The Research Project

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was Monday morning, exactly one week since she'd walked out of Byron's office. Lainey knew this because she was certain that all she'd done for the past week since she'd ended things with Byron, was watch the hands of the clock tick by, the sound of it slowly sending her into the depths of insanity. She clutched the pink notebook she'd found in her bag constantly, wishing and willing there to be a way to change things, to make this nightmare go away, but there wasn't.

Penny had called her on Tuesday to find out where she was. Byron had obviously not passed on the information that she'd quit her job, but why would he when he was out of the country on a business trip with Morgan in Las Vegas as Penny had informed her. She could just picture the two of them in the Elvis Chapel tying the knot, Morgan with her mean girl smile and Byron returning it, more than happy to move on from her.

Lainey's life was a mess. She'd lost Byron and she also had no job, which she needed because she was failing at writing. Her writer's block had returned and this time, Lainey was certain it was a permanent thing. Her face was also a permanent mess because all she ever did was cry and now somehow she had to turn it all around and meet up with the effervescent Suzanne. As she entered Quay restaurant where they'd met the first time, Lainey could see her on her phone at the same table. A waiter came over to speak her but she pointed in Suzanne's direction.

"Lainey, you look... terrible," Suzanne said as Lainey took a seat.

"I know," she agreed. "I've been living off coffee and activated almonds for the past week."

"Activated almonds? You actually went out and bought some of those?"

"I didn't mean to, I thought I was buying pine nuts."

"Um, just a little bit of a size difference," Suzanne said, pinching two fingers in the air to indicate.

"I haven't been thinking straight."

"As long as Love, Version 3.0 is coming along. I've just bought myself an investment property."

Oh pants, Lainey thought. "Um, yeah, it's coming, I just need to work out the happily ever after."

"So what's the hold up?"

"I've lost my muse," she told her on a sigh.

Suzanne sat back in her chair and just looked at her. "Byron? So get him back."

Lainey gave a bitter laugh. "It's not that simple. He's already moved on."

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"Not absolute, but I do know that he's in Las Vegas with Morgan, one of the lawyers at his firm."

"It's probably a business trip."

"It is, but that means nothing. Morgan is notorious for getting what she wants."

"Oh. That's not good," Suzanne said.

"For an erotic romance writer, I'm not very good at relationships myself."

"Okay," Suzanne said, thinking. "Can you find another muse?"

"No. How can I even think about another man since Byron?"

"He was 'the one, the love of your life, your soul mate?'"

"I guess so. I didn't mean for it to happen. We were only meant to be doing research."

Suzanne scoffed. "That was never going to work. You were bound to fall for each other. Have you tried Tinder?" Lainey just looked at her. "Sorry, but come on, you've got to get back on that horse, as the saying goes."