Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge) (12 page)

“I woke up this morning and smelled Beth’s vanilla and honey scent,” I
replied. “I was in bed when Cassidy had her arms around me. I thought maybe it was Beth until I saw blond hairs on her arms. I really thought I was having a nightmare.”

“I can imagine.” She shuddered with a sneer. “And why are you leaving?”

“Because I got out of here”—I gestured my arms around the room—“when she wouldn’t get out like I’d told her to and was going to get Pierce. I didn’t wanna give her a chance to touch me again. And I didn’t wanna involve Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt unless Pierce couldn’t get through to her.” I emitted a long and deep breath. “Beth opened her door. Cassidy and I were by her and Pierce’s rooms. Mr. Pruitt saw us seconds later, so the thoughts going through his head weren’t pretty. And when he confronted me, I’d started getting my stuff together.”

Nancy pinched her forehead. “What about your job?”

“I am emailing Mrs. Adler and Mrs. Clark a letter of resignation before lunch.”

Nancy scowled.
“Mr. Pruitt fired you?”

“
Nancy, he was gonna fire me.”

“
That’s outrageous, Chase! How will you get by?”

“I’ve got some money. I don’t do things that are costly. I’ll survive if I don’t land another job this summer.”

“I’ll talk to him—”

I moved closer to Nancy and settled my hands on her arms. “Please don’t. I’ll feel shittier than I already do.”

“What can I do to help?”

A slight grin started on my face. No wonder Pierce loved Nancy like a grandmother. She genuinely cared about people and wanted to be a source of comfort. I should’ve insisted on living in an available room that Bri and Gavin had offered me in their house
, but I’d gotten caught up in what a great time I’d had at the Pruitts’. Plus, Mr. Pruitt and Pierce had said they wanted to stay here. I couldn’t bear the possibility that Mr. Pruitt would cut her off from his family because she wanted me to be okay and verbalized it. Nancy was a great friend, whom I had learned from that real family could be the people who entered your life and became the lifeline you never knew you needed.

“Have a cup of coffee with me before I go.”

“Beth will see sense.” The protectiveness in her tone was plain as day, and damn me, because that kind of loyalty made my chest ache. She was a loving woman, and while I didn’t know a lot about her, I got what mattered; we just clicked. She’d had a whole other life that I probably couldn’t have imagined. “And if she doesn’t, another lady will.”

I lightly prodded her arm with my elbow. “Can I take you with me, Nancy? You always make me feel great about myself.”

“Chase, hon, I am just a call away. You hear?”

***

Bethany

When no one was near my cubicle, I peeked at my phone and found two missed calls from Chase, along with one message that just appeared on my screen:

Chase:
Whenever you’re ready, let me explain. =(

The emoticon conveyed how I felt. Doing the random background checks kept me busy and I hadn’t thought about Chase for most of the day.

Me:
There’s nothing to say. You had double the fun. But count me out from now on.

There was no reply from him, which was good.

Instead of texting me like he said he would, Pierce came to check up on me in person before he went to a meeting with Uncle Anton, who hadn’t been very talkative with anyone
. When I went on my bathroom break, I hadn’t seen Chase up front. His navy blue Nissan Altima hadn’t been in the employee parking lot when Pierce parked his Mustang, and there hadn’t been many cars there. Maybe Chase wanted to finish up whatever he was about to do with Cassidy, or go to her for more.

I’d respond to Mariska and Jake’s mes
sages later on, because one of them would call me or they’d both call me. I’d have to talk Mariska into convincing Jake not to come here and approach Chase. It would draw unwanted attention.

By the time it was late into the afternoon, my stomach rumbled. I thought I could go without lunch today since I hadn’t had an appetite, but my body clearly wouldn’t be denied. I guess I had that “do not fuck with me” sign on my forehead
, because other than the morning greetings, I’d been left to own devices until Mrs. Clark came towards me.

She rested her arms on top of the thin stand that served as my barrier from other people and looked at me inscrutably
. “Cassidy is here to see you and she isn’t allowed to come in here.” She tipped her chin up towards the door. “You’ll have to go out to see her. Since you didn’t have lunch and you’ve completed most of your assignments in the system, take your time.” Briskly, she glanced at the door once more and headed toward another cubicle.

I peered at Cassidy’s tall and lithe figure through the glass window of the door as she stood by the wall directly across from the door. Waving at me in her tight white dress an
d matching white rose on the side of her hair, she really embodied the dream of many guys. She had such flawless beauty, and other than her instances of bratty behavior I’d witnessed, everything about her seemed to be what any guy would want.

I gathered my personal items into my satchel and did a quick job of cleaning my work area, and took my egg
-white wrap from the fridge and left the HR department.

“Hey,” Cassidy said. “Are you al
l right?” She examined me from head to toe with her luminous azure eyes.

I grinned at her. “How come you didn’t tell me that you were dropping by to see me?”

“After I’d had a talk with Father, I hung out with Brody a little up front and then he’d told me that he hadn’t seen you go out for lunch.”

I nodded and
we walked down the long hallway and into the break room, which some employees were leaving.

“How come Mrs. Clark wouldn’t let you come in?” I wondered
out loud.

Cassidy rolled her ey
es. “Because I used to work as an interoffice mail clerk, and I came late like six times. She told Father on me, and he terminated my employment on the spot.” She pouted.

“Hmmm. She does seem strict. But six times, Cassidy?”

She shrugged her shoulders and her cheeks turned pink. “I went a little overboard with my tardiness. But I think she ratted me out because she hasn’t liked me since I was a girl.”

“So what do you do during the day?”

“Whatever I want.” She laughed and I slightly shook my head. “About this morning,” she huffed. “I never meant to have my private life on show like that. We just got carried away and the vibe between you and Chase makes me believe that…something may have been going on with you and him too.”

I had to force myself to take a bite of my wrap. I went to the machine to get a can of juice and sat back down again.
Lifting my shoulders dismissively, I said, “We flirted with each other. Nothing close to serious. And I didn’t know about you and him.” Even though I liked Cassidy and she was my cousin, I wasn’t going to tell her what Chase and I had discussed, or how he’d affected me. A bond wasn’t established between us like it was between Pierce and I. I supposed it was because this was the first personal conversation that she and I had had.

“If I’d known about it, I would’ve stopped…hooking up with Chase. We started three months ago and we knew that that
was all it was. Other than that, we have nothing in common, and he’s a very…simple-minded person. But I don’t speak to him anymore because he’s not going to have two Pruitt girls. I am not doing anything exclusive, but  that’s just gross!”

“I don’t wanna share a guy with my cousin
either,” I agreed, and I forced myself to eat the rest of my wrap.

Her eyes sparkled and she leaned her elbows on the table. It was a move that
appeared uncharacteristic of her. “Remember that guys we danced with?” I nodded. “Well, the guy I’d been with is Evan and the guy you danced with is his friend, Andrew, and he wants to hang out with you Friday or Saturday. If you’d prefer, Evan and I can stay with you guys until you want to be alone.” She tittered.

Chase and I were suppose
d to go to the Tainted Virtue concert on Saturday. Though I should meet new guys, I needed to get Chase off of my mind. Going on a date with Andrew wouldn’t accomplish that. I didn’t even recall Andrew’s face. Andrew may not care if I was substituting him for Chase, but I did.

“It’s a date,” Cassidy said
, “and you can leave if it doesn’t go well. You’re a cute girl. You may find another guy, and you’ll be like ‘Chase who?’”

“I don’t know,” I said

“Come on. You’re datable.” Cassidy looked at some of the other employees who had come inside. “We only deserve the best, and the includes the best breed of men. No more scraps.”

Her comment didn’t
sit right with me. “Don’t you think that’s kind of a snotty way to talk about Chase?”

Had Chase decided that Cassidy was beddable and I hadn’t been?
Most likely. But I didn’t like the way she was talking about him. Someone could easily say that about me; I didn’t have much and I came from one of the poorest areas in Franklin Parks. Also, Chase was a really talented graphic designer and I was confident that he gave his heart and body when he was on the field to help his team succeed and make UM proud. I just couldn’t ignore those qualities about him.

“No, it’s not. I am just telling it like it is. I am not better than anyone, but guys like Chase aren’t on our level. Defending
him only proves why you should go out with Andrew.”

I crossed my arms. “So
, now I am on your level because I am staying at your house for the summer?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Okay,” I said. “Then what puts Chase in your scraps category?”

“He fucked us
both without our knowledge.”

***

Brianna flashed me her toothy smile as she came from behind the counter and gave me a bear hug, which I instantly reciprocated. She had her sandy brown hair in pigtails, and wore a beige shirt that was cut off at her midriff and the kind of demin skirt I’d wear, save for the rhinestones. The family crowds were enjoying their meals and conversations.

The meetings Pierce and Uncle Anton
had were going long, and Pierce had sounded upset when he’d called me. I’d told him that I’d walk home if Brianna wasn’t able to drive me to his house. I’d agreed to stay here and wait for him if no one was able to give me a ride. Chase was going to drive me because his shift ended when mine did, but I didn’t have it in me to act blasé and accept a ride from him.

Talking with Cassidy wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought it’d be
. I didn’t like talking to her about my guys. Her tone had been somewhat condescending. She and I were living two very different realities. If I made any major mistakes, my future could be bleak. It did sound a little dramatic. Pessimistic, even. However, I couldn’t do just about anything and have the family support system and resources that she had. Plus, she kept on making comments that had insinuated that Chase and I had had sex, like she and Chase had. The thought made my skin crawl. I wasn’t going to disprove her assumptions so she could make comparisons between her and me. I was being silly because I wanted my hands on Chase. Not hers or anyone else’s. And I wanted his heart too.

“You’re not suppose
d to be behind the bar.”

“Sue me!” Brianna took off her apron, and handed it to
Nico, and he placed it underneath the counter. “You act like I drink alcohol here.”

Nico
focused on me. “I’d offer you a morir soñado, but then that would mean that Bri would stay here longer.”

“Now
, don’t be a Debbie Downer cause you’re gonna be here Friday and Saturday. I’ve done many Fridays and Saturdays.”

“Easy for you to say. It’ll just be Henerito, two cooks, and I manning the place.”

“Everyone will be coming back from their vacations before you know it.” Her lips spread into a smile. “But I am still here. I’ll have a piña colada and a morir soñado for Beth.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Want anything else?”

“No thanks
.”

“A virgin pi
ña colada,” Nico emphasized to her.

“I was making sure you
remembered.”

“Yeah, okay.”
When Nico handed us our drinks, he said, “Today’s weird with Pierce and Mr. Pruitt gone most of the day and then Chase not coming into work. Brody’s all on his own today.”

“Chase didn’t come in today?” I queried.

“No, he didn’t,” Brianna replied as she looked at her smart phone and scrolled down her screen, a look of worry furrowing her eyebrows.

Nico
took her phone. “Damn, that sucks.”

“What sucks?” I
asked.

“Chase is gonna have himself a drink tonight
. Because his position is now open.”