Forever the Taylors?

38

Zac couldn't believe what he heard. "Be cool." Zac reminded himself in his head. "oh that's wassup. Shit. No that's not what I meant to say. Umm.. How are you?" Zac asked while slapping himself in the back of the head.

"Really Zac? I'm good. Never been better." She answered sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that." He said making sure his tone matched how serious he was.

"It's fine. I rally am ok. Just have some thinking to do. Speaking of thinking. Can you please just tell me what's inside this damn box." She said pulling the box from her purse.

"How many have you solved so far?" He asked asking the box from her hand and examining it. "How long have y'all been apart?"

"Four." She huffed. "Last night."

"I guess I can give you a freebie. Are you sure you're ok? Zac asked continuing on with both conversations simultaneously. There was something special ab out the way that these two communicated.

"I don't want a freebie. I want the damn gift. Yes. I'm fine. I'm processing I guess."

"I'm not giving you all the answers. Trust the process. And I get that. Even though Noelle and I weren't dating long, deciding to date and then immediately changing my mind has me reevaluating a few things myself."

"Oh yea. Like what?" Fatima asked, taking the puzzle back from him and tapping it aggressively on the quartz countertop.

"Would you stop! And things like when my last days one, did I live a life I could be proud of and did I leave a legacy to be cherished?"

"I'm not gonna stop until the damn box opens. And you're off to a really great start. I know I'm proud of you. Zane worships the ground you walk on. There's even countless people who would brag about your character even before the money. You've never been a bad person, you just needed some direction.

Zac looked at her lovingly. "How do you always do that?"

Fatima rolled her eyes and smiled. "Do what?"

"Always say the right thing? Things to make me feel good."

"Well. I want you to feel good?"

They stared each other down. Both of them desperately wanting the other to make the next move. Zac closed his eyes and could hear Noelle's warning. "We uhh. We should get outta here." Zac said interrupting the silence.

"Yea. Uhh. Ok. I have everything I need and all the measurements." Fatima said fiddling with her iPad. "You mind stopping at Panera? I'm starving."

"Yea, sure lets go."

The ride back was uneventful. The two mainly stayed silent while summer walker's album blended in with the sounds of the city surrounding them. "Do you wanna eat in or take it back?" Zac asked as he was getting ready to take the exit for Panera.

"Let's get it to go. I still need you to look at my car and I don't wanna monopolize your entire day."

They ordered their food to go and ate as they drove. When they got back into the parking garage Zac and Fatima switched into her car to see what the problem was. There was definitely a sound happening when they turned. Zac told Fatima to leave her car there and that he would have it picked up and taken to the dealership for maintenance. She offered to take a car service home, but he insisted that he drive her since he knew Zane would be expecting her since he knew she was in the office. Fatima used the far side of Zac's office as her personal workspace for the day. For the rest of the day, Zac worked from his desk, fielding calls and answering emails. She worked on the mood boards for all of the rooms, arranging photos and measurements, hand-drawn sketches and color swatches. Looking at her work you'd think she was a professional interior designer. 5 pm rolled around and Zac decided it was quitting time. Fatima was asleep on the sofa.