’ll transition fully in a few months, but I have to tie up loose ends before I can solely focus on Jinx.”
Tess’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re not going to California?”
“I never planned to go to California. In fact, I insisted on setting the time of the meeting so it would be done by five, Chicago time. So I could leave with you, like I have been every day for the last month. You’d have known that if you’d just asked.” The last part sounded more accusatory than I’d meant, but the more I thought about her reaction, the more frustrated I became.
I paced a few steps, restless, before stopping to look at her again. “Were you planning on pouting about it by yourself until you realized I hadn’t gotten on a plane?”
Tess’s arms crossed, her face twisting in a scowl. Now we were both getting worked up. Lovely. “Don’t say that like it’s out of line for me to need some space. Do you not remember how many times this has happened? That I’d just get a text from you out of the blue that you’d be gone for three days on some work thing? Or, better yet, figuring it out for myself after you forgot to tell me you’d jumped on a plane? Because that happened too. Forgive me for being triggered by the long-standing pattern of shitty behavior.”
My stomach sank. She was right, of course she was right. But still…My fingers ran through my hair, and I ordered myself to calm down. “I’m sorry you were triggered. I understand, I do. But I told you I’m not that guy anymore. I’ve been here, with you, every day for weeks, and you still jumped to conclusions.”
