“So-o-o,” Maddie said, dragging the word out while studying the top of the desk, “I hear Jake Karlsson is back in town.”
I leaned back in my chair, a ridiculous old leather thing that had come with the desk. “Oh? And from whom did you hear this?” The metal barrel of the fountain pen my father had gotten me for my college graduation was cool under my fingers as I rolled it back and forth over the desk. Not looking at Maddie, I placed the pen between my upper lip and nose, curling my lip and tipping my head back to get it to stay.
She tilted her head to the side and looked directly at me. “From whomst, you ask?”
“I doeth.” The pen clattered to the desk as I spoke.
“Who do you think?” she asked
“Ryan?”
“Of course.”
“Is he here?” My hands hit the desktop as I sat straight up and stared through the glass walls.
Frowning, she stirred her finger through the bowl of Hersey’s mini-chocolates on my desk, searching for the Krackle bars. “I didn’t see him or anything. I just assumed he was. He texted me the news last night.”
I relaxed back into the chair. The last thing I needed was Jake and Ryan in the same place. “As far as I know, he isn’t coming in today.”
“Is Sunday his day for swindling old ladies?” she asked.
“Why do you always say that?” Frowning, I rocked forward, busying myself straightening the few papers on my desk. “Ryan doesn’t swindle people.”
“No? Then what exactly does he do for money?” This was an old argument. She’d accused him of sponging off me for years. I couldn’t say I’d never given him money, but Ryan’s tastes ran to a much more expensive lifestyle than I could afford, and God knew I liked my little luxuries as much as the next man. He spent a lot of time finding new ways to make money.
“He works,” I said defensively. “He has investments. He manages his family’s money. He does consulting.”
She nodded sagely. “Oh, sure. That clears everything up.”
I pulled a new bag of chocolate out of the top drawer of the desk and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She ripped it open and dug through it until she had four small bars in her hand. “I don’t know why they just don’t make a bag with only these. Does anyone eat the other ones?”
“I like the Mr. Goodbars,” I said, reaching for the bag.
“You would.” She took one more Krackle bar before handing it back.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I said.
She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. “Ah, not really. Don’t tell the boss, but I spend most of my time on Facebook.”
“You’re fired.”
She scoffed. “You wish. You just don’t want to talk about Jake.”
Didn’t I? Maddie had been around for the whole episode. She was smart and I knew she had my best interests at heart. She’d gotten me through the heartbreak days when I realized Jake wasn’t ever coming back.
“What?” she asked. “You have your thinking face on.”
“Jake,” I said.
“What about him? What is he even doing here?”
“Business. At least that’s what he said.”
“You don’t believe him?”
I shrugged and spun the chair around. The sound from the rinks below drifted up into my office. “Let’s just say I don’t think it’s the only reason.” I tried to keep my expression blank.
Maddie’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed the arms of my chair to stop it from spinning. Bending down, she stared deep into my eyes as if she were trying to read my mind. “You think he’s here for you?” she asked slowly.
My cheek muscles flexed as I fought to keep the grin off my face. “I know he is. He told me.”
She stood up and rested her hands on her hips, all the better to glare at me. “And you’re happy about it. Unbelievable.”
“What’s so unbelievable about it? That he would still be into me?” Sure I wasn’t in top shape anymore and I was on the other side of thirty, but I wasn’t hideous.
“No, idiot. Anyone would want you, you’re super hot. It’s just that after all this time and after how much he hurt you, I can’t believe he still has this hold over you.”
Neither could I. If someone had asked me two days ago if I would consider getting back together with Jake, I would have laughed in their face. But it wasn’t that simple.