“I wanted to get your approval on some of the promotional materials and ask for your opinion on the website.”
The corner of her mouth lifts in a smirk, but there’s no humor on her face. Asking for her approval may not have been the most tactful thing to do, considering our situation, but I didn’t really think about it before I said it.
“Back to work, then?” she asks.
I nod firmly, refusing to look away. I can only hope she’ll take this as the olive branch it is. She hasn’t reported me to my boss yet, and I’m praying that if I prove I can focus on work and stay away from Everett, she’ll let me finish out this contract and we can go our separate ways.
The less damage gets done, the better. For all of us.
There’s a speculative look on her face, and she sets her coffee down on the counter. Crossing her arms over her chest, she raises her chin and pins me in place with a firm stare.
“Why my dad?”
It’s the last thing that I expect her to say, considering how all three of us have been shying away from discussing it in any fashion. My mind spins with a million different ways to answer her question, but there’s only one answer that’s honest. I can’t bring myself to lie and say it meant nothing.
So I tell her the truth.
“I don’t know,” I confess. “I didn’t plan on any of this happening, and I tried to keep things professional. No offense, but your dad’s kind of an ass sometimes.”
Jenny scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“More likeallthe time,” she says.
I grin, relaxing a little. This is the first chance I’ve had to talk to Jenny normally since she found me and Everett in the barn, and it feels like a weight off my shoulders.
“I thought he was just a jerk, but I kept catching glimpses of kindness. He tries to hide it, but he cares so much, and he has such a big heart. Before I knew it, we were wrapped up in this whole big mess, and I don’t know what to do about it.” I pause, rubbing a hand over the nape of my neck and offering Jenny a hopeful glance. “I care about him, Jenny. A lot. And at this point—I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to leave when this is all over. But I have to. Marketing is the only thing I’veever been good at. I can’t just leave my job and ignore all the consequences, no matter how much I want to.”
My heart aches at hearing the words out loud, even if I know them to be true. I don’t want to leave, but what other option do I have?
Life isn’t as forgiving as my daydreams are.
Jenny stares at me for long enough that I worry I’ve just put the last nail in my own coffin, but I won’t take any of it back. Even if he’s not here to hear it, I won’t do Everett the disservice of pretending to care about him less than I do. Our relationship isn’t just some mindless fling, even if it’s likely to end in the same timeframe.
“Alright,” Jenny says, nodding. “Back to work, then. Show me what you’ve got.”
The words aren’t as scathing as they were the first time around. If anything, it almost sounds like she has a bit of respect for me. I blink in surprise for a moment, but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
If Jenny is willing to put this behind us and focus on work, that’s one less thing for me to worry about.
I fumble for my tablet as I step closer to the counter. Jenny mirrors me on the other side, leaning in as I unlock the tablet and pull up the first few things I want to go over. I expect it to be awkward, but Jenny focuses completely on the material, nodding along as I explain my plans and asking questions about a few things.
“I know you said there’s some tension with the Duffy family, but I think it’s worth sitting down with them to discuss options,” I say as I flick through some of my emails.
Jenny frowns, but doesn’t refute the idea immediately, so I take a deep breath and start on my spiel.
“The current owner seems to have changed a lot of the operations and is now working exclusively with local farmers,”I tell her as I pull up some of the paperwork he sent over. “He seems dedicated to?—”
“Oh, you’ve got to be fuckingkiddingme,” Jenny spits.
I look up in shock, but she’s not talking about my work. Her gaze is focused outside.
Her coffee cup clacks sharply against the counter as she slams it down and shoots upright, her brow set in a furious frown. Before I can ask what’s going on, she shoves past me and storms outside.
She’s already yelling as she makes her way down the front steps, her hands gesturing wildly toward the sleek black SUV pulling up in front of the barn. It rolls to a stop. The door swings open and an older man with graying hair steps out. He’s wearing a suit that could pass for expensive if you don’t look too hard, and he’s smiling widely at Jenny.
My skin crawls at the sight of him.
“I don’t know who thefuckyou think you are showing up here like this,” Jenny shouts, stalking closer to him with her hands clenched into fists.
