Maid for Each Other(55)
“Really? So you think I should go.”
“I do, unless you think he might be dangerous or something.”
“No—he’s not. But…” Suddenly I was struggling to remember why it seemed like such a terrible idea.
“And I’m looking into his little side hustle with his bestie,” she said, “but that Roman guy’s name doesn’t pull anything so I’m guessing it’s a legit investment thing. I found something on one of the names on that list that I’m checking out, but if that comes back clean, they’re just two boring rich dudes doing boring rich-dude things.”
“I knew it. Did you delete the photo?”
“Of course,” she said, sounding disgusted by the question. “So…？ You’re dragging your feet why…？”
“I don’t know, I guess I saw all weekend how little he treasures things, right? He offered to give me a car, he wrote me a huge check without thinking about it, he’s throwing free trips out there without a second thought. He is so rich that nothing means anything to him. So I guess I just wonder about me in this scenario.”
“Do you mean romantically?” she asked.
“No, I mean even as a friend. I could totally see him wanting me as a friend until he gets bored with me and then just tosses me to the side like he does cars and money and everything else that he’s finished with.”
“Oh, honey, you’re overthinking here,” she said, her tone turning maternal. “That could happen even if you don’t go visit him. You’re always worrying about the future, but sometimes you need to take a chance and enjoy the now.”
“I suppose,” I said, wondering if she was right.
“And it’s freaking New York, baby—come on.”
I didn’t tell her that I’d decided not to keep the $40K, because I had a feeling she’d see it the same way as New York. She was a good person with good values, but she was also very practical and wouldn’t understand why I’d give up money that was already agreed upon.
“I need to get going, babe, but I feel like the only reason you would say no is if you’re starting to have feelings for him and don’t know how to move forward with that.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “I legitimately just like the guy, money values aside. That is all.”
“So you like him,” Lauren said. “That’s nice. You’re not great at getting close to people, so I think it’s great that you’re looking to expand your posse.”
Her nice way of saying I had no friends.
I dipped the brush in my bucket and said, “Did you seriously just say ‘posse’？”
“Yeah, I said ‘posse’ because I’m cool,” she said. “Now listen. I really do need to go, but I think you’re crazy if you don’t go to New York tomorrow.”
“Yeah, you might be right,” I said, though still unsure what to do.
But when I moved on to the kitchen, my mom made the decision super easy.
She texted: Do you think you can do me a favor tomorrow?
Shit. I replied: What is it?
Mom: Daniel and I need a place to stay tomorrow night—it’s a whole thing with our apartment management. Can we crash with you?
Now, even if I was at my apartment and critter-free, I would want to say no. But I struggled to ever say no to my mom because she was always helpless and in trouble.
I texted: My apartment is being fumigated, remember?
I knew I told her. I texted: I’m actually staying with a friend so I can’t help you.
She immediately replied: Can we just crash where you’re crashing? We won’t be any trouble.
It never failed to escape my notice that she was the adult, the senior adult compared to me, yet I was always helping her out. She was always the helpless victim.
So it gave me great joy to be able to say: I’m so sorry but I’m going out of town tomorrow.
Mom: What? You didn’t tell me you were going on a trip.
Me: It just sort of happened.
Mom: What do you mean? Is it a work thing?
I thought about that for a second. Technically Declan had just written a check to me for work that I performed, so it wasn’t difficult for me to text: Yep.
But when I finished cleaning the apartment and went back to Dex’s place, it was a little difficult for me to bring myself to text him that I was actually going. So I almost swallowed my tongue when I got a text that said: So have you decided yet?
I hated how hard he was trying to convince me, because it put dangerous thoughts in my head. He was a bored rich dude and I was his fun new friend for now—that was what I needed to remember.
I took a deep breath and squealed when I sent the text: I guess I’m going to New York tomorrow. Can you let me know when you book it?
He texted: I already did.
I laughed out loud—no, giggled like a tween—even though I was all alone. I sent: You were that sure I’d say yes?
He texted: I absolutely thought you’d say no.
I replied: That’s right, you don’t care about money.
He shot back: I told you I have a million frequent flyer miles from work travel, you judgmental dick.
I sent: Tell me everything I need to know.
He didn’t tell me everything I needed to know, but he forwarded my boarding pass and told me he’d have a driver waiting by baggage claim, so that was more than enough.