Page 28 of Yes to The Holidays
Her brow furrowed. “Sure. Is everything okay? What major things? Should I be worried?” She uncrossed her leg and leaned toward me. “Why were you all in the conference room all day?”
I shook my head. “No, no. Nothing like that. Don’t worry. Just don’t mention lipstick man.”
“You mean Viking man? Because he looked like a Viking in a suit.”
I grinned.
“Okay, as long as you promise there is nothing to worry about. But when the time comes, I expect to be fully briefed.” Candy stood, fixing the full, red plant at the end of my desk. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Promise. Good night.”
Candy left, and I rushed through a few more emails. All the ones that were important were addressed or at least responded to and marked for later. But I kept scrolling up and down the list, randomly opening simple ones. I was just tending to work. I was not ignoring a problem. Nope.
I kept going through emails until my cell phone buzzed on my desk. Before I looked at it, I looked at the time on the corner of my computer screen and grimaced. Two hours had passed since Odin left.
Grabbing the phone, I looked down as my heart sped up.
Odin: Making sure you didn’t get lost. Didn’t want to order food until I knew you were on the way.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I replied.
Me: About to leave the office now.
Odin: See you soon.
Sighing again, I shut down the computer and grabbed my bag and coat. It was still full-blown rush hour, so I could walk to the pub faster than driving. It was in the forties outside, but between my coat and the blood pumping like crazy through my veins, I’d be fine. Plus, I would probably have too many drinks to drive home anyway, so I would get a rideshare later and catch the train to work in the morning.
I hurried from the quiet building then walked to the pub through the city blocks. Except, we didn’t have “blocks” everywhere. There were some tricky intersections and shifting of lanes. But the sidewalks and streets stayed clean for the most part and as long as you were in the business districts, the sidewalks were well maintained. The bumper-to-bumper headlights and honking sounds let me know I had made the right decision by walking. Most people didn’t walk much from place to place downtown, but I found it a good way to get some exercise and fresh air. It could get a little smoggy in the summer, but we weren’t even in the top twenty-five worst for air pollution, so it could be worse. I definitely needed to clear my head now, and the cool crisp air was helping. The brisk walk still had my blood thrumming, but it was more of a steady thud than the earlier erratic pumping.
How did this happen? I had so many questions. Hopefully some could be answered soon. I crossed the last street then turned toward the pub. Opening the door, I scanned around and found Odin in the seat we had first shared together. He looked over before the door even closed behind me and stood, wringing his hands together.
Good. He was nervous. Not sure why, but that was satisfying to know.
“Janie, you made it here fast.” He leaned toward me, but I put my hand up. He nodded, then waved me into the booth.
“I walked. Quicker sometimes.”
His brows shot up. “It’s so cold out, you must be freezing,” he said as he again came closer.
I shifted away a bit, so he leaned back against the booth. A server came, not the same girl as before, and took my drink order. Odin asked for another as well.
When she stepped away, I glanced in his direction, and he was staring at me, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip. He was doing that on purpose. My eyebrow cocked on its own, and I secretly cursed myself for it before relaxing my face.
“Janie, I know today was a lot to take in, but I don’t understand this distance,” he said, motioning between us.
This time, I purposely cocked my brow as I tilted my head. “Odin, I learned today that you’re about to be my new boss, my long-time friend and boss has been keeping secrets from me, and you don’t understand my reluctance to you?”
“It’s not like I knew you worked there, Janie. And I can’t speak for Edward, but many transactions of this nature don’t involve others until it’s done. At least he brought you up to speed before it was complete.”
“What? This isn’t some failing business that you can just throw away like trash. I have been withEddiesince the beginning,” I said as I drove my pointer finger into the table. “I am literally the next down the line and–”
The server returned with our drinks and asked about food. I wasn’t hungry, but I knew if I was drinking, I would need to at least attempt something, so I asked for nachos.
“You seem upset with me?”
“Well, why wouldn’t I be? This is all upsetting!” A few heads turned, so I cleared my throat and focused on talking, not shouting. “How can you be so, blah, about this? I can’t catch a break. Well, that’s not true. Actually, my life isn’t terrible I just–”
“Janie, I know the work stuff is a lot, but I don’t understand what that has to do with us?”
