“You’re supposed to be on my side. You’re my mom, not his,” I said petulantly.
“I’m always on your side, Lexi. Maybe this is for the best. Maybe moving on from Grayson is right for both of you. I don’t know. But you need to think about what you want the rest of your life to look like. You’re young, the future is bright, and opportunities are endless. You can be so much. Be grateful for the experiences life has given you and be open to new ones.”
She patted my shoulder.
“Why don’t you get up and help us in the orange groves? There’s a rainstorm coming. We could use another pair of hands.”
I thought about my mom’s words as I dressed.
Maybe she was right and I needed to let Grayson go, move on. He had treated me horribly. If he walked through that door right now with flowers and an apology, I’d send him packing.
I was never going to get over him though, never going to forgive him for firing me in front of the whole office like I was some tramp.
Mom is right. Screw Grayson Richmond.
I wasout in a rain poncho in my dad’s orange grove, helping him check the trees, when my phone rang with an unknown number from New York City.
“Grayson, that better not be you,” I yelped when I answered the phone then cringed. “Uh—I mean, hi, this is Lexi Collins.”
“Ms. Collins.”
“Oh my gosh, Grayson, it is you.” My heart raced.
Don’t you dare,I warned it.He’s dead to us. We’re moving on, remember?
“My apologies, this is Spencer Richmond.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, forcing back tears. “You guys sound really similar on the phone.”
“Do we?” he said in surprise.
I sniffled. “Yeah.”
“Is this a bad time?”
“No, I’m just awkward.”
“I saw you applied for a job at Van de Berg Insurance.”
“You work there?”
He laughed. “No, but Aaron does. I have a guy on the inside who helps me poach candidates from them.”
“Isn’t that—”
“Illegal? Only if you’re not related. This is just sibling rivalry,” Spencer said cheerfully. “Anyway, I’d like to hire you.”
“You need an assistant?”
“I need a communications manager,” he corrected. “My last one just got poached by Svensson Investment. I’m shocked they hadn’t already snapped you up, considering your crisis managements skills are jaw-droppingly good. I’m jealous.”
“What crisis management skills?” I said in confusion.
“The whole scandal at Richmond Electric with the assistant who was sleeping with her conservative boss? Not a blip. All anyone is talking about are if company-hosted contests are fair or not. There’s a whole cottage industry springing up about how to run companywide contests so you don’t piss off your employees. It’s lunacy,” he said cheerfully. “So when can you start?”
“Depends. How much are you paying?” I joked.
He said a number.
