His Assistant - Alexa Land Page 0,53

assistant, and he was very business-like about my two weeks’ notice.”

“That’s a tip-off right there that he’s hiding his emotions! When is Harper Royce ever business-like?”

I thought about that and conceded, “Pretty much never.”

“Exactly. I think he really cares about you. You were worried it’d be too devastating to wait for him to end it, but who the hell says he was planning to do that? Maybe you’re his forever. Did you even stop to consider that?”

“Of course not. Guys like Harper don’t end up with guys like me.” Dallas leaned over and punched my arm, and I exclaimed, “Ow! What was that for?”

“That’s for being down on yourself all the fucking time! Harper would be lucky to end up with you. In fact, I can’t think of a more perfect person for either of you.”

“But we’re so different.”

“I know. He’s a free spirit who couldn’t act like a grown-up if his life depended on it, and that’s exactly what you need! You’ve always been so serious, Phee-Phee. So. Serious. There’s a picture in our baby album of you and me at like, two years old, sitting in our crib. Do you remember it? I’d taken off my diaper and was wearing it on my head, and you were literally sitting back with your arms crossed over your chest, frowning at me.”

I started laughing and said, “I do remember that picture, and I hope the diaper was clean.”

“It was, I asked Mom. But you get my point, right? You’ve always been this practical, rational, cautious guy, literally all your life, and the last thing you need is someone just like you. What you need is a force of nature like Harper, someone who’s messy, and fun, and who needs you as much as you need him. You know when people in relationships get all sappy and say ‘you complete me’? This is what they’re talking about!”

“Even if you’re right, Harper doesn’t do commitment. He just flits from person to person. That’s fine if everyone’s on the same page, but I wanted more from him.”

Dallas said flatly, “And instead of telling him that, you broke up with him.”

“Well, yeah. What good would it do to tell him I wanted a relationship? It’d be like standing in front of a waterfall and asking it to flow uphill instead of down.”

“I think you’re making a lot of assumptions about Harper,” he said. “He may have dated a lot of people, but maybe that was because he hadn’t found the right person until you came along. I also think you’ve always struggled with your self-esteem, and that’s why you’ve convinced yourself you’re not good enough for him. That’s what I’m hearing when you say guys like him don’t end up with guys like you. Plus, I think you have a big chip on your shoulder because you haven’t had much success in your career, and you expect other people to hold that against you because you hold it against yourself.”

I said, “You sound like a therapist.”

“Well, I’ve been in therapy for the last few months, so I guess it’s rubbed off on me.”

“How’s that going?”

“Good, I think, and it gave me the push I needed to try to reach out to you and open up about some things,” he said.

“I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I don’t always do a very good job of it, but I’m trying.” He took a drink, then said, “Anyway, back to what I was saying about you and Harper. You need to talk to him. You’ve assumed from the beginning that he sees this as just some sort of short-term fling, but instead of guessing or trying to read his mind, have a conversation with him. Ask him where he sees it going. Then keep talking, instead of assuming the worst.”

“You’re right.” I scooped up the chicken when she wandered over to me, and after a few moments, I told my brother, “I’m surprised you’re not in a relationship, because you seem to have a good handle on this stuff.”

“It’s easy to give others advice,” he said, “but I’m a disaster when it comes to my own relationships.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“In part, it’s because I’ve been so wrapped up in my career. But maybe it’s also because of the way we were brought up. I feel like an asshole for saying this because Mom and Dad sacrificed everything for us, but they expected so much from you and me. Maybe too much. We were on stage