Page 52 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“You think and tell me later. By tomorrow morning. This is plenty of time for you to arrange your house and pack to come.”
“Um...”
“I’ll talk to you in the morning, then. I do miss you, Lillian!” The phone shuffled around for a few seconds until it cut off. Lillian stared at the screen. It faded to black.
“What just happened?” she muttered to herself. Her first instinct was to text Cayden and ask him what to do, but Cayden was with Katharina right now. Just wait a little while, she decided, and picked her laptop back up. Send your emails and wait until you know he’s gone from her house.
She did just that. After her inbox was cleared, she pulled up her thread with Cayden. Hey. Are you still at K’s?
He didn’t respond immediately. She got up to fix some tea, worrying about whether he would reply. He hadn’t even sent her his flight details for coming home. He’d said he’d be home on Friday, right? She wasn’t sure this time.
Maybe he wants to stay in Los Angeles. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about it, but the thought just came. How is he supposed to tell me that he doesn’t want to be back in Hanneston, especially when we’ve only just gotten back together? The thought of being long distance again brought tears to her eyes.
Her phone buzzed, scaring her. It was him. Nope, I left. Getting a burrito until my next thing.
What’s your next thing? She hoped she wasn’t sounding possessive or controlling.
Long story. Are you free?
Yes, she replied instantly.
The ellipses at the bottom of the screen that showed he was typing stayed there for a few minutes. She kept her phone open, glancing every couple of seconds. Finally, he was responding. She wasn’t hoping for something positive, but maybe whatever he was spending so much time explaining would clear things up.
From across the room, she glanced over and saw that he had finally sent his message. She scrambled over and gripped the phone as she read.
I would call but I’m in a yuppier part of town and you never know who’s who. I wouldn’t want any of the other people here to overhear anything. Whatever. Anyway, it hasn’t been a good week. One of my clients called Monday night. She was furious. The replacement I found last week is a total asshole, it turns out. He charmed me during the interview and played it cool. She liked him the first time they worked together. On Monday he started hitting on her and being way too forward for someone who is only supposed to have a business relationship with her.
“Crap, that sucks,” Lillian murmured, and typed back, Cayden, I’m so sorry.
I’ve been trying to fix it this week. Had to confront him about it. Big blowout. I lost my temper. She’s married, which makes it even more unprofessional.
Lillian felt herself getting irritated, knowing Cayden’s week had also been stressful and she couldn’t help him at all. That really sucks. Did your client hire you to find another one?
Yeah, she did. That’s where I’m going after this burrito. She still respects me, and was impressed that I told the guy off. Funny, huh?
She felt a sense of relief sweep over her. So, your reputation isn’t tarnished?
Not at all. I’m so ticked. I should’ve listened to my gut with that guy. He was just as good as the guy I found for Janine, but something about him made me second-guess myself.
That convincing, huh? Lillian replied.
Yeah, he was absolutely convincing. Just goes to show, always go with your gut.
Funny you should say that, she typed back. I had a little flare-up this morning.
You okay? Cayden’s response came immediately.
Yeah, I’m fine. It was a little one. It’s okay now.
Please rest.
I took a nap and am eating a snack now. Don’t worry about me.
He started typing and then stopped. She waited for his reply to come through, but nothing did for a few minutes. Finally, her phone beeped again. Hey, Lil. I lost my charger. Phone’s almost dead. I’ll grab one of your extras.
When are you coming home? Send me your flight info so I can pick you up! she replied, but the dreaded red exclamation point popped up. The text didn’t go through.
Unsure of what to do, she walked outside. Andrew sounded like he was ending his conversation, so Lillian sat there and played with Gray Cat in the meantime.
