That I didn't want to start anew with another boss or another man wasn't something I told her since I knew it sounded pathetic. Mark wasn't the right man for me, and being his secretary wasn't the job for me. End of story.
"So you were telling me about that staffing company guy, Mr. DeVille?" Tia said as she leaned forward to set her wine glass on the coffee table. "What did he want?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think he came over to console me in his strange way. He did tell me that my next assignment with him will come with a higher rate of pay. That was good. I just don't know if I want to stay with his company."
Tia made a face like she just sucked on a lemon. "Because the first assignment with him went so well? I think the guy is weird. I don't care what Maddie says about him."
I took a sip of wine and let it slowly run down my throat. "She only likes him because she credits him with her and Eric getting together. You don't like him because you blame him for my current misery. I'm guessing somewhere in between those two extremes is the truth about the very interesting Mr. Louis DeVille."
"I'm not disagreeing with you on that. I hate seeing you sad, Em. And yes, I think he had something to do with it. Does he do any research on the companies he sends his temps to? I mean, from what you've told me your position was a good one, except for the people you had to work with."
I'd probably made my situation with Mark sound far worse than it was because I tended to be overly romantic. That was what got me into this situation in the first place. Mark had wanted a woman to fuck, and I'd misconstrued that desire to mean he cared for me.
Now I knew better.
"Let's not talk about any of my employment or romantic woes. What about you? Have you found anything in the past month?" I asked, eager to move the attention away from my pathetic life to Tia's.
She sighed. "Well, I did get a few bites on my posts online. None of the positions are full-time, but I've made some money. Enough to tide me over for another few weeks. I just need something a bit more permanent."
"Don't give up. I have no doubt that you're going to find something. What about Cat? Have you heard anything from her?"
"I think she's doing something with driving. I still don't see that as a permanent job, but whatever. Why isn't she here today? Is she working?"
The truth about why I didn't invite Cat centered more on how gung-ho she could be and not how busy she was. I just didn't feel like hearing her claim I'd conquer this, or whatever else uplifting shit she'd say. I loved Cat, but at the moment, I needed something far less up and far more subdued, like what Tia offered.
"I didn't call her," I admitted and then quickly changed the topic. "So did you ever finish binge watching that series you were eating, drinking, and sleeping last week?"
Tia laughed at my description of what had recently been her obsession. "Believe it or not, no. It got boring in the third season, so I dropped it and started a new one. This is a series about stalkers. If you have Netflix, we can watch some of it this afternoon. There's nothing like getting drunk and watching some bingeworthy TV."
"Aren't all the shows you watch about stalkers? I swear you have a thing for them," I teased.
She began searching for the remote and mumbling something about us not having anything better to do, which I hated to admit was the truth, when I heard a knock on my door. For the second time in the same day, I wondered who could be visiting me since the only person I'd invited over was at the moment digging in my couch cushions.
Tia looked up and smiled. "Found it! And was that a knock I heard?"
I stood up and nodded. "Yeah. If it's Mr. DeVille, promise you'll be nice."
My friend pouted in response to my warning. "Why would you say it like that? I'm always nice."
As I walked toward my front door, I smiled. "Yes, but when you're feeling protective of your friends, you can get a little mean. We all love you for it, but you have a whole Mama Bear thing that comes out every so often."
She rolled her eyes and pointed the remote at my TV on the wall across the room while she mumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just care when people dick over my friends. That's all. But I wouldn't call it a Mama Bear thing. That would require you to be my kids, for God's sake."
Her comment made me laugh, and I didn't bother to look through the peephole before I opened the door. I stared out into the hallway and nearly fell to the floor when I saw it wasn't Mr. DeVille at all.
"Hi, Emma. I was hoping we could talk."
I pressed my lips together so my mouth didn't hang open, but that didn't make the shock of seeing Mark Tanchen standing at my door any less stunning. In the month he and I had known each other, he'd never come to my apartment. He'd never even asked me about where I lived.
"You're here. I'm surprised," I heard myself say as I gaped at him in amazement.
He looked as incredible as always, but something in his dark brown eyes told me he didn't feel as comfortable outside the office as he had when we talked at his place. I didn't know why being on my turf should make a difference, but it seemed to, for some reason.
"Can we talk?" he asked in a way that told me he had something important to say.
"Okay. Come in," I said as I stood back to let him into my apartment for the first time.
He walked past me and stopped dead when he saw Tia. I looked over at her and saw her eyes were as big as saucers. For a minute, I forgot they'd never met before, so I said nothing and simply stood there, still in shock that he'd bothered to come to talk to me.