Dale wiped off his hands on a rag. “You get what you pay for. When will people learn?”
“Well, certainly not today,” she said, tossing her hair and rolling her eyes dramatically. “Where is Steve?”
“He’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Maybe you could call him and get him here faster,” she said curtly. “Chad is going to have the truck here in five minutes, and it will probably take three of you to unload.” She turned on her heel and left, without even saying thank you or goodbye.
Dale came over to my chair, his handsome face drawn with worry. “Lindsay, I’m so sorry. We have to take this job. Not just for the work itself, but because her clients tend to grow, and we get even more work every time we impress them.”
“Do all of your colleagues speak to you like that?” I couldn’t help asking.
He shook his head, looking instantly exhausted. “That’s Laurie. She fancies herself a trendy hipster, and she’s in the business to make connections and try to be influential.” His eyes tightened. “A couple of years ago, we dated for about a month. It did not go well. But then she ended up in my industry, and I have to deal with her drama.”
A blonde head leaned back in the door. “I called Steve, he’ll be here in three minutes, and Chad is already pulling in.” She snapped her fingers. “Let’s get going.”
“I’m so sorry, Lindsay,” Dale said, trying to smile.
I stood up, grabbing my purse. “It’s fine. We can talk another time.”
“Thanks for understanding, I’ll call you later.” He was already out the back door. I used the front door so that I could sneak out and head back to the streetcar without going by them again.
Humiliation would be a correct emotional response. Jealousy. Anger. There were likely a slew of emotions that would seem rational.
Instead, I just felt numb. And heart crushingly stupid. I felt completely abandoned, and didn’t know how to process that.
One of my biggest fears was being invisible, and the way Dale hadn’t even glanced at me while that loud woman was in the room truly bothered me. It was a tiny thing, but it felt huge.
How could I think for one moment that somebody like me would be able to hold Dale’s attention for any length of time? I didn’t know what was worse, that he cut off our date without a second thought, or that he didn’t introduce me or acknowledge me in the presence of his ex.
They were still coworkers. Maybe friends.
Maybe that’s all we were. Maybe not even that.
My head was spinning with grief and a strange buzzing heat. I was angry at myself for having hoped. For being so utterly foolish.
By the time I got home, I was actually queasy. How could I have overestimated what we were? How could I have made so many assumptions about how he felt?
I didn’t even hear my phone beep as I got ready for bed, only seeing his text as I set my alarm. “Hey, sweetie, can I call you to tuck you in?”
It took me a few minutes to figure out what I wanted to say, but was too numb to think clearly. “No. Too tired.”
Even his instant response of, “Okay, sweet dreams, gorgeous,” didn’t make me feel any better.
Sure, he was sweet with me when it was convenient. If I stayed with him, would he always push me aside the second something else came up?
CHAPTER TEN
* Dale *
Thursday night I ended up getting two hours of sleep on the couch in the office area of our warehouse. Friday afternoon I managed to take another hour-long nap, and finally felt like I was getting a handle on how much work this last-minute job involved.
We ended up calling in one of our part-time painters, who was excited for the extra ten hours of work.
Normally I loved being this busy, but it felt like a black cloud was hanging over everything. I knew that Lindsay was upset, and knowing that I was the one who caused her distress made me feel sick.
Friday evening I sent her a text that read, “Hey, sweetie. How was your day at work?”
An hour later, her response was, “Fine.”