Brightly Burning Bridges by Ivy Wild
Present
I looked down at my hands, pretending to clean my nails, as the man across the room became increasingly angry at me. He was droning on about numbers and portfolio positions and frankly, I’d lost interest within the first five minutes of him opening his mouth.
“Are you taking any of this serious, Silas?” Bob damn near shouted at me from across his desk.
I turned my hand over and sighed before looking around his office. Bob had been my family’s accountant for decades and when my father passed, he continued in that role for me. I was sitting on one of the expensive leather couches in his office, surrounded by a wall of windows from a fairly high floor in a building my father had renovated in DuPont Circle.
“As serious as a heart attack, Bob,” I said slyly, turning to give him a shit-eating grin.
Bob sat back down in his chair and looked defeated. “Your father worked his whole life to build his fortune. You’re really going to put that all in jeopardy?”
I gave him an exasperated look. Poor Bob. He’d never been a looker to begin with, but then middle age took ahold of him and stole his hair and traded him a beer belly. Probably came from sitting on his ass all day doing paperwork and causing unnecessary worry.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been audited, Bob. And it won’t be the last time. Honestly, can you just relax?”
Bob folded his hands in front of him and gave me his best attempt at a serious look.
So boring.
I pulled my phone out and started swiping through emails.
“This isn’t a regular audit by the IRS, Silas. This is something else.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, brushing off his comment.
“At least promise me you’ll hire an assistant to keep your documents organized, Silas. I can’t manage your finances if I don’t have the right documents.”
I turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. “Hire someone? As in like have an employee?”
“Silas, I realize that interacting with people isn’t really your strong suit, but yes, I do mean hire someone. Someone you like and can trust with your personal affairs. I understand that you have no interest in taking a larger role in the companies that make up your trust fund, and after the debacle with R&R Realty, I can’t say that I mind that. But, please, at least get yourself a personal assistant.”
“Yeah, well, there’s no one I like and I sure as hell don’t trust anyone,” I replied, turning back to my phone.
Bob threw up his hands. “Just think about it, at least, will you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Thanks for the meeting, Bob. You know how much I enjoy being bored to death.”
Bob knew better than to respond. There weren’t many people I’d allowed to stay in my life after my father died. For as much shit as I gave Bob, he probably didn’t even realize that he was one of the one’s I’d kept.
I winked at his receptionist on my way out and she blushed. “Bye, Silas,” she said in a sugar sweet voice.
“Bye, sweetheart,” I said as I stepped into the elevator and let the doors close behind me. My smile dropped off my face as soon as I was alone in the room. I wasn’t worried about what Bob had told me, but I also wasn’t as disinterested as I’d made it seem. Regardless of what he might think, I actually had my finger on the pulse of all the companies I had any sort of large stake in.
R&R Realty hadn’t been about making money. It had been about trying to get even, and even I’ll admit that had been a mistake. But the company had been liquidated now and I’d heard its former CEO, Carter Ross, was doing much better on his own anyways. I didn’t care if the world demonized me over the whole thing. I’d never managed to measure up to anyone else’s standards. It’s why I’d stopped trying.
I pulled out my phone and opened the email Bob had forwarded me. My lips twisted into a frown as I read the letter. It was all bullshit and the IRS fucking knew it. Even still, they were guaranteed going to make my life a living hell for the next year with this shit. The doors open and I morphed my face back into the easy smile people knew me for and made my way towards the exit.
I stepped out into the crisp fall air and my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten dinner. I needed a distraction from what I’d just read and images of silver hair immediately flashed through my mind. I hated the idea of pancakes, but I was pretty sure I could stomach the flat sugar bread for a chance to see her again.
I raised a hand to hail a cab, my mind made up.
Climbing into the vehicle, I let the driver know where to go before I slid back into my seat and watched the buildings blur around me through the window. Skyler Jackson hadn’t just been stuck in my head for the last week, she’d been stuck in my head for the last decade. I couldn’t believe she was back in D.C. Last I’d heard, she was living in New York, trying to become an actress.
I could have told her that was never going to work out for her. It had nothing to do with her looks. Skyler would never admit it, but she’d numbed herself to the world the same as I did. All that ink and color she’d tried to infuse into her skin was proof of that. And when you spent your life mostly dead to the world around you, being overly emotional for a bunch of strangers on screen wasn’t going to just happen.
Her and I were the same. That’s why she hated me. Because she hated herself.
Or at least, that’s why she had hated me. I idly wondered if that was still the case. And then I wondered if I even gave a shit.
Nope, not at all.
She was just another distraction, that was all.
“We’re here, Sir,” the driver said and I threw him some cash before climbing out of the back seat. I knew most people paid cab drivers with credit cards nowadays, but I still liked the idea of paying a cab driver with cash. I always hoped they didn’t declare the money I paid them on their income taxes. Another subtle way I tried to throw a middle finger to the man.
I made my way to the front door of the Friendly Pancake. The place was definitely busier than the last time I visited and on first glance, I didn’t see silver hair through the window. I grimaced. I’d be seriously pissed off if I came all the way up to the fucking Northwest just to not see Skyler.
I made my way inside and shuffled past the people who were waiting for a table.
“We’re a little backed up right now,” the hostess said to me as I approached. I could see the blush creep up on her cheeks as her eyes moved from my blond hair to my pressed suit.
“Is Skyler working tonight?” I asked with a lazy smile, cutting right to the chase.
The young girl’s eyes brightened as she looked at me. “Oh, are you a friend of Sky’s?”
“Something like that,” I responded.
She tapped her fingers to her lips and looked down at the schedule. “She actually just got off. She usually leaves around back. You might be able to catch her if you hurry!”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” I said, winking at the girl before pushing through the crowded lobby to make my way around back. I detested running, but I picked up the pace just a bit. I really didn’t want to come this close to Potomac just to miss the one girl I was after seeing.
I slowed as I rounded the back of the restaurant. There she was, struggling with her keys while trying to balance a takeout bag from the restaurant.
“Need any help?” I asked and she jumped, almost dropping the to-go bag. She turned and leaned against her car upon seeing me and pressed a pale hand to her chest.
“Oh my god, Silas,” she breathed out.
I smirked. “I like hearing that on your lips.” I stepped closer and she narrowed her eyes at me before turning back around to finally unlock her car.
“Didn’t you have enough fun last week? There’s nothing here for you, Silas. So, you should just leave.” Her words were as fake as the colors she’d inked into her skin.
“Is it a crime to want to connect with an old friend?”
She rolled those big lavender eyes of hers. “Told you before. We are not friends, Silas. We never were.”
I took the final step to her car door, leaning against the top. “You lie so sweetly, Sky.”
“What do you want, Silas?” Skyler asked, stomping her foot a bit. She was irritated and that only made me want to draw out this encounter.
“Leftovers for one?” I asked, cocking my head to the bag sitting on the driver’s seat.
“What’s it to you?” she replied, putting a hand to her hip.
I shrugged. “I haven’t eaten dinner. So, if it’s for two, I’d ask to join you.”
She scoffed. “Well, lucky for me then it’s only for one. Looks like you’ll have to find your own food.”
I grinned because she’d fallen for my trap. She’d inadvertently admitted to me that she was eating dinner alone. It wasn’t definitive proof that she was unattached, but it was pretty good circumstantial evidence.
I circled my way around the door and she gasped as I pushed her against the cold metal. “We really have to stop meeting like this, Skyler,” I drawled.
Her breath was warm against my face. “What is it you want, Silas?” she asked through clenched teeth, but she made no attempt to push me away.
I backed up slightly, not trusting myself not to do something stupid when I had her this close. “Go to dinner with me.” I paused. “I’ll knock another grand off your debt.”
Her pale lips had been painted an obscure color of purple and I reached my thumb up to press against her bottom lip briefly before pulling back. She pulled the lip into her mouth and hit me with those beautiful eyes of hers.
“I more than paid off that debt to you, Silas. And besides, you’re the lawyer. You should know the statute of limitations has run.”
I chuckled and put my hand into my pocket. “Just because I went to law school doesn’t mean I’m a lawyer.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but still didn’t move to push me away. “Dinner.” It wasn’t a question.
“No,” she replied flatly.
“Fine,” I responded, flipping us around so that I was leaning against the car. I moved the pancakes to the backseat and sat down. “Then the least I can do is drive you home.”
Skyler huffed, putting her hands back on her hips. “Get out of the car, Silas!”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You remember the last time we played this game, Skyler? You remember who won?”
She threw her head back up and muttered something under her breath. I could tell I’d worn her down and she was about to give in. I just needed to push her over the edge. “I actually do have something serious to talk to you about, Skyler.” I let my words hang in the air, knowing she couldn’t resist the word “serious.”
“Fine,” she hissed making her way to the passenger side. She climbed in and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You going to tell me where you live?” I asked, starting the engine.
“Head up 39th Street,” she said and I nodded. She stayed mostly quiet the entire ride, which only turned out to be a few blocks before she was telling me to pull into a small lot behind a row of buildings. “I’m on the top floor to the far right,” she said.
“Good to know,” I said, turning off the car and turning to face her.
She gave me a look of disdain and I just smiled back at her. “What happened to us, huh, Sky?”
“Let’s not dig up what’s dead and buried, Silas. What was it you wanted to talk to me about? You said it was something serious.”
I nodded. “It is. Turns out I’m in need of an assistant. It needs to be someone I can trust.”
She scoffed. “You don’t trust anyone, Silas.”
I smirked. She knew me so well and she wasn’t even aware of it. “True. But of all the people I don’t trust, the person I don’t trust the least is you.”
“Geez, what an honor.”
I shrugged. “I can print you a certificate if you think it will make it feel more official.”
She ignored my taunting. “So, what? You’re asking if I’ll agree to be your assistant?”
I snapped my fingers, momentarily startling her. “You catch on quick.”
“Why do you think I’d ever agree to work for you, Silas?”
I scrunched my face as I looked at her, twisting my features. “Because you’re almost thirty years old working as a waitress at a diner. And despite making barely enough for yourself, you’re still sending money to your mom.”
Her eyes widened, confirming my suspicions. “How did you—” she began to ask but I cut her off.
“It doesn’t matter. Take the offer, Skyler. You know I don’t ask twice.”
She bit her lower lip before sighing. “Can I have some time to think about it?”
“Sure. The offer’s open for forty-eight hours. That gives you until Friday night to give me your answer.”
She nodded her head. “Okay.”
“Call me on my cell when you know,” I said. “The number’s on the business card I left you last week.”
I noticed a blush dust her cheeks and she turned to look at me. “I, uh, lost it. Can I have another one?”
“You lost it?” I said in an accusing voice. “You know, I am trying to hire you for a position that rewards organizational skills.”
She narrowed her eyes at me and pursed her lips. “Fine. I didn’t lose it. I fucking threw it away. Happy?”
I chuckled and pulled another black card out of my wallet. “I’ll let you know on Friday evening.” I held the card out between my fingers and she snatched it out of my hand.
I exited the car and started walking towards Wisconsin Avenue, intent on grabbing a cab to my condo. She closed her own door and whirled around to look at me. “That’s it? You’re not staying?” She seemed surprised and I turned around to give her an interesting stare.
“Did you want me to stay?”
“Oh, god no!” she immediately replied and I chuckled. “I’m just surprised you didn’t try anything, that’s all.”
“Enjoy your dinner, Sky,” I said with a wave of my hand before turning the corner onto Wisconsin. I climbed into the cab and pulled out my phone, swiping my thumb on the screen to unlock it. A bit of purple smudged across the device and I looked down to see lipstick smeared across my finger. I brought my thumb to my lips to lick it off.
It tasted tangy.
So very fitting.
