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Why did she react like that? Why does Ian get weird when I bring up the topic of his mom, and why is she doing the same when I mention Ian?
“That’s nice of him.” She clears her throat, taking another sip of water.
“Yeah I know. You should thank him for me. He came up with most of the plans for the rebrand. He’s been a great…um…friend.” I gulp.
Melissa stays silent. She picks up her fork again, twirling it around. She has a distant look in her eyes as she stares at her glass of water. After a while, she blinks.
“Ian and I haven’t been on good terms for some time now.”
“What?”
“Yeah, um…” She twirls the fork again before dropping it in her dish with a clang. “We’ve only seen each other a few times since he got back. We’ve spent even less time talking.”
“That’s really surprising.” I move back in my seat. “Ian didn’t mention a thing.”
“Yeah, you know how he is.” She forces a chuckle. “Very secretive. Even I haven’t told anyone yet. You’re the first person.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Melissa’s phone buzzes. She grabs it and peers at the screen.
“Oh.” She turns back to me to say, “I’m sorry, I have to go now.” She rises from the chair, reaching into her purse.
“Don’t worry about that, Melissa. It’s my treat.” I pull out a fifty-dollar bill, tucking it under my plate as I stand up.
“Thanks, Kaylee. It was really nice talking to you.” She gives me a brief hug before walking out of the restaurant. I stare as she moves briskly on the sidewalk before disappearing into a corner.
Why didn’t he tell me? I grab my grocery bag and walk out too. We’ve spent some time together, and every time I say something about his mom, he clams up. Why couldn’t he just tell me they were having problems?
I turn a corner into the street that leads to my shop. Cars speed past and people walk briskly around me, but my eyes stay fixed on the stone sidewalk.
If he feels the need to hide that detail from me, it means he doesn’t trust me. If he doesn’t trust me, then what else is he keeping from me?
Chapter Sixteen: Ian
I glance at my wristwatch for the tenth time in the last five minutes. It’s as though the day is taking its sweet time, moving slowly just to piss me off. It feels like hours have passed since I got to this café, but according to the time, I’ve been here for only fifteen minutes. The waitress walks up to me with a tray in hand and a bright smile on her face.
“Here’s your order, sir.” She drops a plate filled with toast, bacon and a glass of water before me.
“Thanks.” I glance at my watch again.
“You need anything else, sir?”
“Not at the moment, no.”
She turns around, walking away. I pull out my phone from my side pocket, scrolling through my messages. Next, I dial Carl’s number, placing the phone to my ear as I chew on a piece of bacon.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Carl.” I sit up, dropping the bacon. “What on earth is going on? He’s late.”
“No, he’s not. You’re early.”
“It’s eight forty-five am already. If he really cared about what I had to say, he’ll be here by seven am.”
“The meeting is set for nine am, Ian. you’ve got to chill out.”
“You of all people know I can’t chill out.”
“Don’t worry, Ian, he’ll be there, trust me. Besides, he’s the one who set up the meeting. Why won’t he show up?”
