I snapped my fingers, turning toward Thomas. “I have a meeting tonight with a client. So I plan to take a very long lunch. I’ll be back in the office around six.”
“Do you need one of us here?” Thomas asked.
“Nah, I got it.”
“I’ll be around,” James added. “Izzy’s home with the kids today.”
“You better not stay late. She’ll murder you if you leave her all day with the boys.”
“Let me worry about your sister, Thomas.”
“Frisco, if James doesn’t come back to work tomorrow because my sister kills him, you can have his office.”
“What the fuck?” I asked, pretending to be insulted. “I should get that office first.”
“Boys,” James interrupted as he headed for the door and opened it. “No one gets my office. Someday you’ll learn to handle your women like I do.”
Thomas and I burst into laughter.
“He’s so full of shit,” Thomas said.
I used that as my cue to exit. “I’m out. Catch ya guys later. Nice to meet you, Frisco.”
“Bye,” he said as I walked out.
As I walked toward my office, Race approached from the waiting room.
“Hey, baby,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.
“Hey, princess. How did work go?” I asked, kissing the top of her head.
She peered up at me. “Fantastic.”
“Really?”
She nodded and kept smiling. “Not at first, but it got better.”
“Let’s go into my office and talk before we head to lunch. Okay?” I asked, opening the door.
“Sure,” she said as she stepped inside.
“So, work wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be?”
“It was worse.” She laughed. “So much worse.”
“Okay,” I whispered and stroked my chin. “You’re acting weird. Why are you so happy if it was worse?”
She sobered as she placed her hands flat on the desk and leaned over. “Because I quit!” she shouted.
“You quit?” Relief washed over me.
“Yes.” She stood up, held her arms out, and began to twirl. “I marched into Mr. Emerson’s office and told him I was done.” She fist-pumped the air.
I’d never seen Race this free and excited about anything before, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Wow. That’s amazing, babe. I’m so excited for you.”
I hadn’t been able to get her out of my thoughts this morning. Walking into that office had to be one of the toughest things she’d ever done. Everyone knew about her case; it had been all over the news the next day. She couldn’t hide from it, and if her office was as cutthroat as she claimed, I’d expected problems ahead.
She stopped spinning, dropping her arms to her side and swaying. “I feel free for the first time ever,” she said, and then she sighed.
