Page 25 of February (New Orleans #2)

“H ey, are you back at the office yet?” Bridgette asked into the phone.

“No. But you’d know that because you’re there, right?” Monica asked.

“I am , but I just stepped into the hallway and thought I might have missed you.”

“Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine. We can talk about it later, though. Mel, Kyle, and Jill are going to a late lunch, and they called me. I know you’ve already eaten, but I could use a break from this place. Any chance you’d want to come with me?”

“Are you sure? It’s a friend lunch.”

“Says the woman who invited me to her friend lunch just this morning,” she replied with a smirk Monica couldn’t even see.

“That wasn’t a whole group.”

“Mon, if you don’t want to go, that’s totally fine, but I’d like you to be there.”

“Do they know about… us?”

Bridgette smiled and said, “Jill does because she helped me pick something out to wear for our date. But I didn’t call her after to tell her how it went, so she doesn’t know it’s still going. Mel and Kyle have been busy, so I haven’t filled them in yet.” She paused, but Monica didn’t say anything, so she added, “Babe, you fit.” Bridgette turned away when someone from another suite walked by. “You fit with me, okay? And that means you fit in with my friends. They’re welcoming people. I’d like them to get to know you.”

“Are they going to think I’m weird if I don’t eat?”

“No.” Bridgette chuckled. “Just tell them they were last minute with their invite, so you made other plans.”

“Okay. Should I meet you at the office?”

“Where are you now?”

“I was walking around the Square.”

“You can just meet me there, then. It’ll be easier for you. I’ll send you the info for the restaurant.”

“Okay,” Monica replied.

Bridgette sent her the message and walked out the front door of the building, taking a very deep breath because she’d spent the entire morning answering questions from her parents, who clearly hadn’t been listening to her over the years because if they had, their questions would’ve been answered a long time ago. She’d tried not to get frustrated with them despite, in her mind, having every right to be, because that wouldn’t get them anywhere, and they’d already agreed to give her a few days to come up with a plan that was in writing and took all of the numbers into account. She felt better at that possibility, but they hadn’t officially said yes to her taking over for them and not selling the company.

As she walked, she knew she would have some tough decisions to make. They had three colorists on staff, for example. Two were in the Baton Rouge office, and Dan was here. Of the three, Dan was the youngest, but he was also the best. She’d likely have to let go of at least one of the other two in order to make room for a full-time salesperson who would make a commission and a smaller base pay. She’d also need a marketing person, which would mean she’d have to let go of the office manager in Baton Rouge, who wasn’t as good as the one they had in New Orleans, according to her parents. That would allow her to get a junior person in marketing, but anything would help at this point. Then, if they were moving online, she’d have to hire someone who could help with that, too. She knew she might have to make even more cuts to accommodate them, but when she arrived at the restaurant, another idea dawned on her. She could close the Baton Rouge office. She’d be running the company, and the office they had in New Orleans could easily accommodate all of their employees. If they didn’t want to relocate, she could offer them a severance, or they could commute. It would be a rough one to make every day, but some of them could even work from home. All of these thoughts ran through Bridgette’s mind too quickly for her to really process them, but she smiled because at least there were options her parents hadn’t explored that could help the company.

“Hey,” Melinda said and waved her over to their table.

“Hey,” she replied and headed that way.

“I feel like we never see you anymore,” Melinda noted.

Bridgette looked at Melinda and then at Kyle, who was sitting next to her.

“Yeah, I wonder why,” she said.

“I know. We’ve been busy. Ky is finally moving all of her stuff here, and Jolie is going to make the drive down with her now that enough work is done on the house.”

“Sorry, I’m monopolizing her,” Kyle offered.

“It’s fine. She’s pretty annoying most of the time, anyway,” Bridgette said sarcastically, and when the waiter approached their table a second later, she asked, “Can we get another chair possibly?”

“Sure. Are you waiting for someone else? They’re not supposed to seat the table if we’re waiting on members of the party.”

“It’s okay. She’s walking this way now, and I’ll order for her,” Bridgette replied.

The waiter looked around as if he was actually considering telling them that they couldn’t take a table if they were waiting on someone. Bridgette understood. The city was getting busier by the day this time of year, and the restaurants around here needed to keep things moving to maximize their business. A lot of restaurants didn’t allow parties to get their table until everyone was there to order.

“It’s fine,” he told her after he checked the line at the door that wasn’t all that long yet.

“Thanks,” Bridgette said.

The waiter walked away to get her that chair and returned with it quickly, placing it at the end of the table.

“Who’s coming to lunch?” Jill asked with a smirk from Bridgette’s left.

“Monica.”

“Monica again, huh?” Melinda asked.

“You haven’t told her?” Jill asked Bridgette.

“I haven’t talked to her. Mel’s been busy.”

“Wait. Told me what?” Melinda asked.

“Hi.”

Bridgette recognized the voice, smiled, and looked up. She went to stand, but Monica put a hand on her shoulder, gave her a wink, and sat in the empty chair at the end of the table.

“Hey,” Bridgette said, and before she thought not to do it, she leaned forward.

Monica did as well without hesitation, and their lips met for a quick kiss.

“Oh,” Melinda let out in realization.

“Hi, everyone,” Monica said with a polite smile. “Did she tell you that I’ve already eaten?”

“No, she didn’t tell us anything ,” Melinda replied as she playfully glared at Bridgette.

“You. Have. Been. Busy,” Bridgette reminded, elongating every word. “You and Kyle have been all loved up at her mansion of a house for weeks now.”

“We’ve not been all loved up,” Melinda argued.

“Well, we kind of have,” Kyle replied. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you two have each other. But Mel can’t complain about me not telling her things when I called her, and she didn’t answer.”

“Should I maybe go?” Monica asked.

Bridgette placed her hand on Monica’s thigh and said, “No. We’ve just known each other forever, so we act like an old married couple.”

“Did you two…” Monica didn’t finish her question.

“No.” Melinda laughed.

“Definitely not,” Bridgette added.

“I asked the same thing when we started dating,” Kyle shared, hooking her thumb at Melinda.

“How long?” Melinda asked then as she leaned over the table.

“Monica, do you want to take my seat since I’m the fifth wheel here?” Jill offered. “I can sit at the end of the table.”

“Oh, no. I’m fine here. I’m invading your lunch anyway,” Monica said.

“We’ve been on a few dates,” Bridgette answered Melinda’s question.

Melinda looked at Monica questioningly but didn’t ask her anything.

“So, how is it going at work?” Jill asked into the silence.

“Things are weird right now,” Bridgette shared. “My parents called Monica’s dad last night and told him that they want to sell and do it quickly, even though Monica’s work here wasn’t done. I got pissed off, so I spent all morning talking to them about how I had plans that could work, and I got them to agree to give me a few days to get something on paper and then present it to them before they officially sell.”

“And how does that work with you two?” Kyle asked. “You’re here to buy her company.” She looked at Monica.

“She’s on my side,” Bridgette replied.

“It’s true,” Monica confirmed with a smile as she put her own hand on top of Bridgette’s, which was still resting on her thigh. “It’s probably hard to understand, but I came here expecting to buy a company that I didn’t really think we needed to buy, not like this city much, and leave as soon as I could. I ended up thinking the company is worth saving without us buying it, loving New Orleans, and wanting to stay.”

“Well, Bridgette is pretty great,” Melinda said with a smile.

“She is. But it’s not just about her. She’s helped me see how great this place is,” Monica shared and smiled at Bridgette again. “I’m going to stick around for a bit, at least, to help her however I can with her business, but I have other motivations as well.” She winked at Bridgette.

“Other motivations.” Jill laughed.

“Shut up,” Bridgette said.

When the waiter arrived to take their order and Monica said that she didn’t want anything, the glare he gave her made Bridgette laugh. Bridgette ordered a small bowl of soup for Monica to appease the waiter and watched as Monica ate it because she felt bad. Then, after they were done with lunch, Monica went to pay for her soup, but Bridgette shook her head and put her own credit card to pay for both of them. They weren’t offered a dessert or coffee because the line was now out the door, and the waiter’s sigh at having to take three credit cards told them all it was time to go. Pretty soon, the restaurants that didn’t do split checks year-round would all put up the signs that said they wouldn’t do split check anymore because, during the summer, it took way too long to process multiple credit cards for giant tables of tourists, and a lot of these places only had one or maybe two credit card machines.

As they all walked outside, Bridgette watched Kyle take Melinda’s hand, and she looked down, surprised, finding that she’d taken Monica’s in the same way without even knowing she had. She smiled down at their joined hands because this was what she’d always wanted.

“Ready to go back to work?” Monica asked, leaning over and pressing her side against Bridgette’s.

“Yeah,” she replied.

They said goodbye to her friends, but not without Melinda looking at Monica like she wasn’t quite sure this was the right thing for Bridgette, and Bridgette understood. She’d worried about Kyle for Melinda in the beginning, too. They’d always been protective of one another. And her best friend had every right to be worried because at least Kyle hadn’t had much of a life where she’d lived before. Monica, though, had her whole world in Manhattan and would be leaving.

“Are you okay?” Monica asked her.

“Yes. I’m thinking about how you’re here now, and it sounds like you’re staying for a bit, but if I make this presentation to my parents in a couple of days or something and they accept me taking over the company, you’re probably leaving, right?”

“Oh,” Monica said as they walked. “I don’t know. I think I’ll stay for a while after that, too.”

Bridgette looked over at her in surprise then and asked, “Yeah?”

“I’m not ready to go home,” Monica replied. “I like it here too much to leave just yet.”

Bridgette smiled and said, “I’m really happy to hear that because I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”

“Bridge?”

Bridgette looked back over at her but didn’t say anything.

“I’m supposed to be taking some time off, anyway, so I can just tell my dad that I want to stay down here.”

“Okay,” she said, a little disappointed now because she expected Monica to say something else.

“I was thinking that tonight, we could stay at your place instead of at the hotel.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Is everything okay, though? You look like something’s wrong.”

“I want to be in a real home and not in a hotel with you.”

“Okay. Why?”

“Because if we keep spending time in my hotel, it’ll feel like a vacation romance, and I don’t want that for us. I don’t want just something fleeting before I leave, and all we have are nice memories in some hotel. I don’t want that, Bridge. I want real. We had our first kiss in your apartment. I want more of that.”

“I want real, too,” Bridgette replied. “And I don’t want just memories with you. I want all of it.”

“You know that could mean you might have to visit me in Manhattan if this keeps going?”

“Yes, I understand that. I know it’s crazy, too, because I don’t want to move away from here, and your whole life is up there.”

“Not my whole life,” Monica told her. “You’re here .”

“Let’s stay at my place tonight, then. Honestly, you can stay there every night, if you want. Your hotel is nice, but it’s too fancy for me. I feel like I’m always one step away from breaking something.”

Monica laughed and said, “Dinner out tonight? Let me make a reservation.”

“Okay.”

“And let’s dress up a bit.”

“Why?”

“Because I want tonight to be special, Bridge,” Monica replied.

Bridgette stopped walking, which meant Monica had to stop walking, too.

“When you say special…”

“Yes, that kind of special.” Monica smiled over at her and turned to face Bridgette. “If you’re ready.”

Bridgette turned to her and checked, “You’re really not going to leave in a few days? We have more time?”

“At least a few weeks,” Monica replied with a smile, wrapping her arms around Bridgette’s waist and pulling her against herself. “I want you, babe.” She moved one hand to Bridgette’s lower lip and dragged her thumb over it. “If you want me, too.”

“Of course, I do,” she said a little louder than she’d intended.

“Are you sure? I’m not like Toya, who’s in her early twenties, with the perfect body.”

“You have a perfect body, trust me,” Bridgette told her with her arms around Monica’s neck. “I’ve felt it.”

“You haven’t seen it yet.”

“I want to tonight,” Bridgette replied as she pressed her forehead to Monica’s. “And you have nothing to worry about. When you straddled me this morning, it took everything in me not to touch you. I would have, but we were in crisis mode. I’ve been thinking about touching you since I first saw you. I was a brat, though, so I couldn’t admit it to myself.”

“What if you see me, and it’s not… If I don’t turn you on. I’m a lot older than–”

Bridgette interrupted her by kissing her slowly, cupping Monica’s cheek, and putting all of her feelings of longing into that kiss in an attempt to silence Monica’s insecurities because she was beautiful, and Bridgette couldn’t wait to touch her and be touched by her. They kissed in the middle of the sidewalk like that for at least enough time to get three comments, one of them rude and the other two more about how hot it was. Bridgette also heard two throat clearings before she pulled back and stared into Monica’s blue eyes.

“I’m already turned on, and you’re going to make me wait until after dinner?”