Page 13 of Forever Love-Reimagined

“No. You’re not in the way. I like things to be… organized.” She smiled but didn’t slow down. “If you want to help, you can pick up the props that were left out last night.” She pointed toward the desk but then froze. “What happened to the bed? It wasn’t even used in the shoot yesterday.”

Holy hell. What was wrong with the bed?

“It looks like someone slept in it.”

“Oh, I was lying on it before you got here. I was up early today and decided to rest a bit. Did I not make it right?” I asked in earnest because I couldn’t see a problem.

“Hospital corners, boss.” She rushed over, gently nudging me out of the way.

I stared as she went to work, pulling the comforter down, straightening, and tucking the sheets to the point that an Army sergeant would be proud. Then she lifted the comforter back over it and flattened out every wrinkle with iron-like precision.

Damn. Now I saw the difference. What I did, a toddler could’ve done. I was going to do something special for her today. I’d grab her a coffee when I went out.

“So, is there anything I can help you with, or would I be most helpful by not helping?” I did a little half-smile with a quirked eyebrow that said I was kidding, but hopefully, it also showed that I’d like to do something somewhere else out of her warpath.

She eyeballed me, and I suddenly felt very naked. “Are you wearing the same jeans as yesterday?”

I figured she would notice. But at least I had on a different shirt, so maybe I could play it off. “I have several pairs of these jeans because they fit like a glove.” I stared at myself in the mirror and thought the fib worked.

“Right. It doesn’t matter. Let’s get this place in tip-top shape so the clients don’t think you live here.” She had no idea how close to the truth that was.

“All right. You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” I was glad for a subject change. I wasn’t ready to get into a deep conversation about my personal life.

She grunted, and I was unsure what I’d done. “If I have to tell you what to do, I might as well do it myself,” she snapped, which was out of character.

“Okay. I didn’t want to do something wrong and make extra work for you. You seem to have a process that I haven’t grasped yet.” I held up my hands in surrender, and she hung her head.

“I’m sorry, Leia. I got into a fight with Adam last night, and he said something similar that triggered me.”

Haley and I were close, in that boss-employee sort of way, but we never really opened up about our lives outside of work.

“Hey, I’m so sorry. I’m here if you want to talk about it.” At least, if we were focused on her problems, I wouldn’t have to figure out my own stuff.

“No. This is unprofessional. I didn’t mean to say anything.”

“Look, Haley. I get that we work together, but we can be friends, too. I’ve got a good ten years on you, so I have experience. Let me have it.”

She eyed me skeptically, but she must have seen my sincerity because she broke down and cried out, “I think Adam is going to leave me.” She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed.

I was very uncomfortable because I hated seeing people cry. I also didn’t know how to make things better for her because I’d never been in that situation before.

“What makes you say that?” If I had a little more context, maybe I could better help her.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she said, “I caught him watching porn.”

This wasn’t my area of expertise, but didn’t all guys watch porn?

I needed more information. “Was it gay porn?”

With that comment, she snapped her head up to make eye contact. “Why would you ask that? Do you think he’d rather be with a man than me?”

So, that was the wrong question, and I possibly made things worse. “Of course not. I was trying to understand why you were so upset.”

She was still sniffling, but at least her tears were drying up. “I was crying because I caught my boyfriend watching other women have sex.”

“And he didn’t want to have sex with you?”

“No, I just got there. I’m sure we would’ve had sex had I not seen that.”

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