BREANNA
The text from Connor made me livid. How dare Flynn barge into Connor’s life and make demands of him? If I understood it correctly, Flynn had arranged to meet Connor at the condo, which meant that Connor had to take time off work. On top of that, they were discussing me without me in the room. How did that make sense? What was I, chopped liver? Two men couldn’t get together and sort out my future. It was insensitive and rude.
“Bre?” Seanan chimed from across the room.
We were playing with her dolls, and she had staked out one corner of the playroom to be a doctor’s office. Seanan’s doll was at an appointment while my dolls were back home being lazy. I couldn’t remember just then exactly what the plot of the story was.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” The child stepped closer.
I put my phone away, realizing that I should have been paying attention to her and not texting with Connor. I hadn’t been the one to initiate the conversation. He’d started it by popping into my feed with an infuriating:Guess who just left my condo?
Who?I asked.
Your employer.
What???
He tracked me down and he said that he likes you. And he wants me to step aside.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I told Seanan. “Where were we?”
“Dolly is going to the doctor,” Seanan said, getting back down on her knees to continue the game.
We played for another half hour, but I was only paying partial attention. I wanted to confront Flynn over what he had done. He had no right to poke his nose into my personal affairs. When had I ever given him the notion that I wasn’t interested in him? I’d said point blank that I would fuck him. He was the one who was dragging his feet. And then he decided to try to tell Connor what he could or couldn’t do with me. Not cool.
“What do you think if we called April?” I asked my little charge.
“Okay!” Her face brightened at the mention of her best friend.
“We could go downtown and I’ll buy some donuts or something and we’ll see if April can do a playdate.” I hoped that things would go as smoothly as I predicted. It would be just my luck if April wasn’t available.
I’d met April and her mother at the park the first week I was working for the Campbell family. We had exchanged phone numbers and promised to get the girls together whenever we could. Seanan and I had been on two playdates with April and her mom. One time we went to the movies, and the other time, we’d invited Seanan’s friend over to our house.
“Hi, Bre,” April’s mom answered when I called.
“Hi.” I twisted a corner of my shirt between my thumb and forefinger, hoping that they would be available.
I needed something to get my mind off Flynn, and an outing would be perfect. Not only that, but a companion for Seanan would take the pressure off me. I could just sit there and stew in my own misery or talk to April’s mom about the latest Hollywood gossip. Either way, it would be better than being stuck alone in Flynn’s house, angry with him for intruding into my love life.
“I was wondering if you guys want to get together?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said, putting my fears to rest. “Where?”
“Your house?” I suggested. We hadn’t been to April’s house, and I figured the little girls could go play in April’s room.
“Sure, come on over,” April’s mom said.
I breathed a sigh of relief, giving Seanan the thumbs up. We got dressed and hopped in the car. Flynn’s driver took us across town to the little suburban neighborhood where April and her parents lived. We stopped along the way to pick up some treats because I didn’t want to arrive empty-handed.
April came bounding out of her house, all aglow with excitement. She gave Seanan a hug and even spared a mischievous little wave for me. I laughed. Kids were great for taking your mind off your problems. All you had to do was give them some time and attention, and they were delightful distractions most of the time.
“Hello.” April’s mom waved me inside.
I felt bad because I couldn’t remember her name. She was just in my contacts as “April’s mom.” I had passed the window of opportunity for asking a new friend their name, so I was hoping that she would let it slip in conversation and I could redeem myself that way.
“Thank you,” I said, following her into the kitchen. “You’re a lifesaver.”