Her jaw dropped. “Oh no! That is never good. Are you out of work?”
“No. Not yet. The boss assured us none of us were losing our jobs.”
“But you’re worried?” she asked.
“I am.”
“Saige, I don’t know shit about what you do, but I know you do it very well. You are very successful. No one is going to fire you.”
“There’s one little detail I haven’t told you.”
“What?”
“I know the new owner,” I said.
“Did you work for him before?” she asked.
“No, actually, he was a client. It was almost ten years ago. I was just starting out in the business. He was a total dick. We clashed to say the least. He is arrogant and has this air about him that grates on my nerves. On everyone’s nerves. He is seriously one of the biggest pains in the asses I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.”
She laughed. “That sounds bad.”
“It is bad. It’s very bad.”
“Do you think he’ll remember you?” she questioned.
I couldn’t imagine how he couldn’t remember me. “I’m not sure. I want to say yes, but maybe he doesn’t.”
“Did you guys part on bad terms?”
That was an understatement. “It definitely wasn’t great terms,” I said. I couldn’t tell her about my behind closed door involvement with him. I didn’t want to admit to that just yet. I had a feeling it was all going to come out soon enough. I wanted to enjoy my life the way it was just a little longer.
“Then he’ll remember you,” she said.
“Probably.”
“Do you think he’ll try and get rid of you because of your past?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I have no idea.”
“You’re worried.”
“I kind of have to be worried. I can’t afford to lose my job.”
She nodded. I could feel her shrinking me. I supposed it would be hard not to psychoanalyze people. I was always thinking about numbers and tax breaks. “Can I give you my two cents?”
“You know I welcome your two cents,” I said with a smile. “You have the best cents.”
“I think you need to have an adult conversation,” she said. “You’re a big girl and I’m assuming he’s a big boy. Flings and love affairs in your twenties aren’t exactly a rarity. Everyone does it.”
“Everyone?”
“You know what I mean. It’s common. Our twenties are an extension of our teens, with a few more legal rights. It is natural to want to explore who we are and have some fun. When you’re twenty-two, twenty-three, or whatever, you are still a kid learning to create your own boundaries. How common is it to eat dessert for breakfast or stay up really late on a work night in your early twenties? Whatever happened between you guys was all about you flexing your adulthood.”
She was right. “But I still have to see him,” I said.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, which pretty much guaranteed I would take it the wrong way. “What if he doesn’t remember you?”
I thought about it. “I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen.”
“If he remembers you, be polite. What happened is in the past. You both need to move forward.”
“I’ll try, but unless he’s changed his spots, polite is not a word I would ever associate with him. I think the most I can hope for is a mutual dislike. He’ll stay in his corner and I’ll stay in mine.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. I know you. You don’t ever stay in your corner.”
“I’ll try to be nice,” I said. “I won’t claw his eyes out. I won’t even talk to him.”
“That could be awkward.”
“I’ll avoid him as best as I can,” I said with a sigh. “And pray he doesn’t remember me.”
She put her hand on mine. “It got quiet in there,” she said, referring to the kids. “I think it’s the sugar crash. I’m going to get her home and in the bath. I’ll see you in the morning.”
After we said goodbye, I got Jace into the bath and started a load of laundry. While I was tossing grass-stained jeans into the laundry, I thought about what I was going to wear tomorrow. I needed to be in my best power suit. I was going to be facing my ex. I wanted him to see I’d made it despite what happened between us. He didn’t think much of me back then.
I was going to be calm and professional. I wasn’t going to let him see that the mere idea of working with him or for him made me uncomfortable. It made me jittery and nervous. He didn’t get the pleasure of knowing I was out of sorts.
Jace walked out of the bathroom with wet hair and his jammies on. “Dry your hair,” I told him.
He groaned and stomped back into the bathroom. “Why do I have to dry my hair?”
“Because if you go to bed with wet hair, it’s going to be ugly in the morning. Then it is going to take extra time to fix.”
I could hear him mumbling. I let him work it out for himself. Thirty minutes later, he was in bed with dry hair. I crawled into his small twin bed and pulled him close. “Your hair smells so good,” I told him.
“You say that all the time,” he said.
“Because it’s true. You are getting too big, too fast.”
“I’m supposed to,” he said as if it was obvious.
“Yes, you are.”
He didn’t kick me out of his bed, and I wasn’t going to leave willingly. I wanted to cherish these moments. In a month or three months or maybe a year, he would not let me cuddle with him. My baby was on his way to being a teenager, and from there, it was graduation and college.
Chapter 4
Nash
I stepped off the elevator and had a rush of nostalgia. It was the first tax firm I’d hired. I had just been starting out and making good money when I was told about this place. My visits as a client were not all good memories. There was a lot of drama back then. Drama I didn’t care to think about. Not all of it was drama. There had been some good times.
I doubted Saige would be working here anymore. CPAs tended to bounce around from firm to firm. She was surely long gone by now.
I stepped through the door of the tax firm I’d purchased. I was immediately greeted by a young woman sitting at a desk with a headset on. I hated those things. That was going to be a change.
“Hi, can I help you?” she asked.
She was friendly enough, but it was too fake. “I’m here to see whoever is in charge.”
She gave me a funny look. “Is there something I can help you with specifically?”
“Yes, I specifically want to speak to whoever is in charge,” I said in a harsh tone. It was the same tone I used when I was lecturing or scolding an employee.
She jumped up. “Just a second.”
I watched as she scurried away. I scanned the open space behind the reception desk. There were desks positioned around the large room with doors lining one wall. I remembered those were bathrooms and I assumed a break room. On the opposite side of the room were three more doors with windows. Those would be the offices of the managers.