Decision made, I carry the bottles out and walk over to Declan.
“Hey, Dec?”
He turns.
“Can we talk later?”
His joy fades in an instant, replaced with concern.
“Everything’s fine,” I add quickly. “I just need to talk to you about something.” I lower my voice. “About Miles.”
His concern deepens. “Is he okay?”
No.“Tell you later?”
He nods once. “Yeah. Find me in the office after we close?”
“I will.”
I stroll back to my end of the bar, more determined than ever to see this through.
Several hours later, after the noise settles and the crowd disperses, I find Declan in his office doing end-of-day paperwork. He’s switched the main office to the one at the end of the hall, which is bigger and has enough room for a second desk since Seth has been coming in to help on a regular basis.
Seth is here now, sitting across from Declan at the other computer. Judging from Declan’s flushed cheeks and soft laughs, the two must’ve been flirting before I walked in.
As soon as Seth sees me, he sits up straighter. “Oh, hey, Jordan. Want me to go?”
He’s always been respectful about Declan’s privacy with his staff, but I don’t need him to leave for this. In fact, I’d rather him stay. Seth knows Miles and considers him a friend.
“No, it’s fine.”
Declan swivels his seat around to me, giving me his full attention. “What’s up? You said it’s about Miles?”
I take a deep breath. “There is no easy way to say th—”
“Ah, fuck. You’re quitting, aren’t you?” Declan blurts.
“What? No,” I splutter.Why would he think I’m quitting?“I just came to ask for some time off.”
“Oh. Okay, then. How long?”
“Three months.”
Declan’s mouth falls open.“Months?”
I refuse to feel guilty when I have absolute clarity about this. Miles needs me. “Yeah. I know it’s shitty timing with how busy we’ve been, but Miles is really suffering with no one around.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t know if he told you, but his hours changed at work, so now we can’t even talk to each other. His best friend is stationed in Texas, and another friend just left for Washington. He’s got no one in Salt Lake City. Literally no one. It’s hitting him hard.”
Declan slumps into his chair, his face grim. “Damn. That’s awful.” He looks at Seth, as if thinking about them in that position. “Three months, though?”
“His contract is up in December, then he’s coming here.”
“Really? He’s moving here?”
“No, just a temporary position for now. But it’s a longer term. Eighteen months. Then,” I shrug, “we’ll figure it out.”
