Page 77 of How Dare You

“She is a very good friend to you, isn’t she?” My mom laughs, some of her usual brightness returning to her tone.

“Allie is the best. I think she almost had his mind made up to do it.”

“Truly?” she asks.

“He actually quit all of Trina’s projects, right in the middle of construction, the morning after everything happened.”

“Normally, I would advise against ever burning bridges.” She references another one of her business rules. “You never know what connections you will need in the future. But in this case, I like that he did that.”

“I like it too,” I say, a revelation hitting me like a wall of bricks. “He is worth it mom. Even if I end up on jobsites in the future with him as my ex.” The words taste sour in my mouth. The idea of him as an ex is abhorrent. “It would be worth the experience of being with him.”

“Well, there you have it,” Mom says. “Now give me his last name.”

“It’s McCoy.”

“Oh, Devon McCoy, I like that,” Mom says.

“Mother!” I exclaim as we both devolve into giggles. “We aren’t even officially together yet. Calm down.”

“And he is handsome. Although he could use a haircut.”

“You already found a picture?” I haven’t even looked him up yet, but I intend to as soon as I park my car.

“McCoy Chairs? That is the stupidest name I have ever heard for a business. You will have to help him with that.”

A muffled voice talks to my mom in the background of our call. When she comes back to the phone, she says, “I should probably get back to my meeting, Sweetie. Are you okay if I go?”

“You walked out of a meeting?”

“Of course.”

And this time when we sign off our call, she doesn’t tell me to work hard. Instead, she says she’s proud and she loves me.

By the time I make it to the office, I am a solid thirty minutes late. First time for everything, I guess. When I walk in, Bea is sitting at her desk, legs crossed in her wide chair. Dandy gets up from her bed, looking like a rolling cotton ball as she comes to greet me.

“This bitch,” Bea mutters, looking up from her computer. “Oh, good! You’re here.”

“What bitch?” I ask, sitting down at a chair next to her desk and pulling Dandy into my lap.

Bea’s brows go up in a knowing gesture. “I’ve already told her once that I’m not leaving Friday West. Now she’s sending some ‘given recent developments’ bullshittery trying to make it sound like I have no other choice. Ugh,” she fakes a gag, “I’d rather never work in design again than work for her.”

“Bea, I am sorry all of this has happened and it’s affecting your career too. I hate that I haven’t been a better boss,” I say, petting Dandy through her fluffy white fur.

Bea tosses her hair over her shoulder, leaning forward. “That is the fourth time you’ve apologized to me lately, and I’m not into it. Knock it off. You are doing your damn best. We’re in this together. I’m not giving up, so you better not be either.”

“Okay, friend. No more apologizing.”

“It doesn’t suit you,” she reiterates. “Devon Blake should apologize to no one.” Bea rolls her chair back to grab a stack of papers from the counter behind her, then rolls over to pass them across the desk. “These are all leads for new projects. People who’ve found us through socials, our website, and word of mouth. We need to review and see which ones might be a good fit for us. There are fourteen of them.”

“Did they all come in before the blog?” I ask, ruefully.

“Some.” Bea leans on her desk. “Most came in while you were on your lovers’ retreat. But we’re going to move forward as if we have nothing to hide and we’ve done nothing wrong. Because we haven’t. Not everyone makes decisions on one tasteless blogger’s wrong opinion.”

Dandy sits up at attention in my lap, her little fluffy head swiveling to the office door. The bell chimes, and someone I never expected to see walk through my door comes inside. Trina’s office manager for the last fifteen years. We always had a friendly relationship when I worked there but didn’t stay in touch after I left.

Setting Dandy on the ground, I stand up to greet her. “Claudia, it’s been a while.”

She wrings her hands. “Do you have some time right now? There are some things I think you should know.”