Right. We were still talking about Mom’s birthday.
“We can do a buffet dinner thing,” I said.
“Do you think she would like that?”
“I don’t fucking know,” I snapped. “Send her on a cruise or something.”
Chaz raised his eyebrows. “You want to send Momawayfor her birthday so she’s not around her kids?”
I groaned. “Why don’t you decide and fill me in?”
“What’s up with you?” Chaz asked, frowning. “You’re cranky as fuck.”
Yeah, well, the woman I liked didn’t want to see me again.
Let’s not make this a one-night thing. Meet me for coffee, and we’ll discuss it. Your designs are incredible, I’d rather not hand them off.
I sent the text and waited anxiously for a reply. Chaz stared at me. I had to answer him at some point.
“I’m just having issues with the designer.”
“Natasha?”
“What? No.” Natasha was the designer who took care of the basics for the luxury apartments I owned. I had her on retainer to decorate the apartments for advertisements, so they looked inviting and classy. By the time the tenants moved in, all the furniture Natasha arranged had been removed and the walls were neutral again. “I’m decorating my own place. I’ve gone with ... someone else.”
“You’re decorating your place?” Chaz asked, sitting up. “Are you having a stroke?”
“Thanks for that,” I said and rolled my eyes. I threw the phone onto my desk when no texts came through. She was serious about not talking to me again.
Fuck.
“What brought this on?”
“All of you giving me shit about it,” I said. “I can’t just live in my own apartment in peace.”
“It’s not an apartment; it’s a cubicle,” Chaz pointed out.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Why the fuck does it matter what color my walls are?”
Chaz laughed and held his hands up in defense, palms facing me.
“Hey, I was just being truthful. Come on, man, you’re a bachelor, but even bachelors have a favorite color.”
I snorted. Chaz’s place was still exactly as Jenna had decorated it. He would keep it that way, and I didn’t blame him. But the moment I’d walked away from Brooke, I’d wanted nothing to do with anything that reminded me of her.
“The designs I got for something new are spectacular,” I said.
“Show me.”
I found them in my emails and turned my laptop to show Chaz. He whistled through his teeth as he scrolled through.
“These really are good. What problems are you having?”
I shrugged. “We just disagree over ... some things.”
“So, get someone else who can bring this to life. You paid for the mockups separately, right?”
“I didn’t, no.”