Okay, he was getting agitated. “Just pull it up. It has to do with what I’m going to show you.”
“Why? Does it have something to do with work?”
“Sort of.”
“Someoneat work? Is someone bothering you?” he asked.
I felt my blood run cold. “No. Why? Did someone say something?”
Black eyes cut to me as he spoke slowly, feeling out the situation. “Not exactly… but if there’s something you need to talk to me about —”
“There’s not!” I cut him off. Forget the email, this was going south quick. I’d just have to show him right now. Pulling on his arm again, I continued to drag him along the street. To be honest, he looked more wary with every step. As wary as my stoic businessman of a brother could look, at least. “Have you been down here recently?”
“To shop sometimes with Clem,” he said, his face going softer as he mentioned his wife. “And most recently to visit Ceci at that wine shop.”
I nodded. Okay! I could work with this. “You know how I have that hybrid schedule? Most of my clients are right on this street.”
He hummed, his eyebrows raising just slightly as he took another look around,interested!“Where?”
Okay, I could do this.
“Well, we passed a coffee shop and bakery a little bit ago. And there’s a boutique along the way. And I also work with Paulo’s wine shop too,” I said, pointing as we went. “There’s a list in the email, Iwon’t say them all, but it’s a really good group of people and places.”
“Ah,” is all he said, obviously not completely sure how he was supposed to react to that. “Good job, Al. Do you… PA for them?”
I winced, the question sounding like an insult in my ears. A brand.
PA.Personal Assistant.
“No,” I said, my heartbeat getting faster as I got closer to telling him. This was it. “I do their marketing.”
“Marketing?” he asked, his eyebrows immediately pulling together in confusion.
I shouldn’t have blamed him for looking so surprised. I mean, I kept it a secret because I wanted to prove success before coming to him with results. Unsurprisingly, the shock on his face still stung.
“Explain—” he started, but just as he did he paused, a buzzing sound catching his attention. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly scanned the words on the screen before a cloudy look crossed over his face and he cursed under his breath. He stopped walking and pulled free of the vice grip I had on him for this very reason. “Give me a sec, Al.”
I tried to wait patiently, looking around us and tapping my foot as I did. But when I realized we were very close to the tattoo shop, possibly even right in front of it, I started to get antsy.
I’d acted out of emotion when I sent that email to Gus about not being in for the rest of the month, but truthfully as the events of my sister’s festival and the block party got closer, it was true that I needed to cut down some of my commitments at least until this rush was over.
Still, I couldn’t help but remember with a pit in my stomach the way Harper’s words and his lack of belief in me made me feel.
Raw and new to the world. Empty. Alone.
Like the only person who’d had my back for so long suddenly just didn’t.
No matter, I was watching my own back now. I was going for it. I would show my family what I could do today.Right now.
“Ox,” I said softly. “You said you had time.”
“One moment Al, please,” he said. Clipped and short. I bit my lip and swallowed my annoyance. He caught onto it and doubled a short look at me, adding, “I’m sorry, just let me finish this.”
“Fine,” I sighed. I knew he had things to do. Important things. Family business things and married person things and justallthe things. But for once I just wanted something of mine to be important too.
“A moment” was actually several moments, so I pulled out my phone to pass the time. Going over my typical checklist, I got to work. First making sure all my scheduled social posts made it out successfully, then checking my email, and lastly glancing over the most recent sales report for a particular campaign.
Between each task I found myself guiltily looking at my message screen for a certain someone’s name. I think the fact that we were so close to the shop was messing with my head. Inserting thoughts of him into my mind that wouldn’t normally be there. I was just in the middle of scolding myself for even giving him a second thought (or a one hundredth) when Ox pocketed his phone and said suddenly, “We’ll have to cut this short. I need to go.”
