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“How can we have this much work and it’s barely the first week back?” Harley groaned as she and Lily poured over their books spread out on their kitchen table.
Classes were tough to get through today, and the homework had her eyes crossing. She was still in party mode after their dinner party last night.
“Maybe it’ll get easier throughout the semester,” Lily suggested.
Harley glanced over the top of her laptop to her friend with a confused expression.
“What? It could happen,” Lily added.
“You would think that.” She grumbled and went back to her research. Lily loved school, and she loved to study. There was nothing about this intense workload that Lily didn’t enjoy.
“How are things with Isaac?” Lily pried.
Again, glancing over at her, she asked, “Why are you saying it like that?”
“Like what?”
Harley rolled her eyes and let it go. “Isaac is fine. He texted me this afternoon and wanted to get together, but I told him I had to study.” As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she had been thankful to have a legitimate excuse.
“You passed up seeing your boyfriend to study?”
“As are you,” Harley countered. “Or is Zane coming over?”
“Not tonight. He and Spencer are going to a hockey game,” Lily told her sadly.
“You’ll be fine without him for one night,” Harley informed her. Though she was slightly jealous and wishing she were at the game with them rather than here studying.
Harley stood up from the table and moved over to where they had all their takeout containers. Grabbing the kung pao chicken and chopsticks she returned to her chair.
“Oh, Mom called me today,” Lily said. “She’s going to be in town next week for work. She wanted to know if you’d like to grab dinner with us.”
“Sure. Let me know.” Harley popped a piece of food into her mouth.
“Are you seeing your family anytime soon?” Lily’s question came cautiously.
Lily knew the weird dynamic that Harley had with her parents.
“I did the family thing on Christmas. I posed for the pics and was overly thrilled with all my gift cards.” She tried not to be hurt by the fact that neither of her parents purchased her any actual gifts.
“Everything’s still the same, I guess?” Lily questioned.
Trying to ignore her pity tone, she nodded. “It’ll always be.”
Turning her attention back to the laptop, she stabbed the chopsticks into the food and did her best to pretend there was no pain from the treatment of her parents. She should be used to it. After a moment, she shook away all the emotions. She needed to focus on her work.
Diving into the words, she lost sense of time in her studies. What felt like fifteen minutes, had actually been two hours. Soon, Lily closed her laptop and gathered her books before heading up to her room.
Sitting in the kitchen alone, she picked up her phone and saw several missed texts from Isaac.
Isaac: Hope you’re having a good night.
Isaac: I received some new equipment today to build my new computer.
Isaac: Want to have dinner tomorrow? If you’re not too busy.
Seeing his messages made her think of all the females around the world who would love to have a man communicate with them the way he did with her. She was positive that Isaac was the perfect man—on paper. Any female would wish upon every star to have his attention. She knew he had all the ticks of the greatest man checklist.
Harley sighed as she tried to ignore the ones he missed for her.
Harley: Glad to hear you have a new project. Dinner sounds great.
She should have been thrilled when she hit send, but it was more of a meh feeling.
Closing her laptop and picking up all of her papers, she made her way to her bedroom. After a hot shower and packing her bag for tomorrow, she crawled under the covers and turned on the television.
Catching up on her shows, the phone began to ring. Checking the screen, she bolted up seeing the word ‘Dad’. He rarely called, so it must be important.
“Hey, Dad,” she said with a bit more excitement then needed. Racking her brain, she tried to remember the last time he had called her for no reason.
“Harley?” Confusion filled the speaker.
“Yes,” she answered. Maybe he had a bad signal. “It’s me, Dad.”
“I must have dialed you by mistake. I was trying to reach Harvey Dole.”
Falling back with slumped shoulders, tears were creeping into her eyes. A mistake. Her heart sank. “Well, I’m not Harvey Dole.”
“Sorry. I have to contact him. Talk later.”
Before she could even reply, he had already ended the call. Trying not to let it get to her, she tossed her phone to the other side of the bed and stared at the TV. As the show played on, tears escaped from her eyes. Swiping them away, she internally chastised herself for becoming emotional over a phone call. None of this should have been a surprise to her. This was how they both treated her. She was their mistake.
Ding. Ding.
She knew what the notification would be. Her father’s predictability had been embedded in her brain. Reaching for the phone she had a bank alert. He sent her a thousand dollars. As an apology, as an I love you, as he’d forgotten he had a daughter who had feelings.
Right now, she could care less about the money.
HARLEY’S TEETH CHATTERED as she rushed across the campus to the coffee house. The wind seemed to be cutting through her like icy daggers. Inside the warm building, she shook vigorously as a deep shiver ran down her back. When she reached the counter, she ordered the biggest and hottest drink possible, hoping it would help thaw her insides. As much as she didn’t want to go back into the freezing cold, the café was busy, and it seemed every table was occupied.
And then she saw him.
Spencer sat at a table, with his laptop open, and buds in his ears.
She watched him for a few seconds, admiring his athletic build, strong jaw, and beautiful face. He knew that he could have any female in a one-hundred-mile radius, and it was obvious that every girl wanted him. Then again, she had more than her fair share of stares and cat calls from passing males on a daily basis.
Strolling over to his table, she sat her coffee down and took the seat across from him without even asking. When he looked up, a sexy smirk appeared on his face and he pulled out his ear buds. He nodded in her direction.
“What do I owe the pleasure, Har?” The playful smirk was still on his lips.
“I’m using you right now,” she told him.
“Usually, it’s the other way around for me.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Giving him the once over, part of her wished that were the case. “Calm down there, tiger. It’s freezing outside and I need to warm up.”
“I can help there as well.” He winked.
Even though his shameless comment shot through her faster than the icy wind outside, she hid it by rolling her eyes. “Do you give all the girls those cheesy lines?”
“Some,” he admitted, closing his laptop. “How’s your day?” His tone went from flirty to friendly.
She shrugged. “Not bad, besides the weather. I’m so ready for Spring. You?”
“Counting the days until I don’t have to take classes anymore,” he sighed.
“You’re not a fan of college?” she asked, even though she already had the impression studying wasn’t his favorite thing.
“There are parts I like, but I’m not one to study and all that.” He nodded down to his laptop as if it would give a more clarified answer.
“It’s not all bad. It is preparing us for the future,” she told him as if he hadn’t figured it out already.
“I don’t think English Literature is going to land me a job in a Fortune 500 company,” he scoffed.
“How do you know?”
He furrowed his brow. “What?”
“How do you know you won’t go into an interview one day at an up and coming dot com, and the interviewer is wearing A Farewell to Arms quote? You could easily strike up a conversation regarding Hemingway and it could be your ‘in’.” She held back her smile, knowing she had him in a corner.
“Why would I be trying to get a job where someone wore a quote?” He turned up his nose.
“I said it’s a dot com,” she reiterated. “The majority have a lack of dress code.”
He pondered her words, but then shook his head. “Nah, I still don’t see it.”
Growing irritated she asked him, “Then why take the class?”
“There were these two hot chick–”
“Stop.” She held up her hand. “Say no more.” She had no desire to hear the details of whatever soiree he had with girl one and girl two.
Spencer laughed. A deep hardy laugh she didn’t think she’d ever heard from him before. It made him sexier.
“Nah, I’d never interview at a dot com anyway. I hope to someday run my own company, and I know I need to pay my dues first. But these classes are just so boring!”
Feeling warmer, she pulled her coat off and loosened her scarf. “I get that. My early morning class is a rough one. I think I’m going to have to make this place a regular morning stop to up my caffeine intake.”
She took a sip of the steaming coffee. It hit the spot and sent waves of warmth through her still chilled body.
“You can order online now. That’s what I do.” He pulled out his cell phone and opened the app, showing her. “Then all you have to do is walk in and grab your coffee. No waiting in line.”
“Thanks. Good to know.” How did she not know about that? Sometimes she felt like she was so busy trying to prove herself, keep her nose to the grindstone, and her eye on the future, that she missed such obvious items.
“Yeah, no problem. I know you got a lot going on, you probably just missed it.”
She nodded but took a mental note that she needed to start being a little more present in her life.
“I bet you’ll be glad once graduation gets here. I know I am looking forward to it,” he said.
“Um, yeah, I guess,” she replied.
“Careful not to get too excited,” he teased at her indecision.
“It’s just...” she wondered why she was talking to him about this, but the words just kept coming. “I have been toying with getting my MBA, which would mean two more years of school. It’s not the extra years that have me undecided. I’m fine with staying in school, and I don’t mind the classes. It’s that it doesn’t quite fit into our five-year plan.”
Spencer held up his hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. Unless of course you don’t mind me rolling my eyes as you talk about Mr. Lame and his five-year plan.”
“Roll away. But, please don’t call him that.” It was becoming habit with her friends, scoffing when she talked about Isaac. He was a good man, and she just didn’t see him as Mr. Lame like Spencer called him.
“Are you saying that ‘Isaac’ wouldn’t be okay with you staying in school to get your MBA? If that’s what you want, you should go for it,” Spencer questioned, accentuating Isaac’s name as he said it. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
“It’s not that he wouldn’t be okay with it, we’ve just... well, we haven’t discussed it. Yet.”
“And by yet, you mean you have plans on talking to him about it? Like, soon? Since graduation is coming up quick. Or are you waiting until August to tell him, by the way I’m staying in school?”
Harley huffed, and this time she was the one rolling her eyes. “I have a lot of classes and trying to reach out to prospective employers. I’ve been busy.”
Spencer nodded, unconvinced. “Right. And you do know there might just be an employer out there who wants you as is, and will pay to send you to school to get your masters?”
Harley nodded. She knew this and had a list of employers who promote that in the job description. One of those employers was her dream company. The company she’d been watching since she graduated high school. It was only second to owning her own business.
“What’s going on in that brain of yours?” Spencer pried.
“Nothing.” She shook her head.
“You know all about that benefit at some companies, don’t you? And you have one in mind. But it’s not in your five-year-plan. I’m going to assume that plan is set in stone with no wiggle room.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Harley squirmed, uncomfortable. “Can we talk about something else?” Yes, her and Isaac had plans, and yes, she should talk to him about wanting to stay in school. She had been doing so much research and there was also a possibility of her getting her degree online while working. But all of this was something she should be discussing with Isaac and not Spencer.
“Sure,” Spencer responded. “Let me grab us some refills.”
When Spencer returned with fresh coffees, they moved onto football. Spencer’s favorite team had been her arch enemy and they began to raise their voices slightly, trying to prove which had the better team. As a stalemate grew, and people were staring at them, they both calmed a bit.
Checking the time, Harley realized she needed to hustle to her next class. She quickly stood, yanking on her coat and grabbing her bag.
“Thanks for letting me crash your table, Spencer,” she said with sincerity.
“You can crash my table, or anything else, anytime, Har,” he said in his most flirtatious tone. “And, hey, I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. Use me as a sounding board anytime.”
“Again, thanks. Bye.” She ignored his flirty comment but liked the idea of using him to bounce ideas off of. Isaac was never good at that.
Maybe she’d take Spencer up on that sometime.
“And consider telling Mr. Lame your real future dream,” he added.
Harley huffed and shook her head, annoyed, but let the comment slip. “Bye, Spencer.”
“HARLEY?” ISAAC’S VOICE caught her attention, pulling her out of her daydream. “Did you hear me?”
She took a breath and looked around the restaurant. It was the same place they went to at least twice a month, if not more. She stared down at their plates. They ordered the same things every visit.
The monotony never fazed her before, so why was it suddenly bothering her now?
She was reminded of her conversation with Spencer. Looking across the table at Isaac who was still waiting for her to respond, she smiled. “Sorry, I was somewhere else. I have a lot on my mind, you know, school and all.”
“That’s what I was asking. Did you set up that interview I emailed you about?”
She searched her brain, trying to remind herself about what Isaac was asking.
“No,” she shook her head slowly. “I actually have my own list of my employers I’d like to contact.”
Isaac focused on his steak, cutting it up in tiny little pieces. Without looking up, he spoke, “Great, email it to me tomorrow morning and I’ll see if I have any contacts with any of them.”
She knew he meant well. “Isaac, I’m not looking for handouts here. I think—no, I know—that I can get an interview on my own merits.”
“I’m sure that you can,” he said matter-of-factly.
Even though he didn’t say more, she knew what he was thinking. He was mentally planning to still call those contacts he had.
“Isaac,” Harley started. “I’ve been thinking.”
She took a deep breath. Spencer was right, it was time to tell Isaac of her idea to find a top company that would help send her to school for her master’s degree. Her gut told her this was the perfect path for her. A bachelor’s degree was good, but deep down she wanted to earn a Master of Business degree. And the extra years of school did not concern her.
Looking across the table, she stared at Isaac. His dark eyes were hidden behind his glasses. His hair had not one little bit out of place. He was so good to her, and he worked so hard to give her the kind of life she wanted. She would have everything she ever dreamed of— stable life with her husband, a career, and a family.
“Harley? Did you want to talk about something?” Isaac asked curiously at her silence.
“Um,” she wanted to tell him about her new plans. Looking around, she wondered if this was the place to do it. Especially if she didn’t get a job with one of those companies. If she finished her degree on her own, she’d be using money already earmarked for their future. That was a discussion for another time, in a more private setting. “No. I forgot what it was I wanted to say.”
She chuckled nervously.
Isaac didn’t appear to even notice her misstep.
“So, how was your day?” he asked, moving on to the next topic without pause.
“Good. Classes are getting harder, but I like the challenge. But I believe it’s going to require upping my caffeine intake this semester. I ended up at the coffee house twice today.”
“The one on campus?”
“Yes. It’s convenient. And I do love a good espresso.”
“I know you do, Harley.” Isaac smiled.
The waitress brought their usual dessert. They hadn’t even ordered. When Isaac told the waitress they would have their ‘usual’ she knew all their courses. Isaac thanked the waitress and his attention was on the dessert plate.
He took a spoonful of brownie and asked, “So you and Lily went to the campus coffee house?”
“No,” she shook her head as she pushed around the vanilla ice cream on her plate. “This semester our classes are all opposite, so looks like I’ll be on my own for coffee breaks and lunch. Unless–”
Her brain wandered to Spencer.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Isaac smiled.
“You do?” Harley asked, taken aback at the idea that Isaac knew what she was thinking.
“Yes, and Harley, I don’t foresee being able to make it all the way down to campus to meet you for lunch. At least not often. You know between meetings and traffic. It just doesn’t seem feasible. Time is money.”
Harley quickly responded. “Right. I know, it’s fine.” That was not at all what she had been thinking. But her heart sank a bit at his comments that his time was too precious to meet her often. Even though she knew he didn’t mean it to be hurtful, he meant what he said—time is money—it did sting.
The rest of the evening was small talk. Isaac drove her home, kissed her on the cheek before he left, and now she was in her pajamas, lying in bed, replaying dinner in her head.
She knew why she didn’t push harder to tell Isaac her plan of working and going to school to get her master’s. Isaac didn’t like to stray from plans. He didn’t like surprises. And this could easily tack on two years to their plans. Plans he would not be happy extending for two years.
Isaac meant well, he really did. Every move he made was strategically plotted to better their future. Nothing was ever spontaneous. Knowing him, he probably researched the ideal age to have children, from the childbirth aspect and the best ages for parenting as well.
She just wasn’t sure that was what she wanted.
How Isaac handled things never bothered her before, not until Spencer pointed it out. Her parents did the same thing. They’d tell her she could do it, and they believed in her, and then they’d put in a good word with their business associates. Of course, growing up she never found out about that extra help until after the fact.
Her parents just wanted her to succeed. Isaac was no different, but he wanted them to succeed, as a couple. He wasn’t handing her money and disappearing like they did, But somehow it didn’t seem much different.
