I had no idea what Bret was thinking. He had stayed quiet while we toured around the room at looked at the various things to bid on. Cruises, balloon rides, there was even a brand new car up for bid.
If I hadn’t known where the money was actually going I would’ve put my name down for a few of the smaller items. There were even some robotic cat toys that were normally pretty pricey, the page underneath them were blank. It wouldn’t be right though, lining the pockets of a corrupt man.
A shoulder collided into mine, hastily I turned around to say something when my face met Mary Valen’s. She’d cleaned up, had on a nice dress, clean face and clear eyed she was glaring at me.
“I talked to Scott earlier. I’ve convinced him that you wouldn’t be a good fit for the team. He says that you can collect your things in the morning.”
She would always be a nasty piece of work. “I’ll believe it when I hear it from him. Also, I don’t have anything at the office. I never had my own space.”
“That’s fine. Just letting you know ahead of time that you’re out of a job.” She flipped her hand towards Bret, shoving her business card into one of his empty hands, “I’m sorry for the confusion today, but we just didn’t want an unseasoned agent dealing with your account Mr. Harlow. It was my mistake to allow her the chance. I’ll be happy to come by tomorrow with a few offers I’ve gathered.”
Bret merely nodded at the woman. She took this as an agreement and stamped away. So now, I’d lost my job. One I had planned to quit anyway, but still my hopefulness from earlier pained me as it slipped away.
“She’s an odd woman,” Bret finally commented.
I laughed to myself, a snarky angry sound. “That’s an understatement. She’s definitely something else and honestly I’m glad I won’t have to see her anymore.”
“What are you going to do now?”
It was an innocent question, but one I didn’t have an answer for. Even when I intended on handing in my notice, I didn’t have a plan for another job. I had a month’s worth of savings at that really was it. I always landed on my feet though.
“I don’t know. What do you care anyway? You’ll be gone soon enough. If she’s gotten some new assistant she’ll be drawing up contracts for the new owner of your home within the week.”
I didn’t mean for it to come out so angry, but the bitterness was evident in my voice.
“Hey, hey. I never said that I didn’t care. I do. I told you before Bri that I like you. What’s with all the hostility?”
I scowled at him and crossed my arms, not something I normally did but the dress that I was slinking around in just didn’t feel right anymore. I felt like an exposed joke.
“You never answered me. Where do we go from here? It’s ok to just say it. That we don’t instead of just ignoring it all together.”
He began to laugh. Not a chuckle, or a giggle, but an all-out laugh with his head thrown back. Again my feelings were hurt and I wanted to just walk away from him.
“Bri. No, I just didn’t have an answer really. I thought you were asking and not expecting an answer. I’m sorry you got all worked up. And I’m sorry I just laughed at you but you’ve been bustling around for the last half hour and I couldn’t figure out why. I kept trying to figure out what was wrong.”
It did seem sort of funny. Him having no clue why I was mad and walking around like it was all-ok.
“Look, I’m terrible with women most of the time. So give me a chance to redeem myself. I don’t know where this is headed but I’d be happy to try things out. And hey, if you’ve got time, why not fly out with me this weekend to Cali? I’ll be there for a few days and we can get to know one another a little more.”
Bret had come closer, wrapping his arms around me and pressing his forehead to mine. His gaze meeting mine. “Come with me?”
The playfulness on his face had gotten me again, as if there was some secret that I didn’t know and he’d only tell me if I said yes. Instead of saying anything, I leaned in close, eyes closed, and kissed him, just as he’d done to me.
It was enough, he responded quickly, mouth meeting mine, and tongues colliding softly. I no longer felt exposed, or too revealing in the dress I wore because the warmth of his body washed over me as he pulled me close.
The noise and clatter of the people around us didn’t matter. Collins barking into the microphone announcing that it was time to be seated didn’t matter either. I knew we wouldn’t stay. If anything I still wasn’t certain why we had come in the first place other than for Bret to basically tell the old guy off.