The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(15)
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “You’re great, and I hate to lose you. You can put me down as a reference for your next job, and I promise to sing your praises.”
Noelle stared at the mug of pens on the desk. She didn’t know what to say, what to think. She knew the store had been struggling. She’d anticipated the possibility of losing more hours, but she hadn’t anticipated losing her job entirely.
She’d been counting on money that she made from her main job here at Hidden Gems Books to go toward her tuition savings. What was she going to do now? She could apply for unemployment, but it would take weeks for her claim to be approved by the state. Recently, she heard that it could take up to a month or more, due to the high volume of applications. She couldn’t wait that long. Her stomach filled with thousand-pound stones, weighing her to the chair.
“I get it,” she said, swallowing hard. She took a deep breath. “Should I…clock out now?”
“No, no,” Harold said. “You can finish your shift.”
Noelle nodded. He was giving her some grace. For that, she should probably be grateful.
“Thank you.”
An awkward silence permeated the room. Harold cleared his throat and stared at his hands. Noelle wanted to leave the office, but her whole body felt like hard cement. She was still in shock. When the awkward silence became unbearable, she forced herself to stand.
“I guess I’d better finish unpacking the boxes from the estate sale.”
“All right.” Harold’s voice was gruffer than usual. He glanced up at her and he looked so sad, there was no way that Noelle could be upset with him.
Quietly, she left the office. She was in a daze as she walked through the bookstore. Kevin was standing at the register, still texting. He didn’t even look up at the sound of Noelle’s footsteps. She ignored him and gazed around the store. She looked at the staff-picks shelf, the display of beach reads, and the table of picture books dedicated to summer. Those had all been her ideas. She’d poured every ounce of her creative energy into this job and the curation of the books on these shelves. It wasn’t only about the money. Hidden Gems Books had been her home away from home for the past six years. And now she was losing it.
Her phone vibrated in her back pocket. With slow, stilted movements, Noelle pulled her phone out and read a text from Sheree.
Hey! Brian lives close by so he’s bringing your jacket to your job. He should be there within the next couple minutes!
Oh, fuck this timing.
The last thing that she wanted to do was have another conversation with the groomsman who couldn’t take the hint that she wasn’t interested. But she wanted her jacket back. Ugh. Hopefully this interaction would end quickly.
“I’m stepping outside really quick,” she said to Kevin.
He mumbled something that sounded like okay. His eyes remained glued to his phone.
It was hot outside. Kids were playing in the park at the end of the block, and the fried chicken sandwich spot next door was busy with customers. Directly across the street, Noelle watched Tati curl her client’s hair. Tati said something, and her client covered her mouth as she laughed. Using telepathic best-friend powers, Tati suddenly glanced over and caught eyes with Noelle. What’s wrong? she mouthed, frowning. Noelle shook her head and mouthed back I’ll tell you later.
“Noelle! Hey!”
She turned at the sound of her name. Brian was jogging down the sidewalk toward her, holding her jacket. He was wearing a T-shirt and running shorts, like maybe he’d just come from the gym. At least this time he wasn’t drunk. She mustered a smile.
“Hey, Brian,” she said. “Thanks so much for bringing my jacket. I really appreciate it.”
She reached to take the jacket, but Brian kept hold of it. Her brows pinched together in confusion as he sported a wide grin.
“Yeah, I was over at Sheree and Justin’s last night, and Sheree mentioned that she’d have to take the PATH into Jersey City to drop off your jacket,” he said. “And I told her I could do it since I live so close by. Plus, you and I didn’t have a chance to finish our conversation from the other night.”
Noelle groaned inwardly. “It was so nice of you to bring the jacket to me. I have to get back to work, though.”
She reached for the jacket again, but Brian took a deliberate step back and held her jacket out of reach.
“What’re your plans for the weekend?” he asked. “My boy is having a cookout. I’d love to bring you. And I’m not a cheap date either, so you don’t gotta worry about that.”
Noelle narrowed her eyes. She was finally able to pin down what it was about Brian that rubbed her the wrong way, aside from how he was holding her jacket hostage. His overly confident demeanor and complete inability to read the room or her reminded her of CJ. She hadn’t known how to look for red flags in college. But she knew how to look for them now. She wanted to tell Brian to take a damn hint, but she was nervous that he’d badmouth her to Sheree and cause her to lose her bridesmaid gig. She needed that job more than ever now.
“I have to work this weekend,” she said. With a sting, she realized that was no longer true, at least not for Hidden Gems Books. She’d definitely do food delivery this weekend, though.
She lunged for her jacket again and clasped on to one of the sleeves. With a hard tug, she snatched the jacket from Brian’s grip and draped the jacket over her shoulder.