Page 75 of Semi Sweet
“Absolutely.” I cleared my throat. “Thank you, as well. I know I put you guys in a weird place with that whole secret cupcake business.”
Beth smirked at me. “So I’m dying to know. You know where Olivia is, don’t you?”
I couldn’t hide my blush. “I may,” I finally admitted.
Beth swatted me. “I best be invited to your wedding for all I did!” This time when she touched me, it was a gentle pat. “I wish you all the best, seriously.”
“Thanks.”
Several hours later, I hung up my work coat and hat for the last time, placing my engraved name tag in the box with my stuff. I’d said my goodbyes to what was left of my staff before I began to walk towards the time clock to punch out at my last ever Cash Value Market shift.
As I opened the door to head out, I nearly smashed into someone wearing a suit going the opposite direction. Evan Quittero looked downright miserable, though I had a feeling it wasn’t just because we’d almost had a collision. I didn’t listen to gossip often, but word around the store was Olivia left him because he was an alcoholic. The Quittero family didn’t want that associated with their name and were making him dry out. While that was really only part of the issue, Olivia and I had a laugh over how it was Evan who ended up being an embarrassment to the family when he had been all over Olivia, worried she would be the cause.
Be the better man,I thought.You are the winner in this situation.I just couldn’t help myself. “Hey, Evan.”
He had already begun to go up the stairs. “What?”
“I wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?” Evan snapped, irritated.
I swallowed as I made my choice. “For being a terrible fiancé.”
As he stared at me dumbfounded, I made my getaway, attempting to put as much space between Evan and I before he figured out we were talking about Olivia.
***
Olivia
Angela Adams, better known as Angie around the Rocky Mountain Press, had called me into her office to do our end of day wrap up. It was incredibly similar to what I’d been doing with Tasha and Chloe in the Denver office, but I now understood why they kept asking if people were interested in working in Aspen. Angie was swamped.
Her inbox was constantly full. I spent most of my day weeding out queries and when I finally made a dent, I would attempt to screen the manuscripts and decide which would be the best matches for my boss to make the greatest use of her time. I almost always ate while I worked, but it was all for the best. It distracted me from what Sean was doing in Denver.
“As of five minutes ago, your inbox is only ten days behind,” I said. “I’ve printed ten queries for you to read tomorrow. You have two partial manuscripts to read at home this week, and one of your new acquisitions is ready for content edits.”
“I can’t remember the last time my inbox was only ten days behind,” Angie replied excitedly.
“I probably could make it even less,” I admitted, “if I kept working at home.”
Angie shook her head. “You do not need to kill yourself. I know how hard you work.”
Though I was only a month into my internship, Angie had already made it clear she needed the organization to continue and had plans to hire me once the three months were over. Knowing that I would be able to contribute to the rent soothed me and made me feel like an equal in my relationship for the first time in my adult life.
“Tonight’s the night, isn’t it?” Angie checked her watch. It was nearly closing time.
I nodded as I handed her the various folders. “Yes. I’m meeting my family at Carmello’s tonight. First time in almost five years.”
One of the first things I’d done when meeting Angie was tell her the truth about everything–my family, Evan, and what I went through at Cash Value Market. I even explained about Sean and how we were hours apart. It had been cathartic nice to have someone in the know in my new town.
“Good luck,” Angie replied. “It sounds like you have a lot to tell them.”
I agreed as I went out to my desk in the main part of the office. I’d been standing behind a counter for years and having a desk was my idea of finally making it in the world. I was sad I’d lost so many of my knick knacks when Evan had his tantrum because this would have been a perfect place for them, though I knew I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t.
“How’s your boyfriend? How many days until he’s back in Aspen?”
I glanced at a picture frame on my desk. It was from our hike, the day I’d given in to my feelings. It felt like ages ago.
“He’s good. He worked his last shift at our old job today. I’m praying he’ll be home any day now.”
