Love Remains The Same

Goodbye Girl

There you go
Wrecking my whole world
All fixed up
My goodbye girl
——Goodbye Girl, Luke Bryan

August 2018

"Jared Malloy called again," Jake told her before she'd even had her coffee.  Cait just glared at him.  "He wants to have dinner while he's in town."

"I don't eat dinner," she snapped.

"Maybe you should give it a try," Jake frowned.  "I'm spending all of my time working with a buyer to get you new clothes."

"Shut up," Cait told him.  "But that reminds me, I need a dress and shoes for Luke and Rae's engagement party next weekend.  Get on that."

"Do you need a hair appointment too?" Jake was quickly learning that his life was easier if he anticipated these things.

"Rae and I are going to the spa that day," Cait frowned. "I hate to take a whole day away from the office, but she insisted."

"And Jared Malloy?" Jake asked, not bothering to point out that it would be a Saturday. Cait worked seven days a week. "Would you like me to get rid of him?"

Cait sighed. "No, I'll manage dinner, I suppose. I've been approached about investing in a few ski resorts and I'm considering it. That's probably why Jared wants to see me."

*****

"Rae is on the line for you," Jake appeared in her office late that afternoon. "Says you didn't answer your cell. Did you forget to charge it again?"

"I don't know," Cait threw her designer bag at him. "Find it and check." She snapped up the phone on her desk. "What's up, Rae?"

"I- uh, well, I thought you should know that Grayson is bringing a date next weekend," Rae was chewing her lip on the other end of the phone.

God, that hurt. Cait had to suck in a breath at how bad that hurt. But this was what she wanted, she reminded herself. She wanted him to find someone else.

"Tha-, um, that's great, Rae," she managed. "Really."

"No, it's not," Rae frowned. "I don't like her." Rae and Luke had visited Grayson to check out his new townhouse and Vanessa seemed to be making herself right at home.

"All that matters is that he's happy," Cait got out through clenched teeth.

"She's really clingy and possessive," Rae noted. "She's glued to him."

"I'm sure he's fine with it." Cait swallowed hard.

"I just thought you should know," Rae sighed. "You could bring Jake. That would really piss him off."

"I'm not doing that," Cait said shortly. She saw Jake in the doorway motioning that she was going to be late for dinner with Jared. "I've gotta run, Rae. Talk soon, okay?"

As she was headed out the door, Jake handed her her phone.  "You've got about a dozen texts from someone called Wendell, too," he noted. 

Cait sighed.  "I'll deal with him later."

*****