This rented conference room was the closest thing I had to a home. I kept re-signing the lease for this place over and over again, even as I switched apartments, and spent months away from New York. I considered the glass topped table and the big mirror on the wall to be my home base.
And Miles? Well, he was the closest thing I had to a partner and that was fucking sad as hell. "Thanks," I muttered as he handed me my coffee.
"Parker Henley called to let me know you'd be hurting this morning," Miles said, his eyes blinking owlishly at me through his wire-framed glasses.
"Well wasn't that nosy of him," I snapped irritably. I'd been snapping since I walked into this place.
"He also seemed to think you'd be in a better mood than you are right now," Miles added, his voice dripping with innuendo.
I set down my mug and glared at my hapless assistant. My foul mood demanded blood sacrifice and he was the only one within earshot. "Tell you what," I snarled. "Next time Parker Henley has the gall to mention my sex life out loud to you, you tell him the deal is off. I pull every single cent of my investment money from their holdings, you understand me?"
"Yes, sir." Miles sat up straighter and reflexively straightened the papers on the table. I sipped my coffee and stared moodily out the thirtieth story window. From this height, we had a peek of the East River that we paid dearly for the privilege of having. I liked this office for the status it conveyed on Tellar Investments, but I was getting awfully sick of it. It was probably time to find a new one again.
"So?" Miles asked brightly. "How did it go?"
I looked up from where I'd been obsessively clicking the top of my pen. "You already know the answer to that," I snapped.
My assistant leaned forward, looking for all the world like the therapist my parents sent me to after their divorce. "No I already know how the business stuff went," he clarified. "I was wondering how it went for you," he cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows significantly.
"Are you seriously asking about my sex life now too? Jesus fuck."
"No!" Miles looked scandalized at the very thought. "I'm talking about being in Reckless Falls."
"How on earth do you think it would've gone for me?" I said, far too quickly.
Miles raised his eyebrows. "I mean, being back in the place you consider the closest thing you have to your hometown..."
"Oh," I barked out loud. What the hell happened to my studied cool? This girl really had me shaken up. "It was fine," I said, "Some parts have changed, some parts are exactly the same. I didn't actually see that much of the town." I cleared my throat and veered away from the parts of the town I had seen and started to run my mouth in a stream of mindless blather where there was no connection between my thoughts and my mouth, allowing me to zone out and think about Charlie some more. She'd been so pissed about me leaving this morning, to the point where I'd actually started to feel like I was the asshole. Like I'd done something wrong by leaving like I had. But I'd never promised that what she and I had was anything different than what it was. A one-night stand. A night of play. A fun little game with no consequences for either of us. It ended the moment the sun rose and we both went on with our lives with a pleasant memory to look back on. That's what I promised, and that's what I gave her. It was over now.
So why did I still feel like there were loose ends?
Whatever had come out of my mouth while I was thinking these thoughts seemed to placate Miles who leaned back and tapped his finger on my schedule. "Well we're not quite done," he sighed heavily. "No matter how hard I've been trying to force things through."
I looked up sharply. "I thought they offered everything we asked for and then some."
"Right." Miles looked a little nauseous. "Except it seems like Parker might have over-promised."
"That does not surprise me," I noted. "Back in college, he kept claiming his girlfriend back home was a model. I mean, she was in a JC Penney catalogue or two so I guess that sort of qualifies?"
Miles rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Same thing. So we still need someone to head back up this weekend...."
I looked up sharply. "I'll go," I said, far too eagerly for my liking.
Miles's eyebrows somehow when even higher. "Are you sure? I know how much you hated going there back there in the first place. I'll go for you, sir. It's just paperwork. There's no need for you to put yourself out like this."
I took a deep breath, trying to rein in my eagerness. "No," I said calmly. "I'll go. It's better to have someone in a position of authority anyway." I shot Miles a grin and he looked suitably aggrieved. "I'm not letting you have a vacation on my dime anyway," I snapped.
He looked constipated for a second, then ran his hand through his hair. "Suit yourself, sir. It's not like I wanted to spend the weekend with the cast of Deliverance anyway."
"No it's not - " I started to say, then I caught myself before I started defending the merits of the people of Reckless Falls. "You're right," I said instead. "You owe me. I'll dock your pay accordingly."
I scraped the chair back from the table, enjoying his aggrieved muttering and walked away, imagining Charlie's shocked face when I showed up at her door.