it out. What are you not telling me?”
I shouldn’t have agreed to meet her.
We’ve been going back and forth. Blaire is convinced I’m hiding something from her while I keep insisting it’s nothing. I have nothing to hide, I’ve said.
The reality is that she has put me under the spotlight and I’m beginning to feel self-conscious.
I’m worried that she’ll be able to see right through me and figure out what I really think of Kim.
“Okay, so I’m pretty sure that you actually like having her around,” she finally declares. I meet her eyes and hold her gaze; just to prove that I won’t shy away.
“And I know she fits in well at this job and within this organization. So if that is not the problem, is it that you maybe like her too much?” Blaire continues.
My eyes narrow. I clench my jaw. I can feel all the muscles stiffen in my body too. I’m pretty sure she can detect all the physical changes in me. Blaire is going to figure it all out.
“So that is what it is! You have the hots for Kim!” she claps her hands as she exclaims.
I’m expecting her to jump up and shout. Threaten. Scream. Run.
But Blaire surprisingly doesn’t do any of those things. Instead, she continues sitting in the chair and searching my eyes for more clues.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, but it comes out more as a mumble.
“You like her, don’t you?” she continues, and a smile is spreading on her face. I’m searching for the catch. I’m still expecting her to burst out in a ball of fury, but she doesn’t. She just leans over the table to look at me more closely.
“You can tell me the truth, Kirk. I’m not going to hold it against you. She’s my best friend. I know exactly how endearing she is and how beautiful. I won’t blame you for falling for her.”
A moment of silence passes between us while we stare at each other. I don’t know what to say, how to respond to this. My instinct is to deny all of it and just push her out of my office.
“For me to get into any kind of relationship with my admin assistant would be highly unprofessional, and you know I have a clean track record as far as that is concerned.”
Blaire sits back in her chair like she is satisfied with my answer. I know I’ve played it well. I haven’t agreed to or denied anything.
Blaire nods lightly.
“Okay, Kirk, I hear you. There is only one thing I’m going to say on this matter and then I’m going to leave. If you’re going to go after her, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Kim deserves a man who is willing to give her the world. She deserves to be treated right.”
I am glad to hear Blaire speak without contempt or anger. The fact that we used to once be together is history. It looks like she wants me to be happy and wants the same for her friend too.
As I’m leaving the office, I get a text from my brother, Reed. He tells me he wants to meet up for a drink and I drive over to the bar.
We don’t hang out alone as much as we probably would have if we had known each other our whole lives. I guess we are still strangers to each other. The truth is that I like having him around. I like the idea of having a brother, even though I will never admit it to him in person.
Reed is waiting for me at the bar, and I join him there.
“I just thought we should hang out, just by ourselves without the others,” he says after I’ve ordered a beer.
“You mean without Mom?” I say with a smirk, and he smirks too.
“Yeah, Mom is a bit of a controversial topic. It’s probably for the best if we don’t discuss her.”
“Look, Reed, I don’t want you to think I don’t care about her. She’s my mother. Our mother. She raised me, and you’ve forgiven her for all her mistakes. I get that.”
“Then what is it?” he asks, bringing his bottle to his mouth. I draw in a deep breath.
“I don’t know,” I finally say and throw my arms out. “I honestly don’t know. I have always been mad at her. I have been mad at everybody. I don’t know what to tell you. I’m an angry guy, I guess.”
My beer arrives,