Page 71 of As a Last Resort
“Yep.Apparently while my mother’s little bikini incident garnered quite a few laughs, it also demonstrated I may have some other priorities while I’m here that may be distracting me from my job.”
“So your boss is sending him down here to chaperone you?”he asked.“I’m all about looking for the silver lining but that seems pretty crappy.”
“I don’t know whether to dump my coffee on your head or thank you for your honesty.”
“I get that a lot.”He slid a plate of toast and bacon in front of me and filled up my coffee again.“Hangover cure.Half a pound of bacon, buttery toast, and black coffee.Eat.”
He sat next to me, coffee full and plateless.
“You’re not going to eat?”
“I don’t do breakfast.”
“But it’s the most important meal of the day.”
“Doesn’t do it for me.”
He turned his coffee cup a quarter around every few seconds.He waited until my plate was half empty before he spoke again.“So, if it is true, about Pug Nugget and the promotion, what’s next?”
“You mean besides drinking myself into oblivion for the next couple weeks out of misery?I stay here for another week or so, finish out the due diligence on the island and head back to New York.Probably jump on board his Oakstone Springs team, plaster a big ol’ smile on my face and pretend like I won’t pull the majority of the weight for him when I know I will.Again.”
“And what if it’s not true?What if the promotion is still up for grabs?”
I stuffed a piece of bacon in my mouth.Heaven in food form.I wasn’t used to this many thought-provoking questions at once.His voice sounded whiskey soaked and raspy in the morning.It was distracting.And he was hardcore staring at me.
“I’ll still stay here for another two weeks regardless I guess, then head back to New York, and…” I paused.I didn’t know the right words to finish the sentence.Whatwouldhappen?Keep working my ass off to hopefully get the promotion?There wasn’t a specific timeline necessarily, but the general assumption was that by the end of the month, an announcement would be made.
“And keep busting your ass for a chance at this promotion.”
I took a long sip of my coffee.“I guess so.”
The thought felt strange for the first time.It felt less important all of a sudden.I spent the last handful of years grinding my life away to climb the corporate ladder and I didn’t see it changing anytime soon.
He was staring at me, trying to read something on my face.
“What?”
“It just doesn’t seem like you’re all that excited about going back and working yourself down to the bone.And either way, it looks like that’s what you’re going to do, promotion or not.”Work was the last thing I wanted to talk about.My head still hurt and I wanted more bacon.
“You’re being way too intense to be wearing that apron.”His eyes were so green in the morning.“So, about last night…”
“Sam?”My head whipped around way too fast at a female’s voice.Lexi padded in the front door, well, more like skipped in, to the kitchen and side-hugged me really hard.
“Careful, she might puke on you.”
My head spun.“What are you doing here?”
“Mom and Dad are at one of her little flower show thingies and staying in the house alone all day freaks me out.”
“She thinks sea monsters are going to crawl up out of the ocean and kidnap her,” Austin teased.
“You’re still afraid of that?”I asked.
“That nightmare I had when I was six changed my life.”She made her way to the coffeepot and poured herself a mug.“I keep a bunch of stuff here just in case they decide to bail on me last minute for a hydrangea trade show.”
Ah.The clothes.I saw Austin smirk out of the corner of my eye.
“What do you have planned for today?”She looked at her brother’s clothes hanging off me and pursed her lips.
