Finally, I pull out my phone. A notification waits on the lock screen. It’s from Trudy, my assistant.
Call me. 911.
I slip my phone back into my pocket and step quietly into the living room. Brooke’s curled up on the sofa, the half-empty plate still on the table in front of her. Her chest rises and falls, mouth parted slightly in sleep. She looks so small, so fragile, nothing like the fierce woman I married, more like someone I should shield from the world.
Careful not to wake her, I slide one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. She stirs but doesn’t open her eyes as I lift her. I carry her to our bedroom, ease her down onto the mattress, and pull the covers up around her shoulders. For a moment, I just stand there, looking at her, at the faint crease of exhaustion between her brows.
Walking out, I close the door softly behind me.
On my way back, I grab the baby monitor, switch on the nursery unit, and make sure both ends are working. Only when I’m certain, my girls safe, tucked away in sleep, do I finally take out my phone.
Trudy has three kids. If she’s telling me to call her today, it has to be important.
The phone barely rings before Trudy answers.
“Hold on,” she whispers. I hear shuffling on her end, before her voice comes again, low and urgent. “So, get this. This morning the boss comes in and brings his old college buddy with him.”
“Okay…” I frown, confused.
“This buddy,” she continues, “used to be the marketing manager of Creds before-”
“-before it was acquired by us,” I finish for her.
I can almost hear her nod.
“I thought he got a job at some international airline,” I say.
“Apparently Mr. Hughes decided Dan, that’s his name, by the way, is too valuable. Offered him a position here instead.”
My stomach drops. “As what?”
“Marketing director.”
My mouth falls open. “We don’t have that position.”
She doesn’t say anything.
I close my eyes, a cold rush moving through me. “Fuck. He’s my boss.”
“I know you’re not coming in till Monday,” Trudy says quickly, “but he’s scheduled a meeting with the reps from Boeing today.”
My jaw tightens. “That’s my account.”
“I know,” she whispers.
I draw in a deep breath, staring down the hallway where both bedroom doors are shut. My chest feels like it’s caving in. I can’t risk him fumbling that account, or the bonus attached to it.
“I’m coming in now,” I say hanging up.
Fuck.
Chapter Sixteen
Brooke
I wake to the sound of buzzing. For a second, my foggy brain thinks it’s an alarm, but then the high-pitched crying slices through, Penny.
I swing my legs off the bed, but a wave of dizziness slams into me. I sit back down, hands gripping the mattress, breathing slow, waiting for the room to stop spinning. Oh God. I need to get to Penny.
