Page 36 of Take Care, Taylor
“Anonymous” pick or not, I knew after two lines that those words belonged to Taylor.
His prose had always flowed like honey—drizzling over his chosen subject like a master baker—and I could taste the brilliance in every word.
His style was wholly unique to him, undeniably beautiful, and I hated it.
That evening
“I’m so glad you picked me as your personal mentee!” Emma Sharpe, my brand-new, sixteen-year-old shadow, beamed as we stepped off the elevator. “Learning from you is going to be so much fun!”
The jury was still out on that.
I’d thought all I had to do was give a quick biweekly lesson to her and her classmates, but the director surprised us all with a mandatory mentorship program today.
It’s only four extra hours, Audrey. Just four extra hours.
Pushing the suite door open, I spotted Taylor on the balcony—shirt sleeves rolled, eyes locked on his laptop. The glow from the screen caught the edge of his jaw, and in this moment, he looked more like a statue than a person—frozen, focused, untouchable.
“This is where I live,” I said to Emma. “Today, we’ll hang out here, and next week we’ll go into town, okay?”
She said nothing.
“Hello?” I looked at her. “Emma, does that sound okay?”
“Can I switch mentors and be with Mr. Wolff instead?” She was staring at Taylor. “I’m sure Lucas wouldn’t mind trading with me.”
“No.” I held back a groan.
“Don’t you think I should ask Mr. Wolff about it?”
“I think you should go down the hall and into my room before I never bring you home with me again.”
She rushed off, and I stepped into the kitchen to make us some lunch.
As I was cutting cucumbers, a knock sounded at the door.
I glanced toward Taylor—hoping he’d heard it—but he was still staring at his laptop.
“Hold on!” I called out, setting down the knife.
When I opened the door, I found myself face-to-face with Stacey.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” She feigned a smile. “I haven’t been able to reach Taylor today. Is he here by chance?”
“Yeah.” I opened the door a bit wider so she could see. “On the balcony.”
I stepped back, giving her the okay to come in.
“Thanks,” she said, taking off a gray leather purse that looked more expensive than anything I’d ever owned. “I’ll go out there when he gets off the phone, I guess.”
I glanced over and saw that he’d shut his laptop and was shaking his head, still talking to someone.
Not interested in small talk, I turned back to the kitchen.
The clack of her heels followed, and she sat at the breakfast bar right in front of me.
Okay, then…
