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And it gets worse.
“Such as?” How much had I blabbed?
“You mostly mentioned your son and your disappointment that the real estate agent canceled your lease before you could finalize it.”
He knew I was a loser, then. I couldn’t maintain a relationship with my son. The likelihood of my screwing up and losing Scottie was high. And there was sure as fuck nothing special about me.
“I can’t work for you anymore.”
“Griff, you’re making a big mistake.”
“You don’t think this whole situation got out of hand?”
“I don’t see why it has to. We’re allowed to be friends, Griff. You think you’d be the only employee of mine who is also a friend?”
“You don’t even know me.”
“Exactly. We hardly know each other, yet you went to great lengths to talk to my daughter. A business associate wouldn’t have done that. Your action tells me everything I need to know about the kind of man you are.”
“Is this some kind of pity thing? Because I don’t need it.”
“Pity? You helped me out with my daughter. What I feel isn’t pity, Griff. It’s gratitude, and when someone’s grateful, they do nice things for others. Is that so strange?”
After spending so long locked up without a visit from anyone, I wasn’t used to forming attachments. Scottie had taken me by surprise, but it was hard not to love him. I never counted on making friends.
I let the tension ease from my shoulders. “I guess I overreacted.”
“You did, but let’s put it behind us. I am happy to help, Griff. I wasn’t born into money. People helped me along the way, so when I see someone deserving, I feel it’s my responsibility to help. If you really want to quit, I can’t stop you, but I would prefer it if you stayed.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “All right. I guess I owe you one for last night.”
“If we’re keeping scores, I think I owe you for what you did with my daughter. Please let me do one more favor for you, Griff.”
Everything inside me balked at accepting help from anyone. I wasn’t used to taking help from others. Did he really count me as a friend, or was this a disaster in the making?
“What is it?” I asked.
“I think I can sort out your apartment situation. Now before you say anything, at least hear me out.”
29
SCOTTIE
Iraised my hand to knock on the door but stopped, the weight of uncertainty anchoring my feet to the spot. My heart pounded a frantic rhythm against my ribcage, and I dropped my hand. Why was I so nervous? I’d spent so much time at this apartment with Griff it was practically a second home. Well, maybe not quite, but I’d eaten here, hung out here, and slept with Griff quite a bit here. The difference now was what waited for me on the other side of the door.
Why hadn’t Griff called me? He’d left me a message saying he was sorry and that he would bring the car back later. Jay had made an offhand comment that Griff was probably halfway across the state with my car by now, which hadn’t helped my anxiety.
Jay could be cruel when angry, and I’d had enough of his barbs all day. I’d packed a few of my things and booked a room at a cheap motel. At least it was clean, relatively quiet, and I didn’t have to listen to Jay casting doubts about Griff. His comments had worked, though, because, instead of waiting patiently for Griff to bring the car, I’d shown up at his door instead.
I took a deep breath, stilling the tremors racing through my body.
This is it. This time I would knock for real.
Oh god, I can’t. I took a step back, intending to head for the stairs, when the door opened, and out came Griff. I couldn’t tell which one of us was more surprised.
“Scottie?”
“Uh, umm, hi.” My voice came out in a squeak. Oh gosh, this is bad. Man up, Scottie. “I don’t mean to-to intrude, b-b-b-” My gaze landed on the two bags in Griff’s hands. They reminded me of earlier when I’d packed my suitcases and taken a cab to the motel.
