Was it possible to be wrecked by someone who she’d really only spent a few real days with?
She’d asked herself that question a million times over the past months. She might have known of Blaze for years at HBAD, but she didn’t actually know him until the whole contract deal.
Those few days, ridiculous, dark, wild, unorthodox, and completely screwed up as they were, were days that she stored up in her memory, a vault of treasure that she visited often. Sometimes it only made her feel worse. Lonelier. Sometimes, the memories soothed her. She drew on them for inspiration. Often. She’d taken the lead on developing an app that helped people deal with grief and trauma. It was a heavy, painful subject, and she was honored to have her idea received with so much support from her peers.
Friday afternoons were the same pretty much anywhere. At any workplace, people kind of slacked off a little in anticipation of the coming two days of freedom. They talked about their plans for the weekend instead of about the apps they were supposed to be working on. They laughed more, planned silly little things like office potlucks to extend the lunch hour, and took longer at their breaks.
She wished she could be like that. The truth was, though, that her plans included visiting a new secondhand bookstore and café she’d discovered, having a drink, and immersing herself in someone else’s world for a little while. Not as an escape, but as a way to live beyond the very limited experience she had.
When Julie, the receptionist, popped her very vibrant redhead into Colette’s office, she blinked in surprise. She quickly saved her work and turned back to the door, where Julie was standing expectantly.
“There’s someone here who wants to see you. Is that alright? Should I send them back?”
“Uh…” Colette hesitated, searching her brain frantically for anything she’d forgotten. As far as she knew, she hadn’t stood anyone up for a meeting. Friday afternoons were too casual for anyone to book anything in. Usually. “Is it my mom?”
Julie snorted. She was twenty, with more piercings on her face than Colette could count. She was vibrant and full of energy and a great receptionist. She kept the place together, the cogs greased, and everything running smoothly. Sometimes, though, Julie made her feel old, just being Julie.
“No, it’s not your mom. No, this guy- he’s… uh- well, he wouldn’t give his name, but he said you were an old friend. Said if I told you that he’d called you Office B, whatever that means, you’d know who he was.”
Colette nearly hit the floor. She jumped out of her chair so fast that it actually rocked back and forth and swayed a couple of times before she put out her hand to keep it from crashing to the floor. Julie stared at her like she’d just beamed herself down from outer space.
“Right. Uh… yes. I’ll- uh- I’m going to take my break now. I’ll be gone for twenty if that’s alright?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Julie hesitated like she wanted to add something, but when Colette went scrambling around, looking for her purse and smoothing down imaginary wrinkles in the cotton maxi dress she had on- which couldn’t wrinkle if its life depended on it- she shrugged and disappeared.
Colette swung her tote over her shoulder and took a steadying breath.
Blaze.
God, it had only taken him eight months. Eight long months where she’d pretty much given up hope that he’d ever want to change enough to come find her. She had no idea why he was there. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Just because he was, didn’t mean anything.
By the time she made it out to their waiting area, Julie was flirting shamelessly with Blaze, who wasn’t exactly participating. He just raised a brow and offered her a half smile, clearly amused. He was no stranger to female attention, and he took it in stride.
Colette almost didn’t want to save him. The show was quite enjoyable. He was there, wearing a white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up at the elbows, and black slacks. With his hair slicked back, his gold watch at his wrist, and his immaculate black shoes, he looked every inch the professional he was.
Except, there was something different about him. She noticed it right away.
Even that half smile that he gave Julie, probably because he felt he had to, actually reached his eyes.
Colette gripped her tote so tight that the straps bit into her hand, but she forced her feet into a straight line. As soon as she walked into Blaze’s periphery, he turned his head and the smile, a real, honest smile, that he bestowed on her was like looking straight into the sun. It was so bright and dazzling that her eyes teared up.