Chapter 14: Jungle.
"No one laughed." I tell Naya, chuckling.
"That must have been so embarrassing." She tells me, trying her best not to choke on her food.
"Trust me, it was." I tell her.
"That reminds me, you have a meeting with Ashton McCain." Naya says before she keeps eating.
"That's gonna be the last meeting of the day. I have other things to do, so push every other person down to Wednesday." I tell her.
She doesn't reply, she just nods and keeps eating.
Shortly, Ashton arrives and I head to my office where he is waiting for me.
"Good Afternoon." He says and I roll my eyes as I pass him by, walking to my seat.
"Looking good, Vee." He says before I sit on my chair.
"Save it, Ashton. I know you're here because you want more money." I tell him, crossing my arms.
"No, not at all. Construction is going great by the way." He says, helping himself to the bowl of candy on my table.
"Why are you here?" I ask him.
"Someone wants to buy Stone construction and I'm their representative." He tells me.
I laugh and almost fall off my chair.
"You're joking right?" I ask, staring at him.
"I'm not." He says, staring at me with a serious look on his face.
"What made this person think that Stone construction was up for grabs? I mean, it's not like I'm dead or something." I say, playing with a pen on the table.
"Well, you almost died. My client is just concerned about you and wants Stone Construction to be a global business." Ashton says and I frown.
"No, they don't. My last name is literally on the front of the building, they just want to swap my name with theirs and get their name in the tabloids." I tell him.
"Trust me, my client doesn't need tabloids. He has a name of his own." Ashton says and I roll my eyes.
"Then, he should start his own business. I am not selling." I tell him.
"You've always been difficult. I'll keep in touch." He says, standing up to leave.
"Stay away from me, Ashton." I tell him before he walks out.
Naya walks in, fidgeting.
"What?" I ask, already tired of this day.
"Spencer Hastings is here to see you." She says and I freeze in my seat.
"Let...let him in." I tell her and she nods.
What the fuck does Spencer want from me?
"Hey." Spencer says as he walks into my office. He is wearing a Nike tracksuit with sneakers. He looks out of place with the office setting, but he stands out regardless.
"Spencer, it's good to see you." I say, nervous.
I don't know what this meeting could be about, so I'm kinda paranoid right now.
"I know you're probably wondering why I'm here." He says and I nod.
"This is why." He says as he places an envelope on the table.
I open the envelope and I remove a white card. It's a wedding invite.
Spencer and Alicia are getting married.
Who would have thought?
Not me.
"I really hope you can make it, Vee. Regardless of the history between all three of us." Spencer pleas.
"I'll be there. Alicia was my best friend once upon a time, so I'll come." I tell him, smiling.
I'm not mad that they are getting married, I'm just jealous that it's not my wedding. I know I'm young and what not, but shit like this really makes you question your life choices.
Am I too picky?
"Yeah, you don't pick guys unless their name is Zachary Henderson." My subconscious says.
"I'll be on my way now. Thanks for not kicking me out." He jokes and I laugh.
"Goodbye, Spence." I say as he walks out of my office.
***
Walking into my apartment, I take my heels off before I walk to the living room.
I see Adam watching television and I scream. He snaps his head back in fear, before his features soften and he laughs at me. I run to the sofa and I tackle him, hugging him as hard as I can. He chuckles and holds me tight, preventing me from falling.
"Adam." I say into his chest.
I can't believe he's here in my arms.
I haven't seen Adam since spring break of freshman year.
"I missed you, Vee." He says as I pull away.
"I missed you more." I tell him, smacking his chest.
"How's London?" I ask him and he scratches his head.
After college Adam moved from Connecticut to London to be closer to his girlfriend, Ashley.
"What? Is there something you want to tell me?" I ask him.
"I'm taking a break from London. I've been in New York for a month now." He tells me.
"What? You've been here for a month and you're just visiting me now?" I say, getting annoyed.
"You were missing when I got here." He says in his defense.
"And you couldn't gather a search party. Some friend you are." I tell him, folding my arms.
"I'm sorry, Vee." He says trying to touch my arm, but I hit his hand.
"I'm telling Ashley about this. She's not gonna be too happy." I say, pouting.
"Fuck that bitch." He retorts and I stare at him in shock.
Oh.
"Young man." I say, clutching my invisible pearls.
"I don't want to hear that name anywhere near me." He says with a serious tone.
"What happened?" I ask, moving close to him on the sofa.
He doesn't reply straight away. He just stares into space thinking about something before he speaks.
"You know that night of our four year anniversary?" He asks and I nod.
"I had the whole proposal planned and when I got to her house she was on her knees sucking some random dude off. Turns out that random dude was her cousin and she's been secretly dating him for a year." Adam says, clenching his fist.
Shit.
"That's so fucked up." I say, totally shocked. "I was really rooting for the two of you." I tell him, touching his arm.
"Well, that ship has sailed." He tells me.
"So, what kept you so busy for the past month that you forgot about me?" I ask him and I can see him get nervous.
"Okay, don't freak out." He tells me and I shrug.
"Why would I freak out?" I ask him.
"Because you're over dramatic and you love doing the most." He says and I suck my teeth.
"That is not true." I tell him.
"Courtney and I have this little thing going on and I've been crashing at her house." He reveals and my jaw is literally on the floor.
"And Zachary came over once looking for you, that's how I found out that you were missing. I honestly didn't know because I had just arrived in New York. Did he tell you that he saw me at her house?" Adam asks and I shake my head.
"I haven't spoken to Zachary for a while now. Now, don't change the subject. You've been screwing Courtney." I say, covering my mouth with my hand.
"Something like that." He says and I shake my head.
"Adam, I thought you had your life figured out. Now you're just like me, doing thotty things like it's okay." I tell him.
"We're in our twenties, Vee. It's time to make all the mistakes we want. While some people our age are getting married and having kids, people like us on the other hand don't have it all figured out. And that's okay. Screw society. I'm sick of being told that I need to pace myself and settle down just because I'm going out every single night. In this jungle of life, the only thing you can do is persevere." Adam rants.
"Speaking of settling down, Spencer and Alicia are getting married." I tell him.
"Damn. How do you feel about that?" He asks me and I shrug.
"My feelings aren't going to change anything, are they?" I say, truthfully.
"Are you hurting?" He asks me and I shake my head.
"No, I'm just surprised that they're gonna be husband and wife soon." I say, folding my arms.
"I get that. In my head we're all still in High School. Adulting is not for us." He says, leaning close to me.
"You can say that again." I yawn. "Wanna order some Chinese?" I ask him.
"Fuck yeah." He replies immediately and I giggle, grabbing my phone.