Beca had set the coffee machine and was leaning against a wall waiting for it as she scrolled down her unread e-mails.
"I swear you're on your phone more than my niece, and she's 12," Matt said, stepping inside the room.
"I'm going through e-mails," she said without looking up.
"It's called a break room for a reason, you know?" he opened the fridge and pulled a burrito.
Matt was right. It was her break and she shouldn't be working. Beca stuffed her phone in her back pocket then looked at him. Seeing him shaved for the first since she had met him made arch her eyebrows in surprise.
"I've been told I look like a middle schooler without a beard," he chuckled, noting her facial expression.
"You look really weird without a beard."
"I know," he took a bite from his burrito. "I only shaved 'cause mom nicely asked me to."
"Are you going to a 90s themed party?" she asked finally tearing her eyes from his face to look at the clothes he was wearing: an over-sized black t-shirt tucked into Zubaz pants.
"I'm gonna pick up my sister up from the airport and all this is to piss her off." He paused to sallow. "She's, like, a super uptight. It's fun to get under her skin."
"I can relate to that," Beca chuckled.
"You have an uptight bitchy sister, too?"
"No," she shook her head. "Back when I was a freshmen in college, the captain of my a cappella group was uptight and didn't like me," she smiled remembering how she and Aubrey used to butt heads a lot.
"Judging by your facial expression, I guessing you became friends?"
"Yep," she straightened up to get her coffee. "When are you gonna go get your sister?" Beca asked, taking a sip.
"Now," he stuffed the burrito into his mouth.
"I highly doubt you can make it back by the end of lunch hour," she glanced at the time.
"I took the rest of the day off," Matt mumbled.
"Did you?" she took another sip, chuckling when he pulled a pair of Kooks sunglasses with dollar signs printed on them from the fanny he had around his waist and wore them.
"Marketing department doesn't need its director as much A&R, Beca," he said over his shoulders.
It actually does—Beca was going to say but he was already out of the room so she didn't. She walked to the fridge, pulling the sandwich she had brought with her before she took a seat and had it for lunch. It felt weird to be the only one eating lunch at work. She had plans with Stacie for lunch but Stacie had to fly home for a family emergency (her grandmother falling really ill.) so they canceled and she made a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich at home, putting fresh strawberries in it to make it feel healthier than it actually was.
She didn't mind eating alone but the fact that Stacie was going to be out of town for a few days affected other plans they've made.
Beca had a party to attend that night and was going to take Stacie as her plus one. It was Mr. and Mrs. Arthur's thirty-fifth anniversary and she felt obliged to go when Mr. Arthur e-mailed her inviting her to come. He was the man that made her promotion possible when he suggested her name to her boss in L.A. for the job and she was going to take his position in L.A. when he retires in a year.
Beca knew Mr. Arthur's family was based in New York and found it weird how he willingly stayed in L.A. instead of transferring to NYC. She never gave it much thought, though, as it was none of her business.
Attending an anniversary party by herself was going to be interesting. Watching a couple celebrate their love was going to be interesting considering how great things were going for her in that area.
She sighed thinking about her pretty complicated love life and put her sandwich down, chewing slowly then stopping when the events of a certain day came back to her.
It had been 2 months since she had last seen him. He made it harder to walk away because he wouldn't take no for an answer until she did the same thing that got him to move to New York.
Two months earlier,
—Beca's pov.
He was late and I was on time. Who would have thought that I Beca Mitchell would become a more punctual person than Nick Stuckmann.
I didn't know exactly why I accepted to go have a cup of coffee before work with him. I wanted to catch up but I also didn't want to send out the wrong message. I didn't want to get involved with him. A friendship was all I could offer him or any other man at the moment.
"You're late," I deadpanned when he finally made it.
"I'm sorry. Traffic."
I nodded at his excuse. We ordered our coffees then sat down by a table.
We talked about work, his divorce, some embarrassing memories from college. He flirted. I didn't flirt back. He brought up taxes again. I told him that I'll try to find some time for him to help out with them. He tried to flirt again. I played nice until he tried to place a hand over mine.
"Um," I uncomfortably pulled my hand. "I don't think we're on the same page."
"We're not?" he asked, playing dumb obviously. "You told me you broke up with the guy you were seeing, so I thought—"
"—you thought you could jump in and help me get over him? You wanna be my rebound, Nick?" I asked, cutting him off.
"Not your rebound, no. I think you breaking up with your boyfriend, me getting a divorce, and us meeting after all this time has a reason," he sipped his coffee.
"And what's that?"
"Picking up where we left off."
I chuckled at what he said then sighed because: really?
"I sometimes wonder what could have happened if you didn't break up with me when I was graduating."
"I would have broken up with you anyway because my game plan was to move to L.A."
"So you never regretted screwing what we had?"
"No," I shook my head. "We wouldn't have worked out sida college."
"I disagree but it's fine if that's what you think," he put his hands up in defeat. "I strongly believe this is a second chance for us and I'm willing to wait until you ready to get back in the dating pool because we were great and I should have tried harder to change your mind back then."
"I'm headed back to L.A. in a year."
"I have no problem moving there if I have to," he shrugged. "I let you go once. If it got serious, I won't let go, again."
Yeah, right.
I glanced at my watch then said, "we should get going."
"I'm not saying let's get back together right away. Just think about it, okay?"
Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I strongly believed that there was nothing for us but I had to get going so I refrained from telling him because it meant more talking and settled for smiling tightly at him then getting up.
"How far is it from here to where you work?" he asked getting up as well.
"Like, 10 minutes," I shrugged. I picked this place so I made sure it was within walking distance from work.
"Cool, I'll walk you there."
We walked in silence which was great then I saw him out of the corner of my eye: he was leaning against a wall facing the label. I've been avoiding him since the fourth of July so it was about time he'd show up at work. He had been trying to get a hold me and I successfully managed to not let that happen but now he's here and I had to do something to get him off of my back for good.
I knew it was low but I did anyway. I had to get him to stop trying to 'win me back' so I kissed Nick and made sure Jesse saw me do it.
"I'll think about what you said," I said pulling away. Nick nodded, smiling. I felt like a total bitch for using Nick and giving him false hope. He had always been nice to me and here I am selfishly using him because last time I pretended I was interested in another man Jesse left.
"Great," he ran his fingers through his hair. "Have a good day, Beca," he added before turning on his heels.
I took a deep breath then continued to walk, pretending I didn't see Jesse. He crossed the street and looked at me expectantly.
"Morning, Beca," he said, looking behind me for a second. And, man did he look hurt.
"I didn't see you there," I lied as I stopped walking, keeping a good two feet between us. He nodded at my lie and I couldn't tell if he knew I was lying or not. He looked hurt and that was all I could see and it made me feel guilty.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"You know what I want."
"Jesse," I sighed.
"Why did you sneak off?"
"you would have made it hard to leave if I waited until you were up. It didn't mean what you think it means."
"No, it actually does. You left because you had second thoughts," he stepped closer to me and I took a few steps back. "We have a great thing— All I can think about is the last we made love and how perfect it was—"
"Jesse, I've had enough of this. It's been two weeks now and you need to stop trying to change my mind. I'm done. We're done. I don't want anything to do with you. I just needed closure," I said with a neutral expression that would made mom proud. "I'm sorry I let it get this far in the first place," I knew the closure part hurt him the most. He was right I did have second thoughts. Him begging me to stay was the reason but he had to leave me alone for his own good.
"That guy you just kissed, you gonna get him hooked then just bail?"
"'That guy' is my ex-boyfriend. We dated throughout college. He asked me to go out with him."
"Does he know you're leaving?"
"Yeah. He said he has no problem following me to L.A. if it got serious," I shrugged.
He sighed rubbing his eyes then looked back at me, "are you going to go out with him?"
"I'm thinking about it, yeah," I nodded, hoping I sounded convincing enough. He stayed quiet for a while, looking up at the buildings around us then cleared his throat and looked back at me.
"Okay," he stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled a key. "This is yours, I forgot to give it back," he extended his hand. I stepped forward and took the key from him. "I love you and I've tried but you don't want to give us a shoot and I can't force you. I hope you know what you're doing. Goodbye, Beca," he forced a very weak smile. His puppy dog eyes were pushing back tears as he looked at me for a few second. He made me feel like he was trying to look into my soul so I looked away from his gaze and watched him out of the corner of my eye as walked past me.
I should have been glad he was finally off of my back but I wasn't. If I didn't run into the label I would have ran after him.
It was for the best. He had other things to dedicate his time to. I was being mature. I can drag him along then leave. It sure hurt too fucking much and will continue to hurt for a while and that's undeniable. It's gonna take time to get the pain to stop but it'll stop, it always does.
Beca had finished getting dressed and was sitting on the couch waiting for the Uber to arrive and drive her to. Mr. Arthur's penthouse that's located in Manhattan. She was sure the guestlist was going to be full of fancy people so she cleaned up well. She would have preferred to have her friend go with her but family came first and Stacie loved her grandmother so she wasn't pissed that Stacie had to cancel. Beca figured she'd say hi to the hosts, thank them for the invitation then make a french exist.
"Damn," Beca murmured stepping inside the penthouse, impressed by everything she saw. She took a look around and as expected she didn't recognize anyone she personally knew, they were either family or people too famous for her to dare talk to. She took a glass of champagne then made her way to the huge windows to look at the view when she couldn't spot Mr. Arthur.
"You can actually see the sky from here."
Beca tilted her head recognizing the voice. "Dude, what are you doing here?" she asked as she eyed Matt who had changed from the retro clothes into a really fancy suit.
"I'm a guest, kinda," he smiled at her then looked outside the window.
"You came alone?" he looked around. Beca nodded. "My date had a family emergency," she told him.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well you look really nice in a dress, Ms. Mitchell," he complimented.
"Thank you, Woodward. You look nicer in a suit than you do in Zubaz."
"Zubaz are more comfy, don't hate on them—"
"Ms. Mitchell."
"Mr. Arthur," she replied, turning on her heels and extending her hand. "Thank you for the invitation," she shook his hand, not knowing what else to say.
"Thank you for coming," he smiled warmly at her.
"You and Matthew are close?" he arched an eyebrow.
"We work together," Beca shrugged.
"I know," he glanced up at Matt.
"Excuse me," Matt excused himself.
"I heard you're handling things really well," Mr. Arthur said.
"I'm trying. I haven't signed anyone new. I've been working with what I found."
"That's wise. But you shouldn't miss out on talent because your plate is full."
"Yeah," Beca nodded. "I just haven't really gotten the time to actively scout talent. I have been going through a lot of demos, though."
"Demos are good but watching artists perform is better."
Mr. Arthur spent the next half an hour schooling Beca. She nodded along to the advice he was giving her and took everything he said to heart until a toast interrupted their conversation.
The women giving the toast looked like she was in her early thirties. From her toast, Beca understood that she was the daughter of the hosts of the party. Beca kept watching the woman as she gracefully made her way to her mother then watched Mr. Arthur join them and hug his daughter. It was a nice sight that warmed Beca's heart. She arched her eyebrows when Matt very casually walked to them and briefly shared a hug with Mrs. Arthur.
Wanting to know the nature of Matt's relationship with the Arthurs, Beca stuck around longer than she had intended. Matt disappeared after Mr. Arthur's daughter's speech and Beca felt weird about looking around for him so she just waited to see him. She hoped he didn't bail on the party because that way she'd have to wait until Monday to ask and right then he was a good distraction from her thoughts.
She didn't expect to find Matt hanging in a bathroom when she went to check her make up.
"Were you just sitting here?" Beca asked walking inside and leaving the door unlocked.
"Yep," he peeked his head inside and seeing her stand in front of the mirror he stepped into the bathroom.
"I didn't know you personally knew the hosts," she said, leaning in to fix her eyeliner.
"I never mentioned it," he shrugged.
"Are you guys, like, related or something? 'Cause you and Mrs. Arthur kinda look alike."
"Uh huh," he nodded. Beca turned to look at him for a second then it hit her, "shit, your Mr. Arthur's bratty son he sometimes talked about," she said in realization. "Why do you go by Woodward?" she frowned.
"It's mom's maiden name. I go by it 'cause I'm what you'd call the family disappointment. It's better when no one knows dad is dad."
"You're being harsh on yourself," she looked back at her reflection in the mirror.
"Dad won a shit load of Grammys. Mom is super successful neurosurgeon. My sister started an online clothing company, when her daughter was a year old, that is huge right now in both north America and Europe. I work in marketing and I only got the job because of dad. By our family standards I'm the black sheep."
"You don't even like your job, Matt. How do you expect to be successful at it?"
"In case you haven't noticed yet, I don't like working at all."
"You just haven't found something you like enough to make a career out of it," Beca shrugged.
"Yeah," he said then walked out of the bathroom.
After fixing her make up, Beca stepped out of the bathroom and saw Matt sitting by himself on the stairs. Sighing, she decided to join him.
"If it makes you feel any better, dad is an English lit professor and mom is a lawyer and they both didn't approve of my career choice," she said, taking a seat. "Dad actually made me go to college because 'I need an actual degree before I can go and wast a few years of my life on music'."
"But you're good at your job, Beca. Your parents must be proud of you."
"Yeah they are," she shrugged.
"Dad likes you a lot, you know?" he titled his head to look at her after less than a minute of silence. "He speaks highly of the one and only Beca Mitchell."
"Really?" she asked, stretching out the word.
"Yeah. He said enough great things about you that—" he stopped mid sentence and looked away from her.
"That what, Matt?" she frowned.
"What happened with Jason?" he asked, changing the subject.
"What happened between me and Jesse is none of your business," she patted his shoulder.
"C'mon, I'm dying to know. Did he, like, cheat?"
"No."
"Did you realize that you should have stayed friends because it got awkward?"
She decided to tell him without including much details because he seemed like he wouldn't stop guessing until she told him. "I'm taking your dad's position once he retires which means I'm not staying here. Jesse's life is here. He can't change my mind about staying in New York so it's safe to say that it is pointless to date."
"Wise. And, the New York branch is getting shut down anyway so you'd be outta job if you stay here," he casually said.
"I'm sorry what was that?"
"Oh you didn't know? I thought dad would have told you by now. New York branch hasn't been producing any valuable artists so they're going to shut it and start a new branch in Atanta, I think," he rested his hands on the staircase he was sitting on and leaned back, rotating his neck
"I didn't know—how the hell are you so calm about loosing your job?"
"Please, do I look like I need to work? I'm just working so that dad doesn't lecture me on the importance of making a living."
"What about your friends who are going to be out of jobs? You're friends with everyone in marketing, right?"
"Of course I care. And, yes they're my friends. But what can I do to stop it?" he looked at her.
"There's like 35 people who are going to become unemployed," she said, estimating the number of her co-workers.
"Yep," Matt nodded.
"You think there's any chance to not let it happen?" she asked.
"If our branch produces Grammy worthy music then it could maybe delay the shut down," he shrugged.
Beca nodded at his words because they made sense.
"You're not gonna try and save the day are you?" he asked amused.
"I'm gonna try to save some jobs," she replied irritated by his amusement.
"That's ambitious. Good luck," he curtly nodded.
"I don't need luck," she told him and heard him chuckle.
"You're, like, dad's lost child, you know?" he loosened his tie.
"Your dad and I share similar personality traits, huh?"
"Yeah. Except dad would never give up on his loved ones," he said and watched Beca frown before she looked away from him.
"You know, my parents met in college, right?"
"Yeah, your dad was in premed then gave up on that to follow his dream."
"Mom pushed him to leave because music is what drives him. They broke up because neither one of them wanted to pursue a long distance thing 'cause they thought it was pointless since he was going to stay in L.A. and she's based in New York."
"How did they get back together?" Beca asked.
"Mom was visiting her friend in California, they got back in touch. He realized that she was the one for him, after she left for New York, and that they wasted a lot of time by not trying to make it work in the first place and letting the distance be an obstacle. So they got back together even though he was still working in L.A. and kept flying back and forth between L.A. and New York for mom. They stayed together even though sometimes they'd spend months without seeing each other. But growing up dad never missed an important event. He and mom are a pretty damn good team and they worked through the distance."
"That's really admirable."
"I know," he agreed. "A pain in the ass but really admirable."
"Well, when you find the one you'd do anything to stay with them, I guess." As the words left her mouth she felt like a hypocrite because she didn't try to apply what she just said.
"So, Jason isn't the one?" he arched an eyebrow.
"It's Jesse," she corrected absentmindedly as she turned thoughtful.
She lived with Jesse for four months back in L.A. he was the fastest friend she had, even faster than Chloe.
He was a very wonderful friend and roommate to her. Always seemed to know how to cheer her up with his weirdness and the way too laid back attitude he had.
When she finally realized her feelings for him weren't platonic she couldn't act on them because he had to be close to his daughter, she made sure he left because it wouldn't be right to let him pick her over his kid.
She spent six months trying to move on but couldn't. She couldn't stop loving him even though they didn't technically date, they just spent a week together after he asked for it and she agreed to even though she knew it wouldn't do them any good.
When she got to New York she didn't think twice before getting into something with him despite knowing deep down that it was wrong to get involved when she wasn't staying. But she couldn't help it. She's very much in love with him.
She had a thing for calling it quits with men she dated but what if her mother's wrong about Jesse? Maybe she could find some way to stay with him like the Arthurs did if he's willing to roll with the distance?
She had never been this deeply in love before in such short period of time: In her previous relationships it took time for her to get past the attraction phase to actual love but with Jesse it was different. If she were being honest, she can't pinpoint the exact moment she fell for him.
That nerd found his way into her heart and she gave up on him yet somehow got another chance and she managed royally fuck up.
Shit, is Jesse the one?—Beca wondered.
"I have to go see Jesse," she mumbled, getting up.
"Need a ride?" Matt got up as well. "It'll take a while for an Uber to get here," he added.
"Yeah, you're right," she nodded. "I could use a ride."
"Reuniting lovers," Matt sighed as he took her lead when she started to walk down the stairs, "I think I found my calling," he said sarcastically.
AN: As always, thank you for reading.
A review would be nice.