A Real Pair

Oh, hey there, Bonus Post! Just because I had a lot of time to write this week :)  The next post will be on Thursday.  I hope I'm not driving you guys nuts with bumping around my posting schedule, but I think it's better a little more spread out when I'm posting more than just twice a week.  Enjoy!
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I didn't sleep well Monday night.  I had decided that Brody needed to know that at least one of his employees had some interesting ideas about what he was really doing in his office.  We had plans to go out to dinner Tuesday and spend the night at his house.  I hoped I could keep my thoughts to myself at least long enough for us to have a nice dinner together.

"Elena called me today," Brody said as we waited for our drinks to come.  "She set up a couple showings for Thursday, and a couple for Saturday afternoon."

"She certainly doesn't waste time," I said.  

"You can't--not with the way real estate moves here."  Who knew?  I yawned then, and Brody smiled sympathetically.  "Now you're not sleeping?  We're a real pair, huh?"

"Something like that," I replied, returning his smile.  We made it through dinner.  I was a little quieter than usual, but I think Brody attributed it to my sleepiness, and he didn't say anything.

When we got to his house, he took my bag from me and brought it upstairs.  I trailed after him, nervous.  He set my bag on his bedroom floor, out of the way, then turned and slid his hands around my waist.  "Wait," I said, taking a half step away.  He gave me a strange look, but waited.  I walked over and sat on the bed and motioned for him to do the same.  He sat and looked at me, worried.  "There's something I need to tell you," I said.  Now he looked nervous, and I couldn't blame him.  Positive conversations didn't start out that way.  "It's about work.  Yours.  I mean..." I stumbled over my words.

Brody looked a little less nervous and he took my hand.  "Spit it out, Liv.  It's okay."

I opened my mouth and the speech I'd rehearsed in my head went completely out the window as the words tumbled out.  "Cassie wasn't implying that you were cheating on me, she was implying that you're doing something shady.  With your business.  She said that she wasn't saying anything that anyone else hasn't already said.  She said that she doesn't believe that you didn't know anything about your dad's...stuff, and according to her, she's not the only one."  I stopped and took a deep breath, anxiously watching his face.

His face didn't move.  It was like he was wearing a mask.  I waited for him to say something.  Finally, he took a breath and nodded.  "I'm not shocked," he said calmly.  "I should say, I'm not shocked that someone is saying that.  I'm a little surprised that someone is Cassie.  There were a few rumblings about it when the news first hit, and I thought I had put a stop to it.  Thanks for letting me know.  I'll take care of it."  His voice was cold and detached, a weird overly calm I'd never seen.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"No."  His answer was quick, brief.  Still calm, but abrupt.  A couple beats of silence, then, "I'm fucking pissed."  His tone and his face didn't match his words, and I didn't quite know what he needed from me.  He stood abruptly and walked to his closet.  Without a word he pulled off his work clothes and put on a t-shirt and shorts.  He walked over to me and kissed me on the forehead.  "I'm sorry, can you give me like...20 minutes?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied.  And then he was gone.  I listened to his footsteps go down the hall, down the steps, and then down again, and then I couldn't hear them anymore.  I sat on his bed, completely perplexed.  Then the sounds of hard rock music came drifting up to me, and I stood and walked into the bathroom.  Might as well change and wash my face, I guess.

When I heard the music stop, I made my way tentatively down first one flight of stairs, then the next.  I'd spent very little time on the lower level of Brody's house.  I went in the direction I thought I'd heard the music coming from.  There was a room at the end of the hall, and the door hung slightly open.  I knocked gently on it.

"Come on in," Brody said.  I pushed the door open.  He sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall behind a punching bag, unwinding his handwraps while mindlessly staring into space.  His eyes turned towards me as I walked in, and he smiled weakly.

"Do you just keep one of these everywhere you spend any time?  Is there one somewhere in your office?  Have you hidden one in my house too?" I teased him gently.

His smile got a little brighter.  "There is one in my office, actually.  I mean, not in my office, but there's a little gym area in our suite.  Some free weights, a treadmill, a bike, a heavy bag.  Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.  I haven't managed to sneak one into your house yet."

I sat down next to him and pulled my knees to my chest.  "Feeling better?" I asked.

"For now," he replied.  He pushed his sweaty hair back and said, "I'm starting to think it just won't ever stop."

"What won't?" I asked curiously.

"Life," he said, with a bitter snort.  "It's one thing after another.  First my dad storming in here, then disappearing, then his 'scandal', and his death, and now this.  I just want it to stop for a little bit sso I can catch up.  I thought I already handled this stupid rumor that I was in on what he was doing.  I just need a break.  I need a vacation.  No one tells you that you don't ever get a break when you start your own business.  You think 'Oh, I'll be the boss and I can work whenever I want and be off whenever I want!'  I was never stupid enough to think that, but I didn't realize how draining it would be to never be able to truly unplug from work.  When life happens, you just have to keep working, the same as you always would."

"It's exhausting," I suggested.

"It is," he agreed. "Sorry for being weird earlier.  I wasn't surprised by what you told me, but I really did think that I had dealt with it, and I'm just so mad that it's come back up.  Especially coming from Cassie."

"I'm sorry," I said miserably.  "I feel terrible since I'm the one that suggested you hire her.  I had no idea she'd end up doing this."

He turned to me.  "Liv, don't feel bad, you didn't know.  She was--and actually still is, minus this--a really hard working employee and it's been good for me to have her.  I don't think either of us could have predicted this.  But you need to know that I'm going to have to put a stop to this, and that might mean firing Cassie."

I nodded.  "I figured.  Do what you have to do, she's clearly not a friend if she's going to try to damage our relationship and your business." 

Brody leaned over and kissed me.  When he started to pull away, I slid my hand behind his neck and pulled him back.  "I'm all sweaty," he protested.

"So?" I replied, shifting to straddle his legs and tugging off his shirt.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around my legs, then stood easily.  "Come shower with me," he suggested, gently lowering me to the ground.

"Fine," I agreed, turning and walking out of the room and towards the stairs.

We stayed in the shower until the water turned lukewarm, then hurriedly dried off and moved to his bed.  We laid tangled together in comfortable, sleepy silence for several minutes before getting ready for bed.  Once we were settled I said, "You know, maybe we shouldn't look for houses right now.  I don't want to add any unnecessary stress to your plate."

"I want to look, though," he insisted.  "We'll just look and see what's out there.  We don't need to buy anything right now, and I like looking at houses."

I rolled my eyes in the dark.  "Okay, we'll look, but if it gets too stressful--"

"If it gets too stressful," he interrupted, "then we'll take a break."

"You're such a pain," I grumbled.  "I'm just trying to make your life easier."

He laughed softly.  "I know you are.  Thank you.  And thank you for telling me about Cassie.  Now shut up and go to sleep."

I kicked him lightly and laughed, then settled into a more comfortable position and tried to go to sleep.  But my thoughts kept drifting back to Cassie, and I was worried about what was going to happen.  I finally drifted off, long after Brody's deep, rhythmic breathing told me he was asleep.  I was surprised he had fallen asleep so easily.  He must have worn himself out earlier.

I was antsy all day Wednesday, wondering how things were going at work for Brody.  My phone was uncharacteristically silent.  I usually got a couple random texts from him throughout the day.  I finally got a text from him around 4 asking if I wanted to have dinner.  I said yes and waited for more info, but after confirming a time, it was back to radio silence.

I made it through the last two hours of work and went home to change and touch up my makeup before I left to meet Brody at the restaurant.  Once I was there, I waited for him for nearly 15 minutes.  When he finally arrived, he apologized right away for being late.  I kissed him and waited impatiently for his update.  He looked worn out--not exactly tired, just a little drawn and stressed.

"Well?" I said once we were seated.  "How'd it go?"

He looked as though he was considering how to answer.  Finally he said, "Okay, I think.  I talked to Cassie first.  She ended up quitting.  Just walked out.  All I did was say that I heard she had some concerns about the business, and she told me that she was done, effective immediately, and left."

"Wow," I said.  "Well, at least you didn't have to fire her?"

"Exactly," he agreed.  "Then I addressed in a meeting.  A couple people actually brought up some questions and concerns, which was helpful.  I'd rather they just ask so we can address it than gossip about it behind closed doors.  So we had a pretty good conversation about it, which was mostly positive.  No one outright accused anyone of anything, which was helpful.  I think I'm going to bring in an outside auditor just to really set everyone's minds at ease.  The biggest concern that was brought up didn't even have anything to do with me, but more for what was potentially happening with our accounts while they were still being handled through my dad's office, which makes perfect sense.  I've been over everything and didn't find anything concerning, but I think having it evaluated by someone objective will help ease people's nerves."

"That sounds like a really good plan," I said.  "Do you feel any better?"

He shrugged.  "I still badly need a vacation, and I'm worried that people will still find shit to gossip about, but I guess no matter what I do I can't change that.  I'll have Pete be the one that deals with the auditor so I don't have anything to do with it, and hopefully that will help.  And now I need to find a new HR person.  But overall, things went well today and that does help."

"Can I do anything?" I asked.

He smiled at me.  "No, but I'm looking forward to looking at some houses tomorrow.  I know it's crazy, but I love looking at houses." 

"Just a little crazy," I teased him.  "Do you want to spend the night tonight?"

He made a face.  "I do, but I'd also rather avoid the possibility of running into Cassie tonight."

"Ooh, yeah, good call," I replied. 

"I'll stay tomorrow though," he offered.  "And if you want to stay with me tonight, I'd love that, but I get it if you don't." 

"I want to," I replied.  "I just have to run home and get stuff for tomorrow."  We finished our dinner leisurely and then went our separate ways--Brody to his house, and me to mine to get my stuff before I headed out to his.

As I pulled up to my house, I saw someone walking away from it.  The person stopped and turned, and as they walked towards my driveway, I realized it was Cassie.