Scarlett Bound

Chapter 20

“Any word from what's his face since he canceled on you this Sunday,” Rye asks me as he walks into my office. To my relief Larry, that’s the name of my mom's book club friend's son, had to cancel on me Sunday morning. Apparently, he isn’t even in town right now. He’s been away on a business trip that has required his undivided attention. Those are his words, not mine.

“Thankfully no. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll just never contact me again. A girl can hope, right?”

“You sure can but you could also hope for him to be even dreamer than a certain someone who has recently come back into your life.” He gives me an over-exaggerated wink. Snatching up the nearest piece of paper I can find, I crumple it into a ball and throw it at him. I aimed for his face but unfortunately, it hit him in the leg. At least it made contact. That makes me feel a bit better.

Rye looks up from his tablet feigning outrage. I roll my eyes at him and finish jotting down the idea I was brainstorming for the new hairline. Growing up I had a major problem with frizzy hair. It looked like I had shoved my finger into an electrical socket. I would love to create a lightweight serum that helps moisturize and eliminate frizz.

I’ve been jotting down ingredients that helped with my hair, doing research, and I reached out to my followers to get some feedback from them. A lot of people have great things to say about coconut oils but I want an option for people like me who coconut oil doesn't work on. 

“How am I friends with someone who’s so optimistic.” I joke.

“Because you know without me that life would be sad and dull. I spice things up, boo!” He says with a snap. Chuckling, I shake my head softly and look at the comments on my post again to see what other products or ingredients people love. Aloe seems to be pretty high up on the list.

“Have you ever tried aloe in your hair?” I randomly ask him.

“That spikey green plant that people use for sunburns? No, why?” Rye walks over to my desk in order to see what piqued my interest in aloe. After reading my post and some of the comments he nods in understanding.

“I think I might try that out. It’s something I’ve never experimented with before and people have a lot of great things to say about it. That would make a good video.” A bop on the nose stops my train of thought for how I could make that a video. Eyes squinted in a glare, I spin my chair around to face Rye.

“You’re doing that thing where you only think about work and forget you have a life too.” He places his hand on his hip and looks down at me with a stern expression. I drop my pen on my desk and let out a huge sigh. Rye is absolutely right but the problem with admitting that means I have to deal with the elephant in my brain that I have been trying to ignore. Squeezing my eyes shut, I rest my head against the back of my chair. A soft hand gently wraps around mine.

I open my eyes and look down at Rye who's squatting in front of me. His manicured hand gives mine a reassuring squeeze. The tablet he’s always futzing with for work is left on the table forgotten for the moment. All of his focus is on me. 

“What’s going on sweetie?” He asks softly. The caring tone of his voice instantly brings tears to my eyes. It feels as if I have no control over my emotions lately.

“Things are better than they have been in years. I’m finally starting to separate work and my personal life. Mixed is in a steady spot and I can start to expand a little more. Everett gets to come home and visit soon. Life couldn't be better!” My voice croaks and I use my free hand to wipe away a tear that is running down my face.

“I’m sensing there’s a but coming my way.”

“But Devin,” I say simply and Rye nods in understanding. “This weekend we almost kissed. When it first happened I thought I was reading into things but the second time there was no mistaking it. I’m so lost. My heart is wanting one thing while my head is telling me another.”

Rye gives my hand one last pat before he stands. Using my desk phone he presses the number two to speed dial Susie. The phone ringing fills the quiet of my office.

“Hey, Scarlett, I almost have that quote done for you for the hairline and the foundation line. I’ll bring them over in about ten minutes.” She says getting straight to the point.

“That is truly wonderful news,” Rye says into the speakerphone. “But I’m sorry to say those are going to have to wait. Scarlett is in need of our help right now. I’m calling in an emergency friend meeting.”

“I’ll grab some glasses and head over.” She says immediately.

“I’ll have the liquor ready.” Rye hangs up and goes over to my liquor cabinet to rummage around for something good. I don’t have much but I find it’s good to have a few options for meetings that I hold in my office. Sometimes, we just need a little something to get us through the day.

A few minutes later Susie struts into my office with three glasses carefully held in her hand. She uses her foot to nudge my door closed giving us some privacy. I don’t have much planned today but it’s always better to be safe in case someone decides to drop by unexpectedly.

“What’s going on?” She asks as she sets the glasses down on my desk. Rye settles on a bottle of rum that I got as a gift from my dad a few years ago. He pours a little into each glass then hands them out to us.

“Devin trouble.” I sniff. Grabbing a tissue, I carefully dab at my eyes to no smudge my makeup. I can’t go around looking like a drowned raccoon when I own a makeup company.

“Trouble? I thought you had a great time this weekend?” Her face scrunches up in confusion.

“I did!” I shout. “That's the trouble. It’s like that summer all over again except worse because Devin is even more amazing then he was back then. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen how much he’s grown since we were last together. He’s turned into such a fantastic man. He’s just as sweet as he was back then but he’s matured. The guy I knew was a womanizer afraid of commitments and feelings but now he’s not.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? I mean the whole reason things fell apart last time was because he got scared and left. Now you don’t have to be worried about that happening again.” Rye points out.

Throwing away my snotty tissue, I take a sip of the dark amber liquid. It goes down smoothly and warms my throat as it goes down. The smokey taste reminds me of being around a campfire on a warm summer night.

“He says that but what if he’s not as ready as he thinks he is? The only way to find out is if we got back together. I can’t handle going through that again. I can’t risk it.” I mumble softly at the end.

Susie comes around my desk to get closer to me. She leans her hip against the shiny silver ledge.

“Of course you can risk it. Without risk where would you be today? Where would any of us be? The only reason we are in this gorgeous office sipping your delicious whiskey is that you risked opening Mixed. And guess what? It paid off, big time. Life is all about taking risks. Sometimes small ones that aren’t scary and other times big ones that are terrifying. If you don’t take risks then you won't get any further in life.”

“Exactly.” Rye nods his head in agreement.

“The thought of going for it with Devin makes me so nervous I feel like puking.” 

“Well, we’ll be here for you every step of the way, no matter what you decide to do, and just in case you vomit we’ll make sure to have puke bags with us,” Rye adds cheerfully.

“That’s what real friends are for.” I grin. Standing up, I lift my glass out toward both of them to initiate a toast. They follow suit. “To friends that always have your back. I’m lucky to have you guys in my life. Thanks for all the free therapy.” I laugh.

“To free therapy!” Rye repeats loudly.

“And free top-notch booze!” Susie adds. We knock our glasses together causing the liquor to slosh around in the glasses. All three of us down the remaining contents of our glasses and the only noises to fill the office for the next few minutes are wincing and cursing. It may go down smoothly but it is still strong stuff.

“That was a terrible idea.” Rye winces. His face is contorted as if he just drank a glass of lemon juice. Looking over at Susie, she nods her head adamantly in agreement while fanning her face.

“Enough about my dramatic love life. What’s going on with you guys? I feel like I haven't been updated in forever about what's going on with you both.”

“That’s because nothing is going on with the both of us, honey. Why do you think we’ve been butting into your life so much lately.”

“We’re living vicariously through you,” Susie says with a smile.

“Nothing at all? No terrible dates? Family drama? See any good movies lately?” Susie’s nose scrunches up as she thinks but then she gives a shake of her head.

“We’ve become boring in our old age,” Rye says dramatically. I roll my eyes and let out a scoff. Who knew that twenty-three was the new seventy? Rye, I guess.

I open my arms wide and gesture for them to bring it in for a group hug. Rye comes around my desk and Susie takes a few steps closer to me to wrap her arms around me. We hold onto each other tightly. Soaking in the comfort of being close to one another and knowing that no matter what we’ll always be there for each other.

“Thanks for the mini intervention.” It comes out slightly muffled from my head being up against Rye’s shoulder.

“Anytime, Scarlett, anytime,” Rye says softly and gives my back a comforting rub.