“Of course I did.” She smiles, then takes a seat in the brown leather chair in front of my desk. “A new job is a big deal.”
I sniff the tulips in the bouquet and then place the vase on the desk next to my Mac monitor. “I didn’t really get a new job,” I explain, returning behind my desk. “I got the job handed to me.”
“Oh, please,” she fires back, crossing her legs. “I know my brother, and he wouldn’t have given you a job if you didn’t deserve it. He could have put you in the mail room.”
I laugh. “That’s true, but also highly unlikely.”
“It is.” She winks, flipping her long hair, which she’s curled today, over her shoulder. “So, no more of that talk. Give yourself the credit you deserve for getting this kick-ass office.” She studies the gray walls and the view of the Financial District behind me before looking at my face again. “All right, so fill the clueless one in here. What exactly is your position now?”
“Manager of Human Resources.”
She rolls her eyes. “What? Where’s the adventure? You know, the new job doing a new thing? This is the exact same position you had in San Diego.”
“Yes, I know, and that only happened because I told Darius he couldn’t give me a higher position. This is what I’m qualified to do, so this is what I want.” I can’t let him swoop in and rescue me, because this vicious cycle of mine needs to end. “But honestly, I’m just really thankful. With the tabloids and everything it would’ve been hard to find a job. He kinda saved the day.”
Allie nods. “Darius is good at that.”
I knew she would understand. Darius saved her from foster care. But that’s just the guy he is, always rescuing everyone, but never letting anyone get too close. “Yep, he is,” I agree, spotting a co-worker I don’t know striding by my office.
“Sadly, though,” Allie adds, snapping my attention back to her, “you gotta get used to the tabloids if you wanna hang around me and Darius. Both my brother and Micah can’t control that; the tabloids come with the package.”
“True,” I agree. “But I can be smart about it and stay away from any photographers if I can.” The last thing I want is my dirty laundry on the cover of a magazine. “God, I spent all day yesterday getting Mom to believe me that Darius and I aren’t a couple, and
seriously, the last thing I want is anyone finding out about Shawn.”
“Did your mom finally believe you?”
I shrug. “I think she just wants to believe it. You know how she is, always such a romantic.”
Allie nods. “Yeah, well, she doesn’t really know what happened with him and how much he hurt you.”
“True,” I admit.
“Speaking of tabloids, though. Have you seen this?” She reaches down into her bag, pulling out a magazine.
I lean over my desk to see the cover, and I can’t hide my shock at what I find. “When was this taken?”
“I’m guessing last night,” Allie says, “because the article says Darius and this lady were spotted at a restaurant.”
The brunette with Darius is gorgeous, and of course that makes me hate her. I know I shouldn’t be jealous, but I can’t help the way my teeth clench at the way the woman is leaning into Darius, while the side of his mouth is arched as he’s kissing her hand. A smile that I’ve only ever seen him give me. Last night he texted me telling me he had obligations and couldn’t meet up.
Was this woman his obligation?
“Listen,” says Allie, pulling my attention away from the photo I’m considering burning. “Just be careful with all this. You’ve been through so much and, well, Darius is a different guy now than when you were with him. You know, he owns…he’s into…” She frowns, shaking her head, and finally sighs. “He’s just not the same guy, okay?”
I’m trying to make sense out of her babbling. “How is he different?”
I can tell it’s something serious by the way she’s nibbling her lip. That’s what she does when she’s about to lie to me. “Sadly, I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I can’t, so just take my word for it.”
A thousand things are rushing through my mind. Really terrible things. “Is it bad?”
“No, not bad…” She inhales deeply and then sighs heavily. “Just be careful where it comes to Darius. You guys broke up for a reason. Don’t forget that reason.”
I know she’s saying this because she loves me, and she probably remembers how hurt I was when he ended things. And I’m sure she knows that I moved away because of that pain, which led to a whole world of more pain. “Well, you don’t have to worry. Nothing is going on between us.”
Allie gives me a that-is-total-bullshit look. “Taylor, I’ve known you since you were eight years old, and I know Darius, and I know you were alone yesterday and very emotional. And I also know that is a recipe for you two to fall back into each other’s arms.”
“It’s not what you think,” I admit, even if I don’t really want to. The thing is, I can’t hide anything from Allie because it would make our friendship weird. Best friends share things. Important things. Regardless if half-brothers are involved. I need to tell her something, but I also get the feeling that if I tell her we’ve been intimate, she’ll flip her lid.