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“Fine, I will start with the rest of Audrey’s list while I wait.” She sits in the corner of the office and works on the iPad and the phone. I’m trying to concentrate but keep glancing up at her—she has surprised me. I thought I knew her.
EIGHT
LUNA
Spencer is not great with people, and that was even more evident in his office today. I understand why he lost his mind and didn’t want to attend. That CFO was a right bitch. I think he just prefers to work alone, and if that’s who he works with, I don’t blame the guy.
He’s been on a call in his office since we got home. He’s speaking in what I can only assume is an Asian language. Mandarin, maybe, but he’s fluent and doesn’t miss a beat or stutter. The man is smart. He’s just socially inept, I think.
The rest of the things on my list included his dry-cleaning and making sure he eats at least one meal during the day—coffee does not count. Lunch was a no. He was too busy and ignored it. So, I order dinner for us both from my favorite vegan café. It’s getting late, and Spencer is still pacing up and down his home office, staring out into his yard while talking on his headset.
I decide while I wait for the food to call Audrey and see how she and Charlotte are doing. I thought they would have been sent home today, but she hasn’t called me to pick her up. I sort through Spencer’s emails while I wait for her to answer my call.
“Luna.” She sounds tired as hell.
“Hi. How are my two favorite ladies doing?” I ask her.
“One of us is tired. The other doesn’t know what sleep means yet,” she says, yawning. “How was work? How did the meeting go?”
“Umm.” I think about it, and I don’t want her to stress. “It was good. Your brother doesn’t like organic coffee, and he fired the CFO lady today. But he didn’t fire me, so we’re all good. I have ordered him dinner and when he is done yelling in Chinese, I will make sure he eats it.” Audrey sighs.
“He fired Lauren?” She is making sure she understands me.
“Yip,” I reply. “She was a bit of a bitch to him and moved the meeting time. I did not know that was a no-no. I do now.” My best friend shouldn’t be worried about this. She needs to rest and look after her baby girl. “You don’t need to worry, I promise. I have a handle on this.”
“No one has a handle on him.” She chuckles. “At least you survived the first day.”
“I did okay. How come you didn’t call me to fetch you?” I ask her.
“Because they won’t let me go home until tomorrow.” I can hear Charlotte fussing in the background. “Are you sure you are managing, Luna?”
“Stop worrying about me and Spencer.” I stop her right there. “You focus on yourself and that cutie. I can handle this.”
“Thank you,” Audrey says, and I know she is genuinely grateful. “He’s a lot. I know.”
“He’s weird and full of shit. But so am I.” If I wanted to, I could probably understand him better than most others would. “I don’t want you to stress. You deserve this break.” The doorbell buzzes and I look to see the delivery driver waving at the gate. “Dinner is here, I will call you tomorrow,” I say a quick goodbye and go outside to collect the food. It’s cooled down outside, at least, and the night air isn’t stifling.
Inside I unpack the food and put Spencer’s on a dinner plate. His office is quiet, and I peep around the corner. He’s sitting at the desk, typing fast. He looks up at me when I step inside.
“Food, I was told you have to eat a meal.” He shakes his head.
“My sister is full of it. I can feed myself.” I know he can.
“Yeah, but you don’t…that’s the issue.” He doesn’t argue. “I’ll just put it down. Do you need anything else?” I ask. I am more than ready to take these clothes off and sit my ass on the sofa for a while.
“I am traveling to Hong Kong tomorrow. Something came up. You’ll be alone here. Don’t burn my house down. I will be back in three days. Just move everything on my schedule around for when I return.” I’m glad he doesn’t want me to go with him. I don’t travel well.
“I can manage that,” I say. It’s easier than getting him to eat. “Do you need me to help with anything for the trip?” This is not on the list or in the instructions. Am I supposed to pack his bag? I have no clue.
“No, I am fine. You can knock off for the day. I am leaving early, so I will see you when I get home.” Spencer takes off his glasses, puts them on the desk, and looks at me a beat too long. “You surprised me today.” I surprised myself today too—I didn’t smack him upside the head or cause too much chaos. I smile and leave him. Two steps outside the office, I hear him make a gagging noise. “What the hell is this?” He yells, obviously not enjoying his dinner. “Luna, why is there bird seed in my food?” I chuckle to myself and just keep walking. He’s going vegan if he wants to or not. I won’t be dealing with meat.
* * *
It’s quiet when I get up just after seven in the morning. I don’t snooze my alarm even though I know Spencer has left. He made one hell of a noise at four this morning. I’m pretty sure it was intentional, or he has some kind of coordination issue. No one bumps into that many things.
I take my yoga mat outside into the lush courtyard and start my day the way I always do. The simple stretches and mindfulness always set me up for a good morning. Since I am alone I use the outside shower and dress in comfortable clothes.
At the kitchen counter, I eat my granola while I sort and reply to Spencer's emails. The man gets a stupid amount of stuff in his inbox. Invitations, job applications, complaints, I saw a threat in there and deleted that one.
