Page 50 of Standing Still

“Yeah?” I answer.

“Hey Ben, are you okay to have a quick call?”

“What do you want, Larry? You have news?” I’m rude, but I’m past the point of caring. I’m met with silence for a few moments. I’m being a prick.

“Well, yes actually. I was calling to ask if you could come into the office today. There is some paperwork that needs to be signed.”

“What paperwork?”

“To officially sign everything off. Elle came in earlier this morning and agreed to the terms of Acer’s will. It just needs your witnessed signature, and it’s a done deal. You’ll own, sorry,” he laughs. “Part own the company. Elle will be a silent partner. Let you run the business and spend time here in Mystic. She’s agreed to it all. She didn’t tell you?”

“Why would she tell me?” I mutter. Seems I don’t matter enough to have her tell me to my face.

I don’t know why the hell I’m so angry. I got what I wanted. She’s signed. She’s agreed. I should be jumping about in excitement and victory that I got her to agree to the deal.

“Is she there now?” I ask.

“No, she said she had to go back to New York. Her signature was witnessed, though. Once we get yours all done and dusted, we can file the necessary paperwork, and then it’s just a formality. You won’t have to sell to Day Away, unless you decide to, of course.”

“When hell freezes over,” I growl, and Larry chuckles.

“Can you get here today?”

“I’ll come now,” I tell him and hang up before he can say anything else. I call Elle twice more as I drive over, but she still doesn’t answer. I don’t know what the fuck she is doing. At this point, does it even fucking matter?

Ev is there when I arrive, but I’m not in the mood for her flirting, either. I just nod and head back when Larry comes out. He shows me to the office and passes over the paperwork, telling me again what it all means. I stare at Elle’s signature on the line above where mine is supposed to go, my jaw tight.

Rationally, I should wait to find out from her why she didn’t tell me she was doing this or why the fuck she ran back to New York without so much as a goodbye. Maybe there is a good reason. I just can’t figure out what it is. Despite the anger, I’m feeling something I don’t particularly want to admit to. I

t fucking hurts. I sign my name. Larry goes through more legal shit and shakes my hand, then I leave. This time completely ignoring Ev.

I sit in the truck, not knowing what to do. I’ve rung enough times. If she doesn’t want to answer me, I’m not gonna go chasing her. Like I would go to New York, anyway. I drive to the Twisted Barrel instead of going back to work or home. Craig is behind the bar as usual.

“Hey, heard Denny caused Dawn to go into labor yesterday,” he grins. It falls off when he sees my face. “What now?” he asks.

“Gimme a beer.” I sit on a stool.

“Please, would be the polite way to end that sentence.”

“Please,” I pull a fake face at him.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch? Elle screw you over?”

“No,” I hold out my hand for the beer, which he has gotten from the fridge behind him. He passes it over and I take a long swallow. “She signed everything this morning, agreed to everything in the will. We both own the company now.”

“That’s great news. Why do you look like it’s not?” he frowns.

“It is,” I shake my head. “It’s just…” How to say this without sounding like a little bitch about it? Simple answer, I can’t. “She’s gone back to New York.”

“Oh… And you weren’t expecting that?”

I shrug. Craig stares at me and I scowl at him.

“Oh shit, you went and did it, didn’t you?”

“Did what?”

“Let feelings get involved. You forget,” he says before I can protest. “I saw you guys at the River Jam Festival, saw you fucking dancing in fact,” he points out. “And everyone heard how you were at the diner together yesterday morning. Did you actually go through with Jared’s hairbrained idea to seduce her into signing?”

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