Page 89 of Necessary Space

“That’s not what he told me.” I was not a violent man, but I was going to throttle my little brother when I got home from work. “But I’m sure he has a good reason. I’ll talk to him after work.”

“I tried calling him first and he didn’t answer.”

“Did you leave him a voicemail?”

“Of course.”

I sighed, pulling into the parking garage at my office. “Then he’s never going to call you back. Mom, I just got to work, let me talk to you later.”

“Alright, Hendrix. Be safe.” It was her usual goodbye, shortly followed by a soft, “I love you.”

“Love you too.” The call disconnected itself before I could hang up, the service in the lower level of the parking garage spotty at best. I made it to my parking spot before I gave myself time to think about the implications of the letter my mom had inadvertently opened. I would deal with my brother once I got settled.

Mondays were always rough at work, and I knew I was walking into hours of back-to-back meetings, the only thing sparing my brother from a conversation he’d clearly been avoiding having. Colin catching me in the elevator distracted me from that level of worry, which I appreciated.

“Happy Monday,” he greeted, all fake flair and pretend enthusiasm.

“Wish I could say as much.”

“Rough weekend?” Colin leaned against the back wall of the elevator, shoulder a few inches from mine.

“No. Great weekend, actually. I tried that thing you said.”

“Which?” he asked.

“Asking my boyfriend to show me his favorite places in the city.”

“Oh?” Colin arched a brow as the elevator doors slid open on our floor. “How did that work out?”

“Well, good. It was a long day. We started with one of those bus tours for my younger brother, who’s in town, then we all went to lunch at Miles’s favorite restaurant.”

“The suspense is killing me here,” Colin teased when we reached his desk.

“This little Polish place called Marzena’s.”

He scrunched his brows together. “Don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

“It’s quaint and old. Been around at least thirty years, though.”

“I’ll have to check it out.” Colin spun his chair, tucking his legs under his desk when he completed a rotation. It was a small thing, compared to how uptight he’d been when we first met each other, and it made me happy that he was feeling comfortable enough around me to unwind, even if only in a small way.

“How was your weekend?” I didn’t want to be rude and make the conversation all about me, although I was almost desperate to gush about how in love I was.

“Pretty routine,” he said with a shrug. “Just me.”

“Nothing exciting?”

He shook his head and gave his mouse a flick, the computer monitor brightening as his system turned on. In my hand, my phone vibrated three times, a reminder of my first meeting.

“I have a call in five.” I raised my hand to say goodbye and Colin answered that with a curt nod, earlier semblance of comfort long gone.

I left him at his desk, navigating through the maze of desks until I reached my office. Everything was as I’d left it, and I dropped my laptop into the dock on my desk, waiting for everything to kick to life. There were a couple emails over the weekend that I’d ignored, and I made time to skim through them while I waited for my first meeting to connect.

The tumbler Miles had given me was still barely drinkable, so I twisted the lid off to let the brew cool. Waving my hand back and forth over the top, I clicked on an email message from our HR department.

Mr. Sutton,

Please let this email be a reminder that our corporate rentals are for six months, and your term will be ending in approximately six weeks. Consider this your notice and reminder that the property on Oak Road will need to be vacated before June 1st. If you need relocation assistance, including apartment guides, please feel free to reply to this email. We will be in touch to schedule a closing walkthrough before your move-out date.