“Poor thing is exhausting herself,” Jared mumbled, sighing before he stood up and walked quietly away from Haley. He ran his hand through his hair as he exhaled slowly, looking lost in thought.
After a moment, he looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “I hate to do this, Zoe, but I’m not sure that Haley is going to be able to train you. I’m afraid my wife’s been out of the office for so long that I don’t think she’d be much of a help either.”
Zoe nodded, wondering what the plan was going to be. She hoped she wasn’t about to get canned.
“She has a photographic memory,” Haley muttered drowsily, startling her since she thought the woman was asleep. “And she catches on very quickly. She was able to fully take over the job two hours ago.” Haley yawned loudly before adding, “And she caught us up on everything.”
Jared’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Mmmhmmm,” Haley grumbled seconds before soft snoring filled the room once again.
Worrying her bottom lip, Zoe nodded. She still remembered the moment her last boss realized how efficient she was. He smiled just before he added his daily workload to hers. After that, he shoved everything on her that he didn’t want to do and took the praise for her work.
At first, she went along with it because she’d foolishly thought that he’d at least mention her role in everything. She’d also thought by helping her boss that she’d be on the fast track to a management position. Six months into her job, she’d realized that she wasn’t going anywhere and all the raises that her boss was getting should have been hers. When she’d confronted Ted, her ex-soul-sucking boss, about it, he’d merely shrugged it off and added more work to her load and a few dozen write-ups to her file.
After that, she’d learned to keep her mouth shut and do her work and his work without complaint. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wondered how he was managing his job now that she wasn’t there to do it. With a small sigh, Zoe realized that he probably just pushed it off onto someone else.
“Do you think that you could look this over and call the bank to have them fax over another copy?” Jared asked, sounding hopeful.
“Of course,” Zoe said, not only because it was her job, but because for the first time in three years, she had a boss who asked her to do something instead of slamming more work on her desk and told her to move her ass. It was a nice change, she thought as she picked up the packet.
“I would appreciate that,” Jared said with a warm smile. His eyes shot to the clock. “But it can wait until after your lunch break. I’ll cover the phones for you,” he offered and before she could thank him, he walked back into his office, leaving her stunned.
She got a lunch break? Zoe realized with a smile, but then her eyes landed on Haley. Maybe she should-
“I’m going to call Jason and have him come get Haley,” Jared said, popping his head out of his office long enough to tell her.
“Okay,” Zoe said, taking a seat behind her desk. By the time Jason stepped in the office, she’d already gone through the packet, making notes of the figures that didn’t add up.
Jason stepped into the office quietly, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm, acknowledging her with a smile and a nod as he walked over to where his wife slept.
“Hey, my little grasshopper, are you ready to go home?” Jason asked in a soft whisper as he laid his hand over the swell of Haley’s stomach and gently caressed his unborn child. The gesture was so sweet and romantic that Zoe found herself biting back a heartfelt sigh. She might question his sanity, but she sure as hell couldn’t question his devotion to his wife.
“Go away. I’m working,” Haley mumbled, absently swatting at her husband as she tried to snuggle deeper into the couch.
“I see,” Jason said, chuckling softly. “And you’re doing a really great job of it, but it’s time to go home.”
“I’m too tired to go home,” Haley said around a small yawn.
Jason leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “I’ll carry you.”
Haley was quiet for a moment before she responded. “Do I have to be awake for you to carry me?”
He chuckled. “No.”
She sighed heavily. “Fine. You may carry me, then,” Haley said regally, not bothering to open her eyes.
“That’s very generous of you,” Jason mumbled, grinning.
“It is, isn’t it?” Haley said sleepily as Jason scooped her up into his arms. She curled up in his arms and Zoe had no doubt that she was already asleep before Jason finished standing.
Zoe quickly walked over to the door and opened it for them. He nodded his thanks as he stepped out of the trailer. After she closed the door, she walked over to the large stack of ledgers and prayed that the results weren’t as disastrous as the last time she’d looked into bank accounts that didn’t add up because she was pretty sure she’d miss this place if she had to leave.
Chapter 8
“You lying bitch!” Trevor hissed as he stormed into her kitchen.
Zoe fought back a smile, already knowing what he was pissed about. “Good morning to you, too,” she said, focusing her attention on making his lunch and barely managing to bite back a snort of laughter.
