“Can I see you tomorrow?”
“You’re supposed to stay away from me. Nick’s orders,” she reminded me.
“Right, Nick’s orders. See I’ve been thinking about all this. And…and…” For some reason I couldn’t finish the sentence, as if the words got stuck in my throat.
I could feel her frustration building. “Hmm…and, and what, Fin?”
“And what if you moved in with me?”
“What?”
“You know, you …me…cooking, laundry.” I tried to be cute and lighten the mood.
“Are you fucking crazy? That would only make things worse.”
“Look, you have a lot more issues now. Hell, even working out needs to be planned out for you now, and I feel bad that it’s because of me. Listen, I have my own private gym. You don’t have to leave the building. My meals are all cooked and ready to go every week, which means so are yours.”
“As tempting as your offer is, I’d like to remindyou of two things, Griffin. One, I have a life. Two, we are just friends and just barely that. Now, have a good night.”
I tried again the next morning, feeling unusually anxious. She cut me off quickly and wouldn’t even let me continue my sentences. She kept walking and ignoring me like I was some sleazy salesman trying to sell her life insurance. She declined again and told me to stop bothering her.
She was cold sometimes, really fucking cold. I tried calling her again that night, but it went right to voicemail, then I tried again Tuesday.
*Ring*
*Ring*
Your call has been forwarded.
Thursday.
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ring*
Your call has been forwarded.
Friday.
*Ring*
Your call has been…
Again, she declined. What did I possibly do so wrong to deserve this from her? The girl I grew up with, the girl I fell for more and more each day…was I nothing to her?
A week later, after numerous calls that she wasn’t answering, we were meeting at a secret spot for the jewelry photo shoot. Nick wasn’t going to allow any more close calls, and I was on board with that. Thankfully it was indoors, and we were told to enter from two different entrances from two different cars. All kinds of procedures were now put into place for security reasons.
The owners of Devereaux & Co. were salivating at how much extra attention Tate and I were attracting, but the dollar value ofthe jewelry being showcased in the shoot was Nick’s main concern. As outlined in the liability agreement, if you break it, you buy it. Between the value of the jewelry and our current status in the news, the owners of Devereaux & Co. were overly excited to exploit the situation. They had us wearing wedding bands and Rolex watches, along with a hundred other pieces from their new signature collection coming out. Tate looked absolutely stunning in the white dress they had picked for her. So utterly perfect that I wondered what it would be like if this was real, not just a stupid campaign.
By the end of the day, I never wanted to put another piece of fucking jewelry on, and Tatum appeared to be just as agitated, if not more.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I said when I finally got a moment alone with her.
“You can’t keep asking me to move in. It’s crazy.”
“I just want you to be safe.”
