Page 190 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
Tim let us go shortly after that. As we walked out of the office, Tiffany turned to me.
“Thank you so much, Cayden,” she said. She was glowing with confidence and happiness. We walked down the hallway to her office.
“It wasn’t me,” I told her. “Tim called me in this morning and he already had everything mapped out. It was all you.”
Tiffany shook her head in disbelief.
“I still can’t believe it,” she said. “Not only am I going to be a writer, but I’m also going to lead the other women in an empowerment course. Who would have thought that I would be helping other women gain confidence? This is crazy.”
We reached her office and Tiffany shared the good news with Nikki. I sensed a bit of jealousy from Nikki, but I think we all knew that Nikki didn’t have the talent that Tiffany did.
“Congratulations again,” I said to Tiffany as I left the office. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
I walked to my office with a sense of relief. Tiffany had been promoted and Tim honestly didn’t care if we dated. Sure, Robin still cared, and we would still have to keep it a secret, but at least I had someone in my corner.
I was so excited for Tiffany. I knew she was upset about the holidays. This promotion had to lift her spirits. I would see if she was available tomorrow night to celebrate her new position and to maybe try a few new positions in the bedroom.
CHAPTER 18
TIFFANY
“These cookies are going to be delicious,” Mandy said, rolling out the sugar cookie dough. She had talked me into making Christmas cookies with her. The only reason that I said yes was because I was still floating on cloud nine from yesterday.
I was going to be a writer. People had noticed my drive and work ethic and Tim had promoted me to a writer. Not only that, Cayden was going to be my mentor. I had to admit, it was a little confusing. First, they told us not to be with each other, and then they teamed us together. It would be fine. We would continue pretending that nothing was going on. We would be professional at work.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Mandy asked. She was now cutting out shapes in the dough.
“I was just thinking about my new position,” I said. “I still can’t believe I was promoted after being there such a short time.”
“I can believe you were promoted. You are a rock star,” Mandy said. I was lucky to have such a good friend like her. She always supported me and gave me an extra boost of confidence. Even when I was at my lowest.
“I am going to eat so many of these cookies,” Mandy continued. “I’ll be looking like Mrs. Claus sooner rather than later.”
“Mrs. Claus is a babe,” I laughed. “Screw all these standards that say we are supposed to be stick thin and eat salads. We can eat cookies and have curves. This is 2018.”
“You’re going to be great at this empowerment thing,” Mandy commented. “I love this side of you. I haven’t seen it in so long, I was beginning to think it was gone.”
In all honesty, I was beginning to think it was gone, too. I had been sad and alone for so long that I had started to think I would never smile again. Cayden changed all of that. I had hoped to see him sometime this weekend, but I wasn’t sure of his schedule with Austin. He told me that he had a good support system with his family and his parents often watched Austin. I still hadn’t found out about his ex. Where was she? Had she run away from Austin and Cayden? I couldn’t imagine anyone doing that, but it wasn’t necessarily unheard of.
“Cayden has just really helped me feel good again,” I said. I grabbed my glass of wine and took a sip. It was true. My entire attitude was because of Cayden. He had helped me shed this negative vibe that I had had since I was dumped by Brad. Brad. There he was again. I just couldn’t seem to let him go.
“What’s wrong?” Mandy asked. She was obviously reading my facial expressions and could tell that negative thoughts were creeping into my head. I shook my head, trying to avoid the subject, but she wouldn’t let up.
“I know that look,” she said. “You’re thinking about Brad, aren’t you?”
I hid my face in my hands. She knew me too well.
“I am,” I admitted. “But, not on purpose! He just seems to creep in my head whenever I’m thinking about Cayden. I don’t know what to do.”
Mandy transferred some of the cookie dough to a cookie sheet and sighed.
“I know what to do. Stop thinking about him. He was a complete asshole, Tiffany. He didn’t care about you. People don’t treat people they care about like shit. He was awful. How many times did you cry over something he had done? I mean, he cheated on you, for God’s sake,” she said.
She was right. He was an awful boyfriend and an even worse fiancé. He did nothing for my self-esteem. I had spent more nights crying alone than I spent with him. When I did spend time with him, I was always stressed out that I would say or do something wrong. It was a vicious cycle. I deserved better. I deserved to be happy with someone like Cayden, but my past was holding me back.
Brad was such a critical part of my past. I often thought about the times before we dated. When we were just best friends. We would watch movies at his house or go to the beach together. Our families had even taken a vacation together. We were inseparable. With the loss of my father, I had held on to Brad for longer than I should have.
“I’m just confused,” I admitted. “I really like Cayden. I just don’t want him to be a rebound.”
