Morgan leaned forward on the balcony and yawned. “I could just take a nap. I’m so tired.”
“I bet.”
“Work is…a mess.”
“Have you hired a new CFO?”
Being isolated meant that I didn’t know anything that was going on in the world and even less about the company.
She frowned. “We put out an offer to David Calloway this past weekend. I’m sure we’ll have to negotiate the contract, and then he’ll start next week.”
“You made the right choice. David seems like a great guy. I really liked him when I met him.”
“You’re not upset?”
“That I’m not the CFO?” I laughed and shook my head. “No. No, I’m definitely not. I was stupid to think that was what I wanted in the first place.”
“No, it wasn’t stupid. We’re Wrights. We are the company. Jensen knows that.”
I shrugged and leaned forward. Jensen, Landon, and Sutton had gotten into suits and were hanging out by the pool. Maybe they needed this visit as much as I did.
“I wasn’t ready for that job. Jensen knew that, too. I’d rather you have someone like David, who already knows his stuff, and you can train him. It’ll be easier than working with me.”
“A month in here, and you’re this sensible?” she teased. She poked me in my finally-healed ribs. “Who will you be when you come out?”
“Same me.”
“I don’t believe that for one minute.”
“Sober me,” I suggested.
“What are you going to do when you get out?”
“I don’t know. Will I still have my job?”
Morgan arched an eyebrow. “Do you still want it?”
“If I’ve learned anything from this experience so far, it’s that I didn’t appreciate a goddamn thing about my life before this. That job was a godsend, and I treated it like a joke. I felt entitled to whatever I wanted without having to work for it. That isn’t real life. But I love that company, Morgan.” I turned to face her. “Maybe as much as you do. I always have.”
“Then your job is waiting for you when you get back.”
“Thank you. I know I probably don’t deserve that, but I do appreciate it.”
We both stared down at the pool.
“You want to change? Or are you going to take that nap?” I asked.
Morgan stepped back into my villa, as if debating on what she was going to do. “Let’s join them.”
“All right. I’ll get a suit.”
“Austin?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you going to do about Julia when you get back?”
I smiled. I’d thought about that a lot. “Appreciate the fuck out of her.”
Thirty-Six
Julia
My hands were covered in paint. Drop cloth obscured the hardwood floor of my studio. Canvas took up every open space.
It was perfect. A messy perfection.
Just like me.
Something had taken over me ever since I moved in. I couldn’t stop painting, drawing, sketching. I’d even tried my hands at sculpting. Art infused my body and my mind. It made my soul sing.
It was like I’d found my muse.
My eyes moved to the only one hundred percent finished painting in the whole room. It was the naked picture of Austin I’d painted in art class this summer.
Nina had called me to come pick it up even though I wasn’t taking any more classes. She’d been impressed with my work and asked me to come back. She’d introduced me to the art community in Lubbock.
And, suddenly, I’d come alive. I had a naked muse in my studio and a group of people encouraging my art in a way I never had before. It felt right. Wright even.
The doorbell rang, and I actually didn’t jump. I’d destroyed a few good paintings that way. But art had become my therapy. With it, I was finally de-stressing, post-Dillon.
I wiped my hands off the best I could on a red towel and then gave up. I was in leggings and a tank top that used to be white before I covered it in paint. My hairdresser, Lisa, had dyed my hair into a rose-gold ombré, so it was lighter on the top before it faded out into the red I’d had for so long. I liked the new look. Not that anyone could see it in the messy bun I had on the top of my head.
I looked out the peephole and didn’t see anyone there. After deactivating the security system and unlocking the door, I pulled it open. I warily looked around before realizing there was a giant box on my doorstep.
My eyes rounded in confusion.
“What the…”
I hadn’t ordered anything.
I checked the shipping address. It was from somewhere in California. Huh.
It wasn’t heavy when I kicked it inside. I found a pair of scissors in a drawer in my coffee table and tore into the packing tape. The box was covered from top to bottom in little green Styrofoam peanuts.