He held me, full of need as the unspoken devotion of what once was so natural for us intensified. No words were exchanged because all was said in the silence.
Thank you for everything.
If this is supposed to be the end of us, then why does it feel like it’s only just the beginning?
On the following Wednesday, both Giulio and Bryce leave for a meeting together after lunch. Kayla predicts it’ll last until 4 P.M. According to her, meetings with Bryce always run over time. It doesn’t sit well with me knowing that despite their past tension, my name could be fueling spiteful words between them. I don’t want to be a cause of violence, especially not at Giulio’s empire.
I have come to love working at Notti Designs and although it’s only been a week and a half, it’s longer than I thought I would last.
Minutes before three o’clock, Bryce calls to request I meet him at The Red Tavern to hand him the Rodney Project’s design brief which is “hanging around somewhere” in his office. He mentioned that after a blow up with Giulio, he left him and the client without any interior design leads.
I heard Giulio mention his collaboration with Bryce on The Rodney Project before. Situated in Bellevue, the Project is set to be a luxurious ultramodern waterfront home. The Project isn’t set to be completed for another twelve months, but with Giulio in charge of the architecture and assisting Bryce’s interior design direction, it’s set to be one of the most anticipated houses by Notti Designs to date, but it can’t quite live up to its reputation with a lack of design plans. Neither Giulio nor the client would have been happy with the news.
So I help Bryce out, even though the bar he’s at is only a few streets away and I’m sure he would’ve found the manila folder himself with far more ease.
Marcus slides into the elevator seconds before the doors close. “Finished for the day?”
“Almost.” I smile, pressing the button for the ground level. “I need to drop off a design plan to Bryce.”
“Oh? Are you meeting him someplace?”
“Yeah, the Red Tavern. It’s just around the corner on Pike Street. Ever been?”
“Nah, can’t say I have. Giulio there too?”
“He’s in Bellevue. Apparently they had some argument and Bryce stormed off.”
“Ah, yes. Now I remember.” His lips twitch to a lopsided smirk. “Typical McCarson move. It probably had to do with Bryce ordering all the tiles before confirming any measurements or the style with the client. Or because he did it all before construction has even begun…and without signing off with Giulio. He went over budget by thousands and forged Giulio’s signature on countless contracts before this current project they’re joined in.”
My jaw drops. “Are you serious?”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Never.”
“Exactly.” Marcus winks and steps out of the elevator first. “Well, good luck with him!”
Stepping out of the rain, a warm ambiance illuminates my every step as I enter The Red Tavern. I take the first right at the first archway, scanning the wood oak floorboards and illuminated booth sections. Each has intimate soft lightning. In the distance, a band plays a rhythmic beat.
Bryce isn’t in the first section.
My heels against the monochromatic checkered tiles as I take a left. With the manila folder tucked underneath my arm, my mind wanders.
Could this be a setup?
I shake my head. No. Why would it be?
My watch flashes at me and I curse at the time. I walk further on and finally, I hear chattering. Behind an alcohol cabinet stands a middle-aged man with a buffalo plaid shirt and dark jeans.
“Ya look awfully confused,” he says with a thick Cockney accent and laughs, all the while cleaning the edge of a tumbler. “Looking ta meet someone?”
“Ah, yes, Bryce McCarson.”
“Aye. He’s right behind ya.”
He is?
I spin and to my surprise, Bryce’s eyes are pinned on me. They drop to my legs as he waves me over with a single hand. He’s sitting quietly in a closed corner nook, in the booth furthest from the entry and it makes me wonder if this is his favorite spot, away from reality.
He smiles softly as I set the folder in front of him. “Here you go. Have a good night.”
Turning on my heels, the distant chatter of diners catches my suspicion. Ever since the abduction, I’ve consumed myself sick in the conversations I hear about my tragedy. People who state their own version of the events. I’ve heard almost everything there is to hear and nothing satisfies me.
“Aye.” Bryce tugs on the left three-quarter sleeve of my white bodycon dress, halting my feet from progressing further. “Where do ya think ya going?”
I give him a wary look. “I need to pick up my kids.”
“You’re going to leave me all alone here?”
“You left Giulio.”
“And?” The hand is gone yet the grin remains, widening at my raised brow.
All I can think about is the turmoil between him and Giulio and what could have possibly occurred between the men this afternoon if Marcus’ assumption is correct.
“I thought you were working.”
“I am working, but what’s the fun in doing it all alone? Giulio most likely left minutes after me. Can’t he pick them up?”
“My custody runs midday Sunday to Thursday morning.”
“Peachy. Oh, come on, just one drink. It won’t do ya any harm. You’ve got no one waiting for you, and I’m sure those kids would love to spend some time with that father of theirs.”
For someone who doesn’t know me at all, Bryce guesses correctly.
You’ve got no one waiting for you.
I consider the invitation for a split moment, until a flash of Giulio’s face crosses my mind. I know better than to deceive him.
