“You should send me a monthly bill for all the counseling you do.”
“This isn’t me counseling. This is me being a friend. We’re having a conversation. When I’m having a bad day, you talk to me.”
“Thank you.”
“So, are you going to be able to do this?”
Jace ran by screaming with Caitlyn chasing him. I smiled as I watched them play. I mulled over her question. It was the same thing I’d been thinking about since he gave his little speech in the conference room. I finally turned to look at her. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Saige, you have worked your ass off to get to where you are. You’ve sacrificed a lot to hold your position. You love your job. Are you willing to walk away and let that all go?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“If you quit, he wins.”
My lip curled. “Like hell he will.”
She grinned. “That’s my girl. Fight back. You know you are damn good at what you do. Don’t let him push you out.”
“I won’t.”
“Did you hear about Tanya?” she asked me.
“No. What happened?”
“She’s engaged,” she announced.
I whipped around to look at her. “What? How? Who?”
Joss laughed. “Exactly my reaction. She met him on one of those dating apps.”
“When? She was single at that Christmas party we went to. Wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was. They met just after New Year’s.”
“Holy shit,” I hissed under my breath. “And they’re engaged?”
“Not just engaged. They are getting married in Vegas next weekend.”
My head was spinning. “Tanya?” I said again. “She’s so… so normal. What is she thinking?”
“I guess she’s thinking she’s tired of being alone.”
“But to jump into a marriage with a man she doesn’t know, that seems like a cry for help,” I said. “You’re the shrink. Isn’t this the perfect example?”
“Maybe, but in this case, Tanya seems pretty certain of what she wants. She says she is in love. Only she knows her heart.”
“Now I really feel old,” I muttered. “We’re going to be the last two standing.”
She let out a long sigh. “I need a juice box.”
“I should have put wine in those boxes. I can’t believe she’s getting married. What app?”
“Don’t tell me you are going to go on the app?” she said with surprise.
“I’m certainly going to keep an open mind. I’ll wait and see how it goes with Tanya and her husband.”
She burst into laughter. “And then I’ll wait and see how it goes with you before I jump on the bandwagon.”
“I’m not saying I’m going to start cyber dating, but it is an option I’m keeping open. I’m not getting any younger. Jace is going to go to college one day and I’m going to be alone. I might want a man at some point.”
“Starting the search now should make sure you find someone by then,” she teased.
“I haven’t done any searching. Do you ever think we’re breaking our kids?”
“Every day.” She laughed. “Are you referring to something specific?”
“The single-mom thing. Are we ruining them by raising them alone?”
“No,” she said firmly. “We’ll probably ruin them for a host of other reasons, but not because we are single moms. We love them and take care of them. We probably feed them too much sugar and I know I say stuff in front of her I shouldn’t, but not having a man in our bed is not going to be what breaks them.”
“I can’t help but wonder if it would be different with a man in his life,” I said.
“It would be different,” she said. “Of course, it would be different, but that doesn’t mean it would be better. It’s easy to be critical of yourself, but who do you really think is the judge that matters?”
I thought about it. “Jace?”
“Exactly. He’s the judge and jury, and look at him. He’s happy and healthy and he knows his mama loves him.”
I hoped she was right. It never really bothered me before. It was just the last couple of years I began to second-guess my decision to do this all on my own.
Chapter 8
Nash
I stepped off the elevator and heard the hum of conversation. I was immediately irritated. I stepped in front of the reception desk. The young woman had her eyes glued to her screen. I couldn’t see the full screen, but I recognized the coloring of the webpage.
I cleared my throat. Her eyes popped up. “Oh, Mr. Aarons.”
I looked at the computer. “When a customer comes in, you need to greet them immediately. Make eye contact at the very least.”