Page 55 of Tailored for Them

“Hey,” I elbowed Brandon to pull his attention away from her, “What’s your deal?”

Brandon blushed.

It wasn’t a subtle one either, but a dark one. His entire face turned bright red.

“I think I messed up.” he released a heavy sigh as he fell into step with me, heading toward our own offices. “Nora is a barista at the coffee shop I frequent. This morning, I might have snapped at her for getting my drink wrong.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

Brandon didn’t know it, but something opened in my chest at the admission from him. This wasn’t a casual conversation between two coworkers anymore. With a couple of sentences, I realized that Brandon possibly considered me to be, to some degree at least, a friend.

No man would ever bring something like this up with a coworker, let alone a female coworker. This was something you’d bring up with someone you trusted and respected. Someone you felt relatively safe with.

It hit me then.

Brandon and I werefriends.

And as a friend, he was gently reaching out for advice.

“Oh,” I held in a laugh because Brandon didn’t seem to think this situation was funny, “Well, she might not take the job now that she knows you own the place.”

Brandon frowned at that, “Which will make Jacqueline’s team have to look for someone else to fill Signe’s position. Again.”

I lifted a shoulder in silent agreement before saying, “Or you could try to catch her on her way out. After Jacqueline’s interview, I mean. Apologize. Make sure she knows you won’t be rude to her if she’s hired.”

Brandon nodded at that, “You don’t think that would make it worse?”

I shook my head, “As long as you keep your apology brief and to the point, I think you’ll be fine. You don’t come off as someone who harasses people.”

“Oh, thank god,” Brandon looked genuinely relieved as he sighed his response. We made it to our offices, right next to each other, before he nodded at me, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled before unlocking my door and stepping through the threshold.

As soon as I took my phone out of my bag and set it on my desk, it vibrated.

Taylor: Are you coming to rugby tonight? I want to formally introduce you to my friends.

That made me pause.

It’d been a while since our first date, when I explained my fears.

My fears about having mutual friends.

My fears about their friends, possibly, becoming my friends.

My fears about feeling abandoned if Taylor and I didn’t end up working out long-term.

But I sat with those feelings, resting my phone on my desk to breathe through it.

I couldn’t hide from their friends forever. If I wanted something long-term, I needed to be part of their life, too.

When I heard Brandon answer a call through the thin wall we shared between our offices, I jerked my head up, recalling the conversation he and I had just had, and the revelation I had with it.

That was what I wanted, wasn’t it? Friends? Community? People I could lean on, and people who could lean on me in return? I mean, even Jacqueline and Leo were good friends of mine. Signe, too. Zaid was a little more shy, but I had a feeling that if I had a flat tire and everyone else was busy, he would come help me change it without hesitation.

Warmth filled my chest at the thought.

I recalled Leo giving me shit when I teased him about opening the door to our building wrong.

Signe, Violet, Jacqueline, Mary, and Jamie, all hanging out at Signe’s apartment after work. Clad in jammies.

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