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I couldn't be happier to sink my teeth into a project where I could let my marketing skills shine. And it was a great distraction to dealing with all my feelings about Bryce.
Weary, but so satisfied, I left the Foundation office at the end of the day. Even though I had told myself I needed some alone time, there was only one person I needed to see tonight. I took out my phone and dialled.
"Hey chickadee!" I laughed. Nia's greetings always made me laugh.
"Nia, are you free tonight? I am in need of a debrief of basically my life."
"I'll swing by after yoga tonight. Where? Bryce's condo or yours?"
"Bryce's. Let's debrief in luxury tonight. Bring your jammies!" We hung up and I had an extra pep in my step, knowing I was going to be seeing Nia.
I reflected on how important having a good girlfriend was. Sometimes you just needed someone to talk to. Someone who was going to be straight with you but who would also just give oohs and aahs to your stories. This was a pretty crazy situation I was in and one that I needed to sort out in my own head before my heart got shattered. My heart was no kintsugi project.
Kintsugi was the ancient Japanese art of repairing something broken by putting the pieces together with gold. And then standing back and admiring the new beauty of it all. No amount of figurative gold was going to make my heart look pretty again. I'd rather just not break it in the first place.
Once I was home, I had a nice hot shower and made a simple supper for myself. Just as I was getting into my pyjamas, I heard the door buzzer go. There was a part of me that wanted it to be Bryce. I shook that part off and buzzed Nia up.
As I opened the door, there she was. She was always a great guest, bringing a bottle of wine and a few snacks for the night.
“Catch me up on everything,” she said, walking into the condo without even saying hi. She knew I had a lot to unpack. "Wait, whoa. This place is gorgeous! I mean, your place is cozy and homey, but I could get used to this."
“Hi Nia, I’m fine thanks, and how are you?” I jokingly shamed her for not greeting me.
“Girl, let's just snuggle these luxurious cushions on this massive couch, and you tell me what’s been going on,” she said, leading herself into the living room. I grabbed two wine glasses and two plates and joined her on the couch.
“So, tell me, how are things going with our billionaire fiancé?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Nia, when you put it like that, it just sounds wrong,” I responded with a soft laugh.
“Well, he is, isn’t he?” she said as she poured us both a glass of wine.
“It’s been complicated. Well, now it’s complicated,” I responded.
“What’s going on?” she asked with concern.
“Well, me and him are really together now, so it’s not just an act anymore,” I responded.
“Oh, color me surprised,” said Nia sarcastically.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Reyna, it’s been clear from the beginning that the two of you are actually attracted to each other. Whenever you’re around each other, there’s this ridiculous sexual tension that can make anyone feel awkward being around you two,” she explained. I laughed at her response, but I knew it was the truth.
“We like each other, no doubt about that. The sex is great too, and… he confessed that he loves me."
"WHAT?!? That is BIG!" Nia gasped.
"Well, I had to confess it first, of course. But he’s so closed. I mean, when it comes to business, he'll definitely do business before he addresses his personal life. Maybe I would always be on the back burner.”
"Or," Nia stretched out her comment with a pause as she grabbed crackers and cheese, "or maybe he isn't used to feeling these feels? Maybe he's been too business minded in his past that he just doesn't know how to deal with all of this. And when we are unsure of things, we always fall back on what we're comfortable with. For him, that's clearly business. And come on, you started this as a business deal, so what can you expect?
I sighed.
"But he loves you, hey? You got him all love-stoned!" Nia fell over in laughter. "That's my girl."
“I don’t doubt that he loves me, but we just want different things out of life and I know that is going to be a problem later,” I added, taking a sip of my drink.
“What do you mean?” asked Nia attentively.
