Chapter 19
“Almond milk or oat milk?”
“Regular milk, love.” Iris plucks the two cartons from Beth’s hands and returns them to the shelf.
Beth gives her a questioning look. “I thought we agreed to go dairy free?”
“Well, that was the plan. But plans change, don’t they?” Iris says with a sly smile.
Beth chuckles as they abandon their quest for the best milk alternative and walk slowly to the dairy section.
Iris walks ahead of her, picking and dropping yoghurt options. “I’m so glad it’s the weekend.”
“You’re glad your weekend getaway with Connor is finally here.”
Iris sighs dreamily. “You’re right.” She turns to Beth. “What are your weekend plans?
“Nothing, I guess.”
“Why not?”
Beth shrugs.
“Does this have anything to do with that dickhead boss of yours?”
Days have passed since Beth told Iris about her conversation with Adrian on professional boundaries but Iris still hadn’t let go of her anger. She’d been less than pleased after she’d heard Beth’s rendition and she always found a way to raise the topic and use the opportunity to further express her disgust.
“No, it has nothing to do with him. But maybe you should cut him some slack. I mean, he kind of has a point. I mean, we work together. And we know all too well that sleeping with your boss or having any relationship outside a professional one would be a bad idea.”
Iris rolls her eyes. “Do you really believe he said all that crap because he ‘doesn’t want to put you in a messy situation’? I mean, it sounds to me like he’s just trying to hide from feeling human emotions. What an asshole.”
The thought had crossed her mind several times. Maybe he just can’t handle a relationship right now and, like most men, he hides his emotions beneath carefully crafted excuses instead of just saying what he truly feels. But at the same time it all seems so far fetched anyway. The idea that someone like him could want to be in a relationship with someone like her is…. absurd to say the least. She doesn’t belong anywhere in his circle. He is, after all, a billionaire and she… well, she buys knick knacks from thrift stores.
But she won’t deny that it had hurt to hear him say those things. She’d foolishly convinced herself to believe that he was actually interested in her. So sitting across from him and listening to him list all the reasons he couldn’t be involved with her was like a slap in the face.
At first, she’d been pissed. She’d been extremely and thoroughly upset about what he’d dropped on her. But her strong emotions had simmered and left her with a sour feeling.
“I don’t know, but I really don’t want to get into it right now,” she says, keeping her voice casual to disguise how much her heart is twisting under her chest.
She has tried several times to talk herself out of it but her rehearsed speech which has never failed to pull her out of an emotional turmoil is failing her now. This time just isn’t like the others. She wants him so bad she can’t get herself to stop thinking about them.
“I’m so sorry, Beth. I feel like it’s my fault.” Iris sighs as she places a box of macaroni in the cart. “I encouraged you to accept the job and to take a chance on him.”
“No. Don’t say that. At the end of the day, I chose to take the job offer. And then chose to kiss him.”
After all her efforts to ensure that he wasn’t seen as a charity case, he’d still made it clear that was all he saw her as.
Beth studies the shopping list. “You noted that you want to get batteries.”
“Oh, I completely forgot. I also need to go down to the cosmetic aisle to grab a few things I’ll need this weekend. Can you get the rest of the items?” Iris hands Beth the baskets she’s carrying. “I’ll meet up with you.”
“Alright.” Beth balances the baskets in her hands and wanders to the home goods section, manoeuvring a massive package of paper towels into the cart, followed by a bottle of her favourite apple-scented all-purpose cleaner.
Lastly, she ambles through the book section. She mostly reads eBooks, but for the occasional bubble bath, she prefers an actual paperback to avoid any technology mishaps and electronics in the tub. She picks up three books—one about a billionaire’s fake marriage, another about a hot mayor who hooks up with a female firefighter, and the last about a Nashville singer who retreats to Nowhere, Louisiana, to have sexy times with a bad boy.
She finishes the rest of her shopping by grabbing the rest of the grocery items on her list. The checkout line is crazy-long, but the cashier seems to be moving fast so Beth picks up one of the books in her cart and starts flipping through it. A few minutes later, Iris joins her on the line with a basket filled with make-up products and a dozen shades of nail polish. They pay for their purchase and leave the store.
In the car, Iris turns to Beth with a solemn look. “Don’t spend this weekend without me mopping around and thinking about that asshole,” Iris says, wagging a finger in Beth’s face. “No. I want you to have the time of your life watching all those sappy romance movies you love and drinking red wine to your heart’s content. Do you hear me?”
Beth can’t help smiling. Gosh, she loves this woman. “Yes ma’am. Now, shush. I need to get you to your man-in-waiting.”
Iris’s eyes immediately brightened up at the prospect of seeing her boyfriend. Beth smiles inwardly at her best friend’s reaction. At least one of us has a chance at a ‘happily ever after’.