“I hope to have one lined up soon. Until then, you know I can’t attend meetings past three.”
Christian hesitated in the doorway. His boss hated when the employees presumed an invitation into his hallowed space. Sunlight, streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling window, reflected off Jim’s bald head. Downtown Los Angeles provided a canvas of concrete and glass outside the office.
“Your childcare arrangements aren’t my concern.” Jim leveled Christian with a serious look. “I need you in this meeting. The Lawson Group is our longest standing client. They have very specific requests, and as my best employee, you’re the only guy I trust to get it done.”
That was a rare comment from a man who never dished out complements.
“Thank you, sir,” Christian said, recovering from his momentary surprise. “I understand. And under normal circumstances, I would absolutely be there. But I’ve already worked it out with HR?—”
“No buts.” His boss held up a finger as he took a seat behind the mahogany desk. The chair groaned under the weight of his ample rear end. “You’ll be there. I don’t need to remind you that you’re already treading on thin ice with your recent infractions.”
Recent infractions? Did he mean the baseless ones he pulled from his own ears? Sure, Christian would own up to arriving late two weeks agoafter staying up to work on Hallie’s website. But the rest?
Completely bogus.
He couldn’t argue with his boss though. And no matter what arrangements Christian had set up with HR, Jim had the ability to twist the knife any way he wished with those suck ups. They’d do anything to stay in his back pocket.
“Do I make myself clear?” Jim’s tone held no room for argument.
“Yes, sir,” Christian muttered, staring at the picture of Jim’s wife and kids sitting on the desk. Judging by the hours he spent in the office, those four people had to be leading completely separate lives from their workaholic patriarch.
Christian hoped he never became so obsessed with his job that it had a negative impact on his family. If the opportunity arose, he’d ditch this place so fast for something with more flexibility, and a much better home-work life balance.
The man jiggled his mouse to wake up his computer. “Good. You’re dismissed.”
What is this, the Army?
Christian returned to his cubicle. Collapsing into his chair, he bent forward and dropped his face onto the desk. Pamela was out for the day, leaving him free to groan to his heart’s content. He did a few times as he bounced his forehead on the faux wood surface.
What was he supposed to do? Isla wouldn’t be happy with the change of plans. Heck,hewas furious about them. Perhaps it was finally time to start looking for another job. Of course, that wouldn’t help him today.
Feeling sorry for himself would get him nowhere, so he stopped his silent pity-party and reached for his phone.
“Hey, Dani,” he said when his sister answered on the second ring. “Can you pick the girls up from school today? I’m stuck at work.”
“You know I would if I could,” she wheezed into the phone, clearly out of breath. “But I have a biology test this afternoon. I’m on my way to a last-minute study session right now. I’m sorry.”
Christian puffed his cheeks before emptying them of air.Strike One.“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out. Good luck on your test.”
“Thanks. Hey, I gotta run. I hope you find someone. Too bad Mom’s still on her cruise, huh?”
Yeah, too bad. While he was stuck at work, she was probably living up her middle-aged single life with new friends. Christian caught himself before the bitter thought went any further. Mom deserved to be happy. Just because he didn’t have the luxury of taking a vacation, didn’t give him the right to judge the woman who’d sacrificed so much to raise him.
He called Tyler next. Perhaps his buddy was working from hometoday. He’d picked up the girls a few times on those days, though never last minute like this.
His voicemail clicked on immediately, dashing the flicker of hope left in Christian’s mind.
Frantically, he scrolled to the top of his contact list. There had to be someone suitable to watch the girls for a few hours until he escaped the office. His breath caught at the first entry on the list.
Sabrina Abbott.
A piercing ache sliced through his heart. He’d worked hard to purge her from the rest of his life. Why hadn’t he deleted her contact from his phone?
For a moment, he allowed the lingering grief and anger over her abandonment to fester, using it as a reminder of what could happen if he let himself get carried away with the little crush he’d formed on Hallie. He’d learned his lesson once. He couldn’t surrender his heart to it again.
But as he lowered his finger to delete Sabrina’s number, the name right below hers forced another jolt through his heart.
Hallie Abernathy.
