You can do this, Jodi, I tell myself determinedly. You still have that sass. It will be fine.
If I tell myself that enough, surely, it will come true.
17
Brock
I rub the pain in my head away, trying to focus once more. I actually got more done when Jodi was here, which is a fucking nightmare and really pisses me off. If I could just focus on what I need to do, I could forget about her. Everyone else has moved on, and time has whizzed past quickly. I just need to forget.
Karen peeks her head around the door. “Uh, Mr. Stanton? There’s a woman here to see you . . .”
I sigh loudly and shake my head. “No, I don’t have any meetings scheduled today. I don’t want to—”
“But she’s quite insistent. She’s saying that you will want to speak to her about this.”
Karen is so organized, but she’s nowhere near firm enough with people. Because of her, I keep finding myself in situations I could do without, and it looks like this is going to be another one.
“Karen, I really don’t want to speak to anyone today. Do you think you can get rid of her?”
“Uh, yes sure. I will see what I can do. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you . . .”
She bows her head and slides out the door. I put my pen down, knowing that she won’t be able to keep whoever it is outside. They’ll be through that door in a heartbeat,
bombarding me with sales stuff.
“No fucking way you’re getting away with this any longer, Brock. I won’t have it.”
As predicted, the person bursts through the door to speak to me. However, I wasn’t expecting it to be that familiar face staring down at me as if I’m the worst person on the whole damn planet.
“Millie?” I furrow my eyebrows and glare right back. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve tried to keep out of it, Brock. Believe me, I have really tried to keep my nose out, but I can’t keep out of it any longer. I can’t. This is pathetic. You’re both adults. You need your heads banging together.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Millie? I haven’t got time to talk to you about this.”
She slides into the chair on the other side of the desk with her arms folded across her chest. “Trust me, you will want to hear what I have to say, and I’m not leaving until you listen anyway.”
“My place of business isn’t the time or place for this sort of conversation.”
“Well, there isn’t anywhere else, is there? So it’s here, and it’s now.”
I roll my eyes and snort angrily. “Fine. Whatever, Millie. Get it over and done with then.”
“Okay, let’s start with your behavior then, shall we? Because you are being pathetic.”
“Pathetic? Are you fucking kidding me?” My temper rears its ugly head again. The bottle cap has popped, and everything I’ve locked away is spilling forth. “I was wronged, and I shut it down before it could turn toxic. If that isn’t the right thing to do, then I don’t know what is. I didn’t let it turn into a load of messy rows.”
“No, you just shut Jodi down and wouldn’t let her explain. You didn’t even hear her.”
“She admitted it! There’s nothing else to say than that. She told me right out it happened.”
“What did she admit? I don’t understand that. There’s no way. If I remember rightly, it’s the kiss, right?”
“Yes, it was the kiss. She told me that she kissed Lucas. What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know what she said to you, but you misunderstood. She didn’t kiss Lucas.”
“I saw them kissing. I saw them out in that alleyway, kissing. With my own freaking eyes.”