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Six
“Are you insane?”
Even as she asked the question, she thought to herself that while Flynn wasn’t insane, he certainly did look a little...unhinged. His gaze wouldn’t settle in one place, bouncing from her face to Gage to Reid to his lap before going around again. Maybe he’d had too much coffee.
“May is two months away,” Gage said. Sabrina was glad she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed that.
“So?”
“So, it’s not going to take two months for you to hand over our assignments.” Gage set his phone aside and sat on the edge of the chair. “We’re capable of doing what needs to be done.”
“I emailed Rose my vacation hours this morning,” Sabrina said of the HR manager. “We’re taking off starting Monday.”
“We?” Reid turned toward her. “Where are you going? And why are you at this meeting if you’re not going to be here helping us battle the powers of evil?”
“I oversee design and social media and my teams are perfectly capable of handling my being away from the office. Plus, I already told them they can reach out if there’s an emergency.”
“You said you wanted to paint,” Flynn said, his voice gruff.
“I do. I will.”
“You lectured me nonstop Friday night about taking time away and doing something other than working and now you’re promising your team you’re available for an emergency? You said you’d paint me something for the mantel.”
“You two went out on Friday? I wasn’t invited.” Reid frowned.
“Fine. I’ll ignore my phone and email, too,” she told Flynn before turning to the other two. “We ate Chinese in Flynn’s personality-free apartment—”
“Penthouse,” Flynn corrected.
“Sorry. His personality-free penthouse.” She flashed him a smile. “Where I tried to explain to him that vacation is different from retirement.”
“I still don’t understand why we weren’t invited.” Reid tipped his chin at Gage. “Where were you on Friday, Fleming?”
“My sister’s boyfriend dumped her so I was on ice cream duty. I couldn’t have showed up anyway.”
“Well, I could’ve.” Reid folded his arms over his thick chest. His dark hair was slightly wavy, his jaw angled and stubborn. His mouth was full and his eyes were piercing blue. If he wasn’t acting like a ten-year-old right now, she might admit he was stupidly attractive.
“This isn’t about you, Reid.” She sighed. “It’s about Flynn and how he’s different than he used to be. Admit it, he’s not the guy you became best friends with. If you were married to him, you’d be in counseling right now.”
“If I was married at all I’d be in counseling right now,” Reid quipped.
Gage laughed, but sobered when Sabrina communicated via a patient expression that she could use backup. Thankfully he showed up for her.
“Sabrina has a point,” Gage said. Flynn shot him a glare that plainly said he did not want to talk about it. “Hear me out. Since Veronica...uh, left...you haven’t been yourself. I understand that she and Julian simultaneously stabbed you in the back and kicked you in the balls. I’ve tried to be here for you, buddy. And your dad dying was another blow. I know you believe you don’t have to mourn him as long since you two never got along, but you do.”
“Agreed,” Reid interjected. “I hate to admit it, but Sab is right.” He winked at her to let her know he was teasing. “Since the funeral, you’ve been behaving like Emmons back from the dead. Frankly, none of us want to work with the next generation of wanker.”
“You want to try running this place?” Flynn practically yelled.
“Yes.” Reid didn’t so much as flinch. “While you, and evidently Sabrina, paint and ride horses bareback or live in a yurt or whatever she has planned for you.”
“Things to Do When You’re Twenty-Two,” Sabrina announced proudly. Every pair of eyes swiveled to her in question. “That’s what Flynn and I are doing. We’re going to live like we did in college.”
“In a cramped dorm that smells of old gym socks?” Gage asked. She ignored him.
“I’m going to help Flynn remember what life was like before we were given the keys to the city. Before there was a Veronica. Before any of us knew we’d be running the biggest consulting firm in the Pacific Northwest. Before I could afford a six-hundred-dollar pair of shoes.” Flynn’s gaze lingered on her shoes for a moment before it met her eyes. “When we used to share a car because we couldn’t be bothered to own one separately.
“Back when Bennie took my virginity and Gage was engaged.” She sent him a glance and he paled slightly at the mention. She focused on Reid. “Back when you were sleeping your way through half of campus.”
