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Sloane -
He was honored she thought to pass on his credentials, given that they hadn’t spoken in so long. Since receiving the information, he had yet to give a response. He didn’t know how to feel about it. Sloane had tried convincing him to move to England, but he was comfortable where he was.
First instinct was to decline, but recent events had him rethinking. With the cancellation of the upcoming trip to India, he was short on salary with nothing else lined up. His photos offered him a steady income, yet the meeting with Charlie’s mother left him feeling inadequate.
Rick had never questioned his worth, knowing his life story was as meaningful as an astronaut or a Nobel prize winner. But the sharp points of Charlie’s mother’s snarky remarks somehow made it past the skin, and he felt the sting.
He never chased after money and accepted that he’d never be on Charlie’s level. The differenceshouldn’tmatter, but it was a landmine, hazardous and stealthy, and he didn’t know which direction it was going to blow.
She valued her relationship with her family. She wanted to put up a brave and independent front, but Rick could tell Charlie wanted to please her mother.
With a loss of one job, and an offer of another, Rick held a balance scale where the heavier side was an unknown. If he took the job in England, it meant starting over. He and Charlie would need to have a serious talk if he was leaning in that direction. If hedidn’t take it, he had nothing else lined up, and would have to actively seek new projects as usual.
He had time to decide, but it sounded like he should talk to Charlie first.
“Hey, dude. You good for the day, or do you want to go for another rep?” Nick asked as he approached, sweat drenching his face and neck. Tugging the boxing gloves off, he dumped them on the ground before swiping his hairline with a towel.
Rick grunted, “I’m done.” Not just with exercising. His mind was too occupied to fully focus on working out, and when his mind wasn’t on it, injuries were a guarantee.
“Okay. I’ll pack up.”
Fifteen minutes later, the friends were out the door and heading towards Rick’s car. Nick took a long gulp of his water bottle while Rick walked on autopilot.
“Don’t stress it too much. Her mom will come around,” Nick said. After hearing the story of the uncomfortable night, Nick suggested Rick put his concentration somewhere else. Exercising had never failed to help Rick release tension, but the weight lingered more so lately.
Once in the parking lot, Rick felt a vibration in his pocket that signaled an incoming text. Inside his car, he saw his brother’s name on the screen.
And he was asking about the sighting of theirmother.
Scratch that. Helen Nam.
Alex must have gotten the news from Charlie. Feeling the tension rise again, Rick set his phone on the console and rested his head back on his headrest.
“Something wrong?” Nick asked in the next seat.
Rick did a great job of wiping the incident from his mind. The shock that impaled his gut when he saw the woman whoguttedtheir entire family was intense. He’d needed a moment to recover that even Charlie knew to give him space.
The memories flooded back to the dark times. Flashesof when Rick sat by the door waiting for her to come home, only to be disappointed every time he woke up morning after morning of her abandonment.
He didn’t wonder why she was there at the pretentious country club Charlie and her peers frequented. Helen chose money over her family, so of course she would be there, but the chances of him seeing her should have been close to none. Rick knew she still visited California. Her subsequent marriage to a wealthy business executive occasionally required her to make superficial appearances.
Noticing Nick’s curious eyes still on him, Rick admitted to his friend the full story, having first omitted that part out of spite.
Nick whistled, shook his head, and faced the window. “Wow. That must have been quite a night for you. What was she doing there?”
“Rich people shit, probably.”
“Are you going to do anything about it?”
Rick glared at him, his reaction as though Nick had asked him to jump off a plane without a parachute. “Hell no.”
“Fair enough.” His friend looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re not curious at all?”
“No. I don’t care.”
Nick was too smart to buy it, but was also smart enough not to push. Rick didn’t wait another second before turning on the engine and speeding out of the lot, and the drive back in silence was more aggravating than he wanted. Ignoring the topic hadn’t helped, it only stalled until he finally dropped Nick off.
A long shower and beer should help, and maybe he could take his camera out for a stroll on the trail near his neighborhood. Anything that would get his mind off the nagging thoughts.
