Better Than Nothing: Part 3 of On the Edge Series

Chapter 12

"There shouldn't be too many people here since it's a Saturday," Tess offered as she pushed open the front door with her back. Her hands were full of chocolate malt for Tim and her strawberry shake.

"Great, so we're only walking into a minor scene." My stomach was dropping at the plan that had once seemed so enticing.

The two chocolate malts in my hands sent a throbbing shiver up my arms, but the pain was no match for the zing of Billy's proximity.

"Are you sure they came in today?" I questioned as my mind slipped to us leaving them both behind at Mary's that morning. "Maybe they hung out at Mary's or went to Billy's home studio."

"Nope, they're here. Tim shot me a text when they headed in," Tess said as she snaked through various hallways. "I'm just unsure if they're in the offices or the studios," she admitted.

"Maybe we should go. I have a bad feeling about this." But before I could finish, I heard Billy's gruff voice tumble from a nearby office.

"Ah, they're in the offices," Tess' eyes twinkled as she pushed open an ajar door. "Hey all," her voice was casual. This was normal, her every day. This was the same as me arriving at my office for the day.

I kept my eyes low as I followed her in.

"Hey, babe," Tim greeted before his eyes landed on me. "Okay, Lily is with you."

"We brought malts," Tess offered, as though that would explain why this was a good idea. "Sorry, Dan, I didn't know you were in too," she added.

"You can have my malt. It's chocolate," I offered to the stranger.

"No, that's fine. I'm not a big malt guy," he shrugged. "I'm gonna go work on the titles," he added in a dejected tone as he made his way out of the room.

It was no wonder he left. There was a current of tension in the room, and it didn't seem like my presence had brought all of it. I set Billy's malt on his desk without raising my eyes to meet his.

"So, what are you two up to in the studio on a Saturday?" Tess jabbed at Tim's ribs with an elbow.

"The usual," Tim paused to take a sip of his malt before continuing, "Danny and I were working, and Billy was telling us everything we were doing wrong."

"I offered to do it myself," Billy shot, but in no way did he deny that he had been heavy with the critique.

"What are you working on?" Tess wandered over to Billy's side.

"The cover for Gavin's upcoming release." Billy spread out a few markups as he spoke. "Take a look," he prodded her.

One of Tess' hands fell on Billy's shoulder as she looked over the options. From his chair, he subtly leaned into her waist as he joined her gaze on the photos. I wondered if anyone else noticed how easy it was to see whose opinions Billy valued. Tess' views were undoubtedly appreciated.

"Gavin has such a 90s grungy vibe. These don't do that," Tess noted as she continued to look them over.

"That's what I said." Satisfaction filled Billy's voice.

"That's not what you said. I believe your words were, 'these all look like shit,'" Tim grumbled.

"Honestly, if you take this one of him on the sidewalk, crop it to his crossed ankles and make it black and white, it would be cool for his vibe. It has that throwback feel, but his Converse are so casual that it doesn't feel pretentious." Tess spoke with easy confidence.

"I love that." Billy picked up the photo and circled the sneakers with a red Sharpie.

"Oh, I love that contrast," she added. "You should just scrawl the title over the image in red Sharpie."