If it hadn’t been for Beth’s slip up, would Chase really have let her walk into work one day, just to be told she was fired? He was looking for a new job while she watered the plants. Dang, she should have known this stupid promotion was too good to be true.
She could go back to customer service, become a supervisor, but this whole thing made her want to cut ties with AutoBest completely.
Her hands itched to find her phone and text Lina. Not just because Lina deserved to know her roommate was about to be unemployed, but because Lina would let her get as mad as she wanted, and then help her get over it and laugh again. That would have to wait since she was currently driving her non-friend to work, and she’d promised not to text and drive. Calling Lina would be a little awkward with Chase listening in. She turned on the radio to drown out the tense quiet that had crept up between them.
Traffic finally began to move, and she concentrated on her driving and the perky morning hosts on the radio. Pulling into her parking spot had never been such a relief.
Chase looked horribly uncomfortable. “Please don’t say anything. I need Mr. Davidson as a reference.”
“Well, now, so do I. Don’t worry, I’ll act like nothing’s wrong.” It was easier said than done. She scrubbed a hand down her face, probably messing up her makeup, and took a deep breath. If she was mad at Chase for keeping it from her, she couldn’t prove him right by blowing it right after he told her.
He hopped out and went around to get her door, which only wound her feelings tighter. Trust was important to her. A small weakening in her resolve to stay away from relationships, and this was the result. More evidence that she was so easily duped by men.
She murmured thanks as she got out and hightailed it into the building, waving her key fob behind her and listening for her car alarm to beep. She needed some distance from Chase before she said something she’d regret.
***
Despite his warning to her to act normal, he was the one staring at his computer screen, all the words running together. He couldn’t concentrate on anything. He was used to feeling unprepared for things life threw at him, like instant parenthood and an instant career to go along with it. But nothing had ever made him feel as inadequate as his messed-up relationship with Ashley. She wouldn’t look at him. She wouldn’t talk to him.
The little potted plant he’d managed to sneak onto her desk now seemed like an ill-timed gift. She didn’t need more things to pack up when she left here. But since he’d snuck it in his backpack, it had to go somewhere. He didn’t have the heart to throw it out. At least now it was recovering nicely on the corner of her desk. She’d watered it, though she still looked stressed and seriously ticked off.
He’d bought the thing because it made him think of her. Did it make her suspect it was from him? At the moment, he hoped not.
His hunch that she would be disappointed in finding out he was her secret admirer had now gone up to one-hundred percent surety. Maybe he’d never tell her. Maybe they were better off going their separate ways after the layoffs.
Flynn chucked a crumpled up paper at Chase’s head. Chase didn’t even flinch when it hit. Flynn was like a tiny speck on his already miserable day.
“Dude, wake up. You stay up late partying or something?”
Chase ignored him and reread the last paragraph he’d written. Garbage. Utter garbage. If he didn’t finish this article … yeah, no one would care. He had to find another job and somehow forget about Ashley. His stomach clenched.
“Chase, can I see you in my office?” Mr. Davidson called out.
Just perfect. Chase rubbed the back of his neck and closed the file he was working on. Mr. Davidson didn’t look mad, but Chase was nervous all the same. What now? He glanced at Ashley, but she was still purposely ignoring him.
Mr. Davidson closed the door behind them and motioned for Chase to sit. “I have good news. I got permission to keep an assistant, and I’d like it to be you. Same pay.”
He’d be insane not to take it, but all Chase could think about was how much more Ashley was going to loathe him. Mr. Davidson was staring at him so Chase quickly responded with, “Thank you, sir. I’m honored.”
Mr. Davidson launched into the details, and Chase tried to pay attention, to not fidget. They’d be moving floors. He’d be writing a lot more memos and instruction sheets, and a lot fewer articles. His head began to throb. It was a relief when Mr. Davidson let him go. He could stop pretending to be excited about this.
He took his lunch break and sat outside, nibbling on crackers and nursing a headache ibuprofen couldn’t begin to touch. He tried to eat the sandwich he’d packed, but then an excited Beth sent him pictures of the kidney stones she’d finally passed, and he gave up and went back to work.
***
“What a cute little plant. Did you bring that from home?” Yolanda dropped a file on Ashley’s desk and leaned over, rubbing her fingers against the fuzzy leaves.
“Yep,” Ashley lied. “I needed something to cheer me up today.”
“What’s the matter?” Yolanda pulled up a chair, looking sympathetic.
Ashley slumped in her seat. She needed a friend right now, but forgetting how much Yolanda enjoyed gossip would be a huge mistake.
“Nothing I can talk about right now. But thanks.”
Yolanda raised a perfectly drawn in eyebrow. “Well, if you need a listening ear, I’m here.”
“Thanks, gal.”
