208 Brianna is back in Seattle 1

~ Seattle ~

Wednesday

July 3rd

After work, Liz went to pick up Brianna from the airport. Liz works only in the morning, so by the time she picked up Brianna, it was close to lunchtime.

They dropped Brianna's things at Liz's apartment and then went to meet with Mia for lunch.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July party at the Anderson villa, and that is why Brianna came to Seattle. She plans to stay until Sunday (July 7th). Other than the party, they hope to spend quality girl-time, and also, Brianna has some updates to share.

Brianna is not comfortable staying at Mia's or at Liz's place, she will be the third wheel in any case. However, she does not have much choice since her budget is tight as of lately and she really wants to spend this holiday with her two besties. She is not sure when will be the next time that the three of them can hang out again so freely, as Mia and Liz are going to find out about it by the end of this meal.

Back to the present…

Liz, Mia, and Bri are in a Thai restaurant that specializes in seafood delicacies.

"I am happy you came here, Bri. I missed you.", Mia said with a big dreamy smile on her face.

"Don't mention it. It's not like I canceled anything.", Brianna mumbled while sipping her milk tea.

Mia had difficulty believing it. "Really? Not even a single date?", she asked teasingly.

Brianna sighed. "I have things on my mind and honestly, I haven't been on a date in a while."

Liz was alarmed. Brianna is always bubbly in a fancy kind of way and talks cheekily about guys and dating and this is not normal. "Are you sick?"

"Not sick. Just things…" Brianna said ambiguously.

"Like?", Mia was also interested in Brianna's situation.

"Ugh…", Brianna made a face. "Can we talk about this later? I don't want to risk spoiling your mood."

Both Mia and Liz frowned.

"Now you need to tell us because we are worried already.", Liz said resolutely.

Brianna glanced at Mia and Liz and she can see that her friends are concerned and eager to hear what is going on. Well, there is a suspicion that something is off with her mind because she sees ghosts of Quentin everywhere, but she is not ready to admit to it. There is one more thing that Bri wanted to tell them about this in a few days, before she heads back to New York, but it seems that she needs to say it now or those two will start building all kinds of scenarios.

"I decided to go back home.", Brianna announced.

Liz and Mia had matching confused expressions when they asked in unison: "Home?"

"Is there an emergency? You just got here.", Liz said awkwardly.

Brianna realized that they didn't get it. "Not home in New York. My home in San Francisco. Where my family is."

Liz was the first one to understand what Brianna said. "You are leaving New York and will move to San Francisco? Why?"

"I did my math and with the current income, and the fact is that I can't stay in New York.", Bri said bluntly.

Brianna's words struck Mia and she felt that it's her fault. Well, it is, in a way.

"Sorry…"

"Don't.", Bri interrupted Mia's apology. "You have your life to live and I have mine. I can't expect that you will be responsible for me when you are three time zones away. And you know that our two-bedroom apartment in New York comes with a hefty price tag."

"But… but… I said that I will pay rent for the next six months.", Mia reminded Brianna while stuttering.

Brianna confirmed and explained why he decided to move: "Yes. And while you are doing that, I will stay afloat. However, when your charity ends, I'm going to run negative, and I'm not willing to move to a dingy area in order to save on rent. It was fun while it lasted, but I need to face the reality that our travel blog is a hobby that provides a small side-income and it's nearly impossible to get a break in the movie industry. I checked job postings for the TV stations, and for every position there are dozens of candidates with more experience than what I have. It was different when we were together because one of us would pull the weight until the other one catches a breath, but I can't risk it on my own. I decided to return home before my savings bleed out and at the same time, you don't need to pay half a rent for an apartment you are not using."

"When will this happen?", Liz asked.

"You can say that this is my last hoorah. I submitted the notice to the landlord that by the end of this month the apartment will be empty. When I return, I will work on selling off things.", Bri responded to Liz and turned to Mia: "I hope this is enough time for you to come to our place and see what you want to keep and what you want to sell."

Mia looked at Brianna with a troubled expression. "Does your family know?"

Brianna confirmed. "My dad welcomed me back with 'I knew it' and 'what took you so long', and then he spoke for more than five minutes how he has a perfect position for me to start from."

Brianna looked at Mia's and Liz's sad expressions and tried to cheer them up. "Ah! Come on! This is why I didn't want to tell you right away. What's with those faces?"

"We know that you don't like to be stuck doing bank stuff.", Liz admitted her thoughts (and Mia's).

It is common knowledge that Bri was staying in New York with Mia because she didn't want to work in banking like the rest of her family.

Brianna's family is loaded. Her great-grandfather started his business as Harper Investments. Actually, he started as a loan shark who would give out short-term loans with high interest and then Bri's grandfather expanded it into a bank, and over time it swelled into a massive financial institution, currently managed by Brianna's father. Everyone is involved, Brianna's father, her two Uncles, their wives, her cousins. And Brianna as a single child was set to be the one who will inherit her father, however since she left, her cousin Thomas works close to her father and the rumors are that he will be the next CEO.

Brianna never cared much about inheriting the company and other than disliking the dry world of money, interest, and business loans, she despises the competition her cousins are into. From a young age Brianna watched everyone trying to impress her grandfather and later her father while trying to score points and be the next CEO.

Bri told Liz and Mia more than once that working in the bank is a suffocating routine and she is not made for that because she loves to travel and meet people and to party. She didn't say anything about the internal rivalry her cousins are into, but Liz and Mia knew that something is off when Brianna mentioned that her extended family is large while she is the single child of the current CEO.

Brianna is happy that her friends are concerned about her. If there is anything she believes in, that is how Liz and Mia have her back. "True. Working in a bank is not my dream job. However, the work hours are predictable, I can do most of the work with my eyes closed, and the money I earn will provide me with a lifestyle I love so it's a fair tradeoff. Don't be sad for me. We all reach a point in our lives when we are facing an intersection and we need to decide on which turn to take. I can't keep going straight because I can see it's a dead end. I thought about this, and it makes sense."

"Did you think about our travel blog?", Mia asked Bri.

Brianna confirmed. "Nothing will change there. I assume that in the first few months I will need to put extra hours at work until I figure out the people and my position, but once I do that, I should have free time to create occasional entries. I will post from San Francisco when my work allows, and you do the same from Seattle."

Mia pouted. "I will miss you."

"Don't talk like that. We will still see each other, actually, after I move, we will be three times closer in terms of mileage." Bri winked at Liz and Mia and said cheekily: "Feel free to come anytime you miss the sunshine and if you leave your guys behind, I will make sure to find you matching replacements. I guarantee that the guys I pick for you will match your current ones in terms of looks, and as a bonus, they will be better tanned."

Liz and Mia burst into giggles. Yes, their Brianna is back.

Brianna was happy to see that Lia and Mia finally relaxed. "With my fancy bank job, I will afford an apartment with extra bedrooms so when you visit, you can have your own space. And who knows? Maybe my clients end up being handsome heirs and I score a few dates as well..."

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