Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(8)

“I guess I owe you an apology of sorts,” Krista said once they were seated.

Sean furrowed his brow. “For what?”

“I hit your team kind of hard today.”

Sean’s face lit up. “Yes, you did at that. I thought we were ready for the famous Krista Marshall. Is…is Marshall still your last name?”

“No. Actually, now it’s Fields.” She hoped Sean would look disappointed, but instead he just listened calmly. “I changed it for identity purposes. So Jim couldn’t find me.”

He nodded, understanding. “Turns out you were a bit tougher than I anticipated.”

“Well, in fairness, I do know how your team works.”

“I don’t have a team these days. I am a one man show. Well, Ray and I are a one man show.”

“Speaking of, where was he today?”

“He is the silent partner.”

“I know, but usually he still goes to the meetings. Or not anymore?”

“No, he does, mostly.”

Krista waited for him to say more, but nothing more came.

“So how are things going for you?” he asked, changing the subject.

This was killing her. They were talking like old work associates. Not even lovers, and certainly not old friends. The hits just keep on coming.

“Well, I travel a lot,” she said, having a sip of her wine to rid her face of the pain. “A real lot, actually. But I got a promotion, so that’s good. Doing my thing, as you saw today. I really like it. It’s a lot of stress, but I like it.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. And how do you like L.A.?”

“It’s…it’s okay. It’s, ah…” She got a sudden feeling of hopelessness. She wanted to tell him how lonely she was. That there was nothing for her there. She wanted to confide in him like she used to. It was all gone now, though. They were all but strangers. “I surf now. I don’t know if you heard.”

He was looking at her intently, though distantly. “Really? How is the water?”

“Oh it’s awesome! You should come down sometime and try it out!”

“I’ve been.” His eyes sparkled when he saw her response to one of his favorite pastimes. “It is pretty great. But where is the fun? There aren’t even any sharks to dodge.”

Krista chuckled, though she didn’t feel it. It was a clever detour around saying he didn’t want to visit.

“What have you been up to?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation going. She didn’t remember it being so hard to talk to one another.

“Work mostly. I work obscene hours.”

“Yeah, I heard you made VP. Congratulations.”

“Junior VP. Thank you. I’ve been in that position about a year now. My résumé has grown tenfold.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. That’s really great.”

“Well, I should talk to some of your party. I know you won’t be taking the account, but I have to try anyway, right?”

“Well, I don’t think any decisions are made quite yet…”

Sean just smiled indulgently as he smoothly got up. He winked as he walked away. She watched him cross the floor and start talking to an attractive woman. It was salt she didn’t need. She finished her drink and went to the bar to get something stronger.

The evening passed slowly. It felt like Sean was talking to the whole place but Krista. Ben was engaged with some other art geek, and Marcus didn’t have time to talk to everyone he knew, let alone waste time on someone he saw almost every day. What was worse was that Emily felt ill after they ate lunch and didn’t go to the dinner. Krista told her not to get the fish—did anyone ever listen to her??

Krista had never felt so alone in all her life. If it wasn’t bad form, she would have left halfway through.

It was nearing the end of the night. Krista was standing outside getting some air and counting down the seconds until she could go back to the hotel. Her drink was almost dry, but she didn’t dare go back into the bar to see Sean chatting up some woman or other. It was cold and she forgot to bring her jacket. Basically, things were going from bad to tragic.

At least she didn’t have to take the train. She remembered the hell that was San Francisco’s public transportation system.

As Krista looked out over the city, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked over her shoulder, wondering if she would be mugged with the luck she was having, and saw Sean. He walked up next to her and stopped.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” he said after a couple seconds. “I didn’t know how to act.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to act around you anymore. It has been so long. You’ve changed so much.”

“Have I? Maybe I’ve gotten too used to being tough,” she said lamely. She knew she had become quite the firm bitch at work, but she had also never been so popular.

“I’m sorry—there I go again. I didn’t mean that negatively. You’ve grown. Not in stature…” Sean gave a frustrated sigh and fell silent.

“You haven’t changed all that much. Well, besides being large and in charge. But you always had that, just not the clout to use it.” Krista expected Sean to laugh, but neither of them thought things were all that funny.