Page 34 of Restart & New Revenge
“Everyone is getting together for one last hurrah beforeJackandRuthie’swedding in two days,”Archersaid.
“Okay, you can just drop me off at your house,”Itold him, not really wanting to spend time around people today since my emotions were all over the place. “Idon’t need to go to the bar with everyone.”
“Oh no, you’re coming too,”Archerargued. “First, so you are not alone with the threat update we just got.Plus, since you’re going to the wedding with me, you might as well get to know some of these people ahead of time.”
He was right, but that still didn’t meanIwanted to do it.
I was technically working today, butArchersaid he felt his building was more secure than theTVstation, soI’doffered to bring my computer with me and work from his office.Iwasn’t anchoring any shows today, just getting caught up on some storiesIneeded to edit for next month.
November was a very important month in local television.Weran lots of special-feature pieces this time of year, andIhad threeIwas working on.
AsIturned the corner from the kitchen,Percycame running up to me with his leash in his mouth. “Perfecttiming, buddy,”Isaid with a laugh.
I gave him a nice long walk aroundArcher’syard to do his business so he would be good until we came back from dinner.
The ride to his office was awkwardly silent, butIdidn’t feel like talking.Whenhe tried to make conversation,Imoved to turn the volume up on his radio.Hetook the hint and remained quiet.
However, that may not have been the better option.Literally, the next three songs were not good for my mental state.
The first song was byRihannacalled “HateThatILoveYou”.Thatone hit home.Thencame an older song, “KingofWishfulThinking” byGoWest.Ifthe music gods were trying to send me a message about not being over a love and second chances, that message was coming in loud and clear.Tryingto change the channel,Ihit a button on hisXMradio, and it popped up with a songI’dnever heard of before—"I’llBeWaiting” byCianDucrot.Itonly took listening to it for about sixty seconds to realize this song wasn’t any better.
“Jeez, you have a weird selection of music channels on here,”Itold him, feeling myself get defensive over breakup and second-chance songs.
“Ruthie picked all of them out, not me,”Archerreplied.
“Why did your administrative assistant pick out your radio stations?”
“She used to live in the same apartment complex as me, so we would carpool together to work frequently,” he replied, giving me more details about his personal life thatIfoundIoddly craved. “Apparently,Ihave poor taste in music, so she deemed it her job to change them to something better.”
As much asIdidn’t care for the songs that had just played,Ifound it funny thatRuthietook it upon herself tofixhis music channels.
Thankfully, no more second-chance romance songs came on by the time we pulled into his office, sparing me any more uncomfortableness.
He had given me the basic rundown of his office, but seeing it in person was quite different.Idon’t know whatIthought private security buildings were like on the inside, but this was not it.
It was in an old brick building that had been converted to mixed use.Theold brick building was normal on the outside, but inside, they’d done a lot of work to make it classy yet understated.
We eventually made our way up to the second floor andIwas given one of their private offices to work from.AsIsat and typed away on my computer,IrealizedIwas feeling happy forArcherthat this company was working out well for him.
I’d spent so much time over the last few years feeling bitter about him divorcing me, and now, knowing there had been so much more to the story, it felt different.Alot, but not all, of the hate and bitterness was gone.Intheir place was a sense of pride for him and his business and everything he had accomplished.
I still wasn’t sure how to feel about him on an emotional level, but maybe we could get to the point of being friends…Ishook my head at that thought.WhowasIkidding?Icouldn’t be friends with him.
My phone buzzed in rapid fire—likely a group text from my sisters.DecidingIneeded a break from my video editing anyway,Igrabbed my phone to look at what they were saying.
Hazel:
OMG!Igot to see a realLancetfishtoday!Itwashed ashore (don’t worry, it was already dead) all in one piece!
Hazel:
[picture]
Cora:
I get you’re an ocean nerd and you think that stuff is cool, but that photo just ruined my breakfast.
Iris:
