Beyond Reason (5 page)

Hugs and Smooches back at ya,

L

I started laughing as I set the phone down. My guess was I’d get a message within five minutes, which would give her enough time to consult with Gabby before sending a frantic email back.

I bent under my desk, adjusting the dial on my space heater. I had to get it blasting before my toes fell off. I loved my office and all of the windows that looked over the city, but it made it extremely chilly now that it was December. The heat began wrapping around my ankles, and I sat back in my chair taking everything in around my office. It was an odd sensation knowing that I was going to be giving my notice soon.

The space had really started to feel like my second home. I liked how I had decorated it and had many memories of eating take-out late at night, staring at storyboards spread out all over the place. Beyond the boring décor that was standard in all of the offices, I’d brought in a few photographs of my family and some funky artwork that one of my friends from college had painted. But it would all look just as wonderful somewhere else—of that I was sure.

I picked up the photo of my parents, who had been married for over forty years. My father had his arm wrapped around my mom’s shoulders. I think it was a church directory photo, and it showed. They loved each other, but it wasn’t a passionate relationship. Not like the one I imagined for myself or saw with Brandy’s parents. Maybe their relationship held some fire in the beginning, but I didn’t ever remember them showing affection in public. My father was a successful real estate developer, and my mom worked with him in his office, off and on. My dad also happened to be the mayor of our small town for much of my junior high and high school years, which explained why my dating life always felt like such a liability to them. God forbid something might happen that would ruin his bid for reelection. But if I were honest with myself, I’d say I outgrew them. They had a very small view of the world.

I set down the picture and picked up the one of our entire family. I had my father’s eyes, but everything else seemed to be from my mom. My brother, Heath, was a spitting image of my father and so was my sister, Ivy. Their raven-colored hair was shiny and beautiful and with their green eyes, they were stunning. Our eye color was the only thing that signaled we were related. My auburn hair came from my mom, as did all of our name choices. She liked the idea of naming us all after plants.

I’d been one of those surprises that parents speak about, so both of my siblings were quite a bit older than me. My brother had graduated from high school, and my sister had just entered high school when I was born. We got along well enough, but it wasn’t a really close relationship. They both followed the paths my parents wanted for them. Heath had a city council job and my sister married right out of college. My parents were already proud grandparents, so at least, I was off the hook for that.

Placing the photo back on the desk, I grabbed my notes and flipped through some of the artwork I’d envisioned for a launch. Retro was popular right now and much of the campaign I came up with reflected that. Now, I just needed to get some of the storyboards going, and the launch party details figured out.

I had to stay on track! If I could get the preliminary sketches done tonight, I could send them out to the team to look over tomorrow before our meeting on Wednesday. It was going to be a long night.

My phone dinged, and I saw the reply from Brandy like clockwork. This time it didn’t come over on email. It was a text.

What?!?!? How could you not tell your poor, crippled best friend this piece of news? I’m excited to hear all about him, but are you sure he should come? Not that it matters and we have plenty of room.

I laughed as I read the last sentence.

You may be poor but you’re not crippled. Nice try. And YES!! Totally bringing him. I’m sure you’ll love him like he’s your brother! Now off to finish this project. xx

By the time evening rolled around, I was tired, hungry, and grumpy. My office looked like a bomb went off, and my mind felt just as scattered. I sat on the couch, alternating between sipping a cold latte from Starbucks and nibbling on a dried out bagel. My neck was killing me, but I had to finish and get the email sent before I could leave for the night. I grabbed the remote to my iTunes player and turned it up. Something had to keep me going.

It had taken me far longer to get everything organized than I’d planned because my mind kept wandering off…daydreaming about Austin. And the ‘what ifs’.

I even Googled him!

Three times!

In an hour!

Twice!

The problem with that—okay, there were a lot of problems with that, I’d admit it—was that he wasn’t one of those guys who turned into a troll out of college.

Oh, no!
He turned out to be hotter than I remembered from high school. He had that rugged snowboarder look, like he didn’t care what he looked like and everything magically just fell into place after a day on the slopes. The last time I had spied on him, he looked good but not this good.

I wasn’t even sure why I was getting so amped up about him. It wasn’t like my odds were that high that he’d even acknowledge that I existed. His non-communication style already did a good job of that.

I stood up and circled around the corkboards that I had everything pinned to. Maybe I was closer to being finished than I realized. I wanted to capture the winter season in the drawings, and I think I did that. What was lacking was a female presence. How was I going to fit that in?

My phone dinged, and I walked over to my desk and glanced at the screen. It was Ayden.

Stopped by your place to surprise you with a warm meal, but you’re not here.

I laughed and texted back.

Nope. I’m not there. I’m here. At the office. Preparing for that presentation I told you about.

The flutter in my stomach took me off guard and he texted back immediately.

Have you eaten?

I typed back.

Starving, but I won’t be home for at least an hour.

He didn’t miss a beat.

Text me your address and I’ll drop it off.

A smile spread across my lips as I thought about Ayden standing at my apartment door with a bag full of food. I knew he was sweet, but I didn’t know he was that sweet. I texted him my office address when I had an epiphany. That was what this story needed. The brand bringing people together, friendship at its best. I quickly began sketching out the last scene of a couple huddled together by a fire, enjoying love and laughter.

I started scanning my sketches and notes, organizing them quickly so I could compose the email to the team. I was halfway through when my office phone rang. It was the security guard and Ayden was downstairs with the food. I told the guard I’d be right down and hung up the phone.

The elevator quickly whisked me down to the lobby, and I heard Ayden’s laughter bounce along the marble walls as I walked off the elevator. He was joking around with the guard, standing in front of the large counter, holding several take-out bags. His blonde hair was disheveled, and he was dressed in a gray-checked flannel shirt and loose-fit, dark jeans. His blue eyes met mine and a charge ran through me so quickly, I wasn’t even sure if it was real or imagined.

“Thanks,” Ayden told the security guard, but his eyes never left mine as he walked toward me. “Hope you like Italian.”

“I love Italian,” I said, but my words sounded more breathy than I expected. And I noticed a glint of amusement flash across his gaze. I walked onto the already waiting elevator and pressed my floor.

“Do you always look this sexy at work?” Ayden murmured, as he stepped onto the elevator.

My hands started sweating, and my entire body felt like I’d walked into a sauna. I could feel his gaze running down the length of my body before I turned to face him.

“You certainly know the right words to say,” I teased, pushing my hair back. I knew what I looked like, and it was far from sexy. “I feel like a squirrel who forgot where she put her nuts, and I’m pretty sure I look like that too. But thanks.”

He laughed loudly and shook his head, and somehow the space between us narrowed even more. When the elevator doors opened, he placed his free hand on the small of my back and guided me forward. A pulse of excitement ran through me and I chuckled.

“What?” he asked, his voice low.

I shook my head, ignoring his question, and guided him through the cubicles toward my office. It was the only one with lights on, and I was suddenly contemplating how private it was, which was ridiculous.

“We can sit over there on the couch,” I said, pointing at the small trail we could follow to get there.

“Perfect. I wasn’t sure what you’d want so I got Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce, and Fettuccine Alfredo.”

“Sounds delicious. But what are you going to have?” I teased.

“These are incredible,” Ayden said, not answering my question as he stopped to look at some of the designs I had piled along the trail. “Great concept.”

“Thanks. I’m getting there. Hopefully, the guy will like it.”

“I can’t imagine him not liking it. I really think you’re there.” He sat down next to me and placed the bags on the side table, digging out the plastic utensils and paper napkins.

“So what does that girl you plan to bring to Utah think about you delivering food to—”

“I ended it,” he interrupted, maneuvering the cartons out of the bag.

“What? Why?” I asked, not expecting the conversation to take a turn like this.

“It wasn’t serious. Now which do you want?” He held the cartons out as he avoided my gaze.

“Geez, I’m sorry. I think I seriously do have like a foot-in-mouth disease of some sort. I’ll take the Carbonara.”

He handed me the carton and smiled. “You don’t have foot-in-mouth. I’ve seen what that looks like firsthand. Mason has it and you’re not even close. Besides, that’s kind of a legit question, under the circumstances.”

Circumstances? What circumstances?

“Thanks for the other night, by the way. I think the whiskey had gotten to me and—”

He held up his hand to stop me. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I had an amazing time hanging out. And as hard as you work,” he looked around the office, “I can understand why you need to let loose sometimes. I heard you got the infamous email and riled my sister and Gabby up some. Brandy was in full-blown panic mode when you said you had a boyfriend. Nice work.”

“I feel kind of bad about that but not enough to stop yet. And I Googled him,” I confessed before piling in a bite of the delicious pasta.

Ayden’s brow arched. “And?”

“He looks better than I remembered, and I think he’s working at a ski resort.”

“Would you even admit if you were looking forward to seeing him again?” Ayden asked.

It was like he could read my mind, and it was disarming to say the least. I hadn’t expected that question so I stayed focused on spinning my pasta longer than normal as I contemplated my options. I wasn’t fond of being overly girly when it came to sharing feelings. I wasn’t the greatest about opening up. And I wasn’t sure how crazy I’d sound if I said yes. But there was something etching Ayden’s voice that made me want to tell him, made me feel it was okay to tell him…like I should tell him.

I brought my gaze to his and nodded. “Yeah. I’m actually hoping I get to at least talk to him.”

“Good. Then that makes this whole thing worth it.” His voice sounded distant, and he broke his gaze away from mine.

But something was different. Something had changed.

Cindy had gotten an assortment of pastries and placed them on the conference room table. It was hard to look at her the same way now that I knew about her and Rob. I never in a million years would’ve thought she’d fall for him. He was definitely a leech. I held in a chuckle and continued fastening the boards along the far wall. The team loved my ideas, which was a relief because with so little turnaround time it would be hard to start over or make many adjustments. I glanced through the glass walls that overlooked cubicle life. I decided to keep the blinds open so that the bustle and energy of the office beyond would be felt inside the conference room during the meeting.