I chuckle. “I think it’s great.” I should give my buddy a call to thank him for following through on his promise. A promise he made under duress, mind you. Threatening to sue him for putting my girlfriend in danger was extremely incentivizing, if I do say so myself.
“And thank you for the shirt.”
“You’re welcome.”
Willa is up from the sofa and moving my way. “I’m glad you didn’t send it to work. Spencer would have blown a gasket.”
What’s she talking about? “Why do you say that?”
“He asked security to notify him whenever I received anything at the front desk.”
What the hell?I blink, feeling anger start to thrum through me. “Is that why you didn’t get Barney’s gift for a week?” Do not say “yes.”
“Yes. He had the candy, Barney’s gift, and the tickets in his desk.”
“You’re shitting me.” If she thinks Spencer is going to blow a gasket, he’s nothing compared to me. “Did you tell Mac?”
“I called HR.”
“And?”
“Nothing’s happened yet.”
“It’s been weeks.”
“Not quite two weeks.”
“And he still works there?”
Her head moves up, then down. “He’s been extra critical of my work too. He’s written me up twice since then. I’m afraid my days at McAllister are numbered.”
“What the ever-loving fuck, Willa? For what?” I’m yelling, and from her reaction, I know it’s the wrong thing to do, so I quickly quiet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Moving close, I place my hands on her shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”
“Because, Hudson, I can take care of myself.”
“Obviously not, honey.” If looks could kill, I’d be fucking dead. “I mean, sometimes it’s notwhatwe know, but it’s who we know.”
“Oh, so you think just because you and Mr. McAllister run in the same circles that I should have called you to handle this?” Her arms are crossed.
It’s a trap. A trap I’m going to have to step into to make my point.
“Precisely.”
“There’s no ‘precisely’ about it, Hudson. I don’t need you interfering with my job. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
“Willa. He’s harassing you.” I’m running my hands down to her elbow and back up, hoping it soothes her because she’s stiff as a board right now. “What did he write you up for?”
“Once because I was five minutes late for work.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The second time was because he claims my calculations were off on one of my reports.”
“Were they?”
“No.” She sighs and gestures to the door. “Thank you again for the shirt, Hudson.”
I’m being dismissed, and it sucks. “Right, I’m sorry. I’ve kept you much longer than five minutes.” Honestly, I was hoping she’d be so excited to see me she’d throw her arms around me, kiss me, and let me stay. That’s not the case, unfortunately.
