“You can’t always get what you want,” Damaris told her and walked out.
*
The day afterthe shooting Trevor got a call from Jedidiah. He wondered if she’d calmed down and was willing to talk. He should have known better.
“I called to let you know I’m quitting.”
“I figured. You know it’s traditional to give two weeks’ notice.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“My new app is nearly ready to go and yours is half-finished. What do you plan to do about that?” If she thought he was going to let her off this easily she was sadly mistaken.
“You don’t need me to help you with yours at this point in its development. As for my app, you can have it.”
“You do realize there’s a little matter of our contract? Which states that you’ll give two weeks’ notice before you leave. I need an assistant. You’re it for at least two more weeks.”
“Are you seriously going to hold me to that?”
“Damn straight I am. I’ll see you in half an hour.” He ended the call before she could argue more. He wasn’t sure what he thought to accomplish by making Jedidiah hold up her end of the contract but he wasn’t willing to let her disappear from his life. At least not before they’d had a chance to talk. If she was here she’d damn sure have to talk to him.
But she didn’t. She showed up and proceeded to work on her app and not say one word to him. Not one.
After a few attempts he gave up and only spoke to her when it was necessary for work. So she was quitting, was she? Then she could damn well help him find another assistant.
“Put an ad in the papers and online about an assistant for me.” He listed theWhiskey River Reviewas well as papers in some of the nearby towns. “I’m sure you can write it up. I’d prefer someone who can work here with me and not just remotely. Be sure and add no experience necessary. I’ll look over the applications when they come in and tell you which ones to schedule.”
“Why do I have to do this?”
“Because you’re the assistant leaving me in the lurch.”
He could tell she was hanging on to her temper by the way her jaw had tightened. “No experience necessary? Are you kidding?”
“No, I’m not kidding. I already went the other route last time. I wanted an assistant with experience. There aren’t any around here and none of the ones who answered the online ad were willing to work with me in person. They all thought they should be able to work remotely and that didn’t work out well with my Dallas crew. I suggest you get busy.”
That really pissed her off, he was glad to see. But if she thought he’d make it easy for her to walk out of his life, she couldn’t be more wrong.
*
Jedidiah knew itwas a mistake to go back to work, but she hadn’t really seen a way out. She’d signed a contract and the contract said she had to give two weeks’ notice. Two weeks so that Trevor could find a new assistant.
The next few days were agony for her. It didn’t seem to bother Trevor seeing her daily. He treated her as he had at first. An employee, period. As if they’d never made love, never fallen in love. Maybe he hadn’t but she sure as hell had.
She couldn’t talk to Damaris. Her sister had made her opinion clear. Although she was sympathetic, she thought Jedidiah owed it to Trevor to tell him about her past. About why she was so adamant about not being involved with anyone who took risks.
She admitted she was being dogmatic. Everyone took risks. Hell, every time you got in a car you took a risk. But it wasn’t the same. There was a huge difference between accepting the risks of driving a car and deliberately putting yourself in harm’s way. She should know. She’d done it herself for over two years. Right up until Noah had been murdered.
Three days of dragging herself to work, pretending it wasn’t ripping her heart out to see Trevor and know they were over. Pretending the endless parade of women who answered his new ad for an assistant wasn’t getting to her. What did she expect with the very clear ‘No experience necessary’ front and center in the ad?
Today’s applicant took the cake. Candy Reasoner. What kind of name was Candy for a grown woman? A nickname. Short for Candace. If that had been her she’d have insisted on using her full name. Hell, people had tried to shorten her name to Jed. They found out their error quickly. Did she look like a Jed for God’s sake?
Trevor got up to show Candy out. Though she couldn’t make out the words she heard Trevor’s deep rumble and Candy’s high-pitched giggle. Surely he couldn’t work with her. Jedidiah would have to strangle the woman if she had to listen to that annoying giggle every day. And Candy was only the latest in the list of unsuitable candidates for the job.
Trevor shut the door behind Candy. When he turned around he had what she could only describe as a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Really?”
“Really, what?”
