"Great," Allie said, trying to keep her face professional.
"You are allowed to be one of my bridesmaids."
Allie resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Brandy motioned for them to sit. "There are wedding events coming up, and I need you two to help plan the bridal tea, the engagement party, and the couple's shower, plus the bachelorette party."
As Brandy ticked off to-do items, Allie felt herself sink into the distraction of party planning.
This would be just the ticket to help her forget about Carter.
34
Carter
Carter thought about what Liz had said. He felt bad about the way he had treated her and especially how he'd treated Allie. He had never actually taken Allie out on a date. Was it too late? What should he do? He couldn't take her to a bar. What did people do on dates if they didn't want to go for drinks? Dinner? Sushi? Would she even like that? Would she even say yes?
The energy between them was tense. Liz and Allie were curt with him—they didn't go out to lunch, and Carter was only given as much interaction with them as was professionally necessary.
Liz bought ferns and placed them between Carter's desk and hers and Allie's so that he was effectively walled off.
"I can't believe they're doing this to me," he complained to Grant.
"You'd better start groveling. Maybe you could plan an expensive apology present for Liz and a nice vacation for Allie. "
"She doesn't take vacation. She works all day, every day."
"I cannot fathom how you managed to find time to fuck her in the storage room twice a day," Kate said tartly.
Grant's jaw dropped. "Language, Kate!"
Carter thought about what he could do, but they already had a work trip booked, and any plans would have to wait until after.
The internship program was taking them all to Oslo on a business trip. They were going to visit several businesses that the Holbrooks owned or worked with, including a Norwegian shipping company, a weapons-system manufacturer, and a clean-energy company.
As they were herded into the chartered plane, Carter had flashbacks to flying out for his combat deployments. But here the plane was nicer and the company much better looking.
Allie and Liz studiously ignored him as they talked about Brandy's wedding. The interns had been assigned seating based on their departments.
"This is going to be a terrible flight," Carter said to no one in particular as he settled down in his seat beside Allie and Liz.
After they landed early the next morning, cleared customs, and checked into the hotel, the interns were immediately taken to start the day's activities.
"This is how it is in business," Monique told them on the bus ride over to their first meeting. "You will land and be expected to hit the ground running." Allie seemed alert and attentive, but Carter could barely concentrate on the Holbrook subsidiary representatives as they talked about the cutting-edge products and services the data centers offered.
Liz's words to him banged around in his head.
You're in love with Allie.Was he? Love was a strong word. He sure hadn't treated her very nicely.
His gaze wandered outside. It was snowing, even though it was almost spring. It continued to snow throughout the rest of the day and into the evening.
At dinner that night, Carter had to sit with Grant and the other Holbrook Enterprises higher-ups. He saw Allie across the room but turned his attention back to the table when one of the men addressed him.
"How are you adjusting to life outside of the military?" asked Hans, one of the founders of the Norwegian green-energy company Grant had just bought.
"Fine, I guess," Carter replied.
"I fought with Grant in Afghanistan," Hans said. "I know it can be difficult to readjust."
