Lay Lower.
Laylower? I have no clue what the fuck that means, so I open the email.
Just a reminder that Troy told you to lay low somewhere while you’re on suspension. It’s not a great look to be photographed wining and dining with your brother and whoever your date is.
It’s not a great look? Ask me if I fucking care.
I was unfairly suspended, and I’m just living my life. Whatever it looks like is of exactly zero importance to me.
And while we’re on the subject of my brother…
I take the moment to give him a call. It’s probably on the shocking side that I’m choosing to reach out to him when I’m notorious for shutting everyone in my family out, but he's leaving soon.
Maybe a part of me wants to show both of them that I'm okay and I've moved on despite the shitty way they chose to handle things. Or maybe I just need to see one last time for myself that the two of them are a better fit than Tatum and I ever were.
I really think that might be true, given how easy things feel with Millie. And there was a time when things felt easy with Tatum too, but we were younger then, maybe not so set in our ways and maybe unsure of what we really wanted out of life.
I’m still unsure of it, to be perfectly honest. In fact, maybe I’m more unsure now than ever.
The Archer of a month or two ago never would have imagined I'd find myself in this place. As I easily move on with someone else, I guess I feel this sense of wanting toput the past behind me. I want Ford and Tatum to be able to move into whatever future comes next for them, just like I want to be able to move on to whatever future comes next for me. Whether that's with Millie or somebody else.
“Archer?” Ford answers.
“Hey,” I say.
An awkward moment of silence spans between us, and then I finally say, “Can we meet for lunch or dinner before you two head out?”
“Yeah, sure. I think we'd both like that. Will Millie be joining us?”
“Of course.”
“Okay then. I’ll make a reservation for four at the steakhouse in the main tower. Does that work for you?” he asks.
“As long as it’s private, it works.” While I was pretty much left alone all day yesterday, I can’t help but think it was because it was just Millie and me. If I eat an entire meal publicly with my brother again, more pictures might show up online when I’m supposed to be laying low. So, to appease my agent, I guess I’ll work on layinglower.
“Great. Let’s plan on seven,” he says.
I haven’t heard from Millie in a couple hours, and surely her meeting must be over by now. We still haven’t exchanged phone numbers. I suppose I could plug my hotel phone back in, but I decide to head down to her room to surprise her instead.
I knock on the door, and when she throws it open, her eyes are rimmed in red, and she looks anxious.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately, walking in and pulling her into my arms.
“Nothing. I’m fine,” she says.
“You know I don’t believe that for one second.”
“It’s fine. The resort manager isn’t happy with the content I’ve been posting and made that all too clear inour meeting.” She swipes at an errant tear tracking down her cheek.
“What did he say?” I ask.
“He was very clear that I need to…nothing,” she says. “Don’t worry about it.”
“But you look so upset. Of course I’m going to worry about it.”
I’m not sure where these strong feelings are coming from. If she’s just a fling, I shouldn’t really care about the fact that she’s in her room crying over something someone else said to her.
I think it might be time to admit that at this point, it’s more than just a fling. But if it is, that’s going to make it that much harder when we have to say goodbye in the end.
