Page 90 of Necessary Space

Thank you,

HR

“Shit.”

I knew the date was coming, but it hadn’t set in yet that I’d been in California for nearly six months. I hadn’t even thought about looking for a new apartment, and I’d spent the past few weeks so caught up in being with Miles—with my neighbor—that I hadn’t even thought about it at all. Would moving away put a strain on things between us? I knew he worked from home a lot of the time, so it wasn’t like an apartment to office commute was an issue, but I liked him being close. I liked him being able to make me coffee in the morning, even if we hadn’t spent the night together. Before, it had almost felt like we required some sort of space between us, but with the threat of the space now becoming a tangible thing, I revolted against it.

“Good morning!” A chorus of greetings pinged to life, announcing the arrival of the other meeting guests.

“Hey.” I cleared my throat, raising the volume on my speaker phone. “Good morning, everyone.”

“Hendrix, how are you?”

“Me?” I scrubbed a hand down my face, thankful the call wasn’t on video because the lie would be incredibly apparent. “I’m doing great.”

On my desk, my cell phone vibrated.

A text from my brother.

Wesley: Don’t answer if mom calls.

This time, I cursed to myself, stabbing the mute button on my work call. I responded to my brother.

Me: I already have.

Wesley: It’s not what you think.

Me: We’ll talk later.

Wesley: It’s not a big deal. I’m an adult.

Me: I said we’ll talk about it later, okay? I’m in a meeting.

I closed out the screen and opened my thread with Miles.

Me: I have to talk to Wes when I’m home and he knows it. Can you have Grayson keep an eye on him? I don’t want him to take off.

I wasn’t sure where my brother would go, but we were blood and I could tell from his text his fight or flight was ready to kick in. He hadn’t told me about school, but now that I knew, there was no doubt he was going into defensive mode. I wasn’t mad at him, and I hoped he knew that, but I didn’t want him to bolt and get lost in the city. We’d figure out what was going on and figure it out together.

Miles: Like a hawk.

Miles: I won’t even ask you to repay me with sexual favors.

Me: Is it always sex with you?

Miles: Sex with me is a gift. You’re welcome.

Miles: Sex with you is a bonus.

Me: Flatterer.

Miles: The best part of my day.

Miles: My life, tbh.

“You there, Hendrix?” Someone on the call asked, and I grimaced, taking the meeting off mute.

“Sorry,” I said, turning my cell phone upside down to stop the distraction. “Something pulled my attention away, can you repeat that one more time?”