I was ready to give him the same excuses I gave to Everly and Lisa every time it crossed their minds: “The hardest classes are last and they each require fifty-page papers. I only have five done.”
“Miss Stone?” He stepped closer. “Why?”
“The answer to that is a boundary for me,” I said. “Surely you can understand that.”
A faint smile crossed his lips, but it faded seconds later.
“I haven’t been on speaking terms with my father since I was twenty-five years old—when I found out he took out hundreds of credit cards and bank loans in my name,” he lowered his ‘boundary’ from earlier. “But I do see my mother whenever she comes to town and we talk twice a week. That’s my only family,and friend-wise I have Aaron and Ciara. It just so happens that they work for me, and we’re all workaholics.”
“I can’t afford to finish my master’s because the loan repayments will start six months after I graduate, and I don’t make enough to cover them.” I finally said the truth aloud. “I’m paying my sister’s way through nursing school, and if she wants to take another year to complete a specialty program—it has to wait until then.”
“And the CPA exam?”
“What’s the point in taking it without a master’s degree?”
“Hmmm,” he said. “Thank you for answering.”
“Same to you.”
He walked me to the elevator and boarded with me.
He eyed me as we descended, and I waited for him to make a move—because I definitely wanted him to—but the doors opened without so much as a spoken word.
He led me outside and opened the back door to the waiting town car.
“Just so you know, Miss Stone,” he said as I buckled my seatbelt, “I’m about to send out a memo, and work will start at 3 a.m. starting tomorrow.”
“What?”
“Are you asking because you want me to repeat it, or because you don’t understand?”
“Both.”
“You’ll need to come to headquarters at 3 a.m. tomorrow until further notice,” he said. “I did mention that I was going in a new direction earlier this evening, correct?”
“That’s not what I thought you meant.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours. Oh, and—” He looked me over once again. “Thank you.”
He slammed the door shut, and I immediately regretted telling him anything about my life.
I’m officially done with this man’s bullshit…
TWENTY-ONE
HARRISON
Sweet Seasons’ New Loyalty Program is 1000X Better (& Way More Generous) Than Starbucks
Sweet Seasons Announces 50% Raise for Baristas
Harrison Cross Wants You to Think He’s A Changed Man (He Isn’t)
TWENTY-ONE (B)
ANDREA
Day #Forever of Company Takeover
