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“You don’t date,” Peyton cuts me off. “So, scratch that from the record.”
“You know what I mean,” I groan. “I am putting my life on hold for him. He’s asking me for the entire summer to basically be at his beck and call. That’s a lot to ask of someone. You know?”
“Oh, I know,” Kali says matter of factly. “We totally get that, girlfriend. But what if… you figured out something that would benefit you both mutually?”
“It can’t be sex,” I add quickly. “That would be a double benefit for him. It’s like getting the cake and eating it too.”
“Hear me out here.” Kali sits up higher in her seat as if she’s ready to propose the best idea she has ever had. “I know you love being an assistant for him. You love your job because you have this sick obsession with keeping things organized. Which we love about you,” she adds to not hurt my feelings. “You have mentioned a couple times in the past about wanting to get into real estate yourself.”
“That will never happen. I can’t stand school or the thought of spending the money on it. That’s why I skipped college.”
“It’s not an actual school.” She shakes her head. “It’s a course you have to take. What if, in return, you ask him to send you to this real estate course. This way you get something out of it,andalso a chance to excel in your career.”
“I agree with Kali,” Peyton says. “You have the personality for being an agent. I’ve said that all along. Don’t get me wrong—you’re an incredible assistant and anyone is lucky as shit to have your psycho organizational skills on their team. But imagine your skills, paired with being an agent? You’d kill it out there.”
It’s been so long since I mentioned that to anyone. It’s not that I ever gave up on my dream of wanting to get into real estate, but like Kali said, I truly love my job. I have never been the type to set out to climb any corporate ladders and shit. I was raised to be proud of my work. Why do people have to add more titles to their name, go to more schooling, or whatever the hell people have to do to advance in life?
I’m sick of the “I find it hard to believe she’s twenty-seven years old and hasn’t advanced her career” speeches I hear so often on social networks about people who choose to do what they do. Why can’t people be happy where they are in life? I’m twenty-seven years old and have never been happier with where I am in life.
I look at my best friend for example. Peyton had a tough run when her parents died. She worked in a daycare center where she barely made ends meet. Sheloveskids though. That’s just what she wanted to do with her life in some way, shape, or form. That’s why she took on a nanny role in the city because it’s what shewantedto do.
This makes me think of my mom and how she raised me all on her own. Once my dad walked out on us, she was forced to get a job after being a stay-at-home mom for years so that she could raise me. She was lucky to be able to get a manager position at the local supermarket. It wasn’t much because we lived in a small college town in upstate Vermont. But you know what? She was happy. Which in turn, made me happy.
“I like your idea. I really do,” I say with conviction. “But… doesn’t that seem weird to ask him for something monetary in return for being his fake fiancé for the summer? This is me asking him topayfor me to take a real estate agent course. I feel like that’s a lot.”
“You don’t think that him asking you to give up your life for the summer is a lot?”
“No, you’re right.”
“I think it’s something you should consider,” Kali says.
“Those Ford brothers have all the money in the world.” Peyton laughs. “A little real estate course would be pocket change for him. I think you could totally do this.”
“What makes you so confident about that?”
“There’re no real strings attached. When the deal is done, it’s done.”
She’s got a point.
It’s definitely something I can walk away from with no problem.
About 48 hours have passed since Avery has been back to work and she’s consuming my thoughts more than she fucking should.
It really boils down to the fact that I want this deal to work out in the worst way possible. I meant it when I told her that Prestige Horizons means everything to me. I started here when I graduated college with a business degree. I immediately dove into a real estate class where I worked my way up the ladder.
I had trouble sleeping last night because I fought every urge to send her a text to see what was going through her head. Playing everything over forced thoughts of my one serious relationship into the forefront of my brain. It’s something I never wanted to think about again.
My longest, most serious, relationship lasted about six years. I truly believed I was going to marry her. IthoughtI loved her. For as long as I can remember, I’ve known I wanted a wife and a big house filled with a couple kids. Probably because I was a total mama's boy. I wanted all of it. But Becky burned me. The night of my graduation from my master’s program, I found her with someone else.
Have you ever looked back and replayed pivotal moments in your life and thought about all the things you wish you said or wish you did? That’s me whenever these thoughts creep back into my mind. I remember so vividly opening the door to her apartment and seeing her riding the dude on the couch like she was a champion rodeo rider. She was screaming his name and moaning so loudly that she hadn’t even heard me come in. My mouth hung open as I stared at the two of them. She finally met my gaze right before I stormed back out the door I came in from, slamming it behind me. She tried to run after me, but the elevator door was closing before she could catch up with her bullshit apologies.
She tried to call me for weeks afterwards, assumingly to make things work. I ignored every single phone call. The reality of it was, I know my worth and what I bring to the table. She didn’t deserve a second of my time listening to her explain how his dick ended up inside of her.
After that, I realized that I don’t even know what true love is. But I know someday, I’ll find it with a woman that I deserve and that deserves me. I’ll find someone who will break down the walls I put up, the walls that Becky caused me to put up in the first place.
When I finally forced myself out of bed around five in the morning, I decided to run on the treadmill at the gym I had built in my penthouse. I swear I’ve never run so hard in my life trying to sweat out the stress of this whole ordeal and the past creeping back into my thoughts.
This morning when Avery came into work, I decided not to push the subject. We did our normal rundown of the day before she retreated into her office to get her work done. I can tell that the wheels in her head were still spinning trying to figure out if she’s going to say yes to the deal or not. Or at least, maybe it was just me hoping she’s thinking about it.
