Page 75 of Playing the Game
I kiss Dori’s forehead. “Is this why you told me you’ve been thinking about looking for a job in Miami?”
“Yes.” She’s quiet for a moment. “How do you feel about that?”
“Ecstatic. I hate that you were fired, but it makes me believe we can make our relationship work.”
“Are you saying you don’t think we would stay together if I still had my job?” She pushes out of my arms.
I move a pillow behind me and ease back. “I’m not saying that. It’s just if I lived in Miami and you lived here, it would be difficult. Especially with Hunter a few doors down from you.”
“That’s understandable.”
“That’s what I was going to talk to you about.”
Her gaze fills with concern. “Moving or me working with Hunter?”
I shrug. “Both. Before you came out here, your phone went off. I glanced at your screen and saw it was him. No matter what condition I’m in, he won’t step aside and let you walk away. I wanted to talk to you about how you’re going to handle it.”
“Hunter called?” She gets up and rushes to the kitchen to retrieve her phone. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
A bolt of panic hits me. “Why are you so quick to want to talk to him?”
She stops by the counter and stares over at me. “It’s not that. I just wasn’t expecting him to reach out. It makes me wonder what he wants.”
“Really? You don’t know what he wants?”
She’s silent for a moment, then picks up her phone. She looks at the screen and starts typing a message. I grow tense, and heat rises in my chest.
Why can’t we have it easy for once?
I study her from across the room as she taps away on her phone. Her eyes scroll as she reads something.
She places her palm over her heart as a smile splits her face. “Oh my god. No way!”
“What?”
Her gaze snaps to mine. “They got another board member to overturn their vote.”
My abdomen tightens. “What does that mean?”
“Hunter said they have five people who have overturned their vote to terminate my contract.”
Worry crawls up my spine. I should be happy for her, but this isn’t good news for us.
“And if they get enough people to do that, will you take your job back?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“So you weren’t sincerely considering moving to Miami with me?”
“Yes, I was. But if I can get my job back, I don’t know how I could walk away from it.”
I get up and move with deliberate and controlled steps to the kitchen where she’s standing. “If that happens and I go to Miami, where does that leave us?”
She just shrugs and shakes her head.
I give her a gentle nudge with the jut of my chin. “Look, there’s no wrong answer here. I just need to know where we stand. Trust yourself and be honest about what you want more: a life here working for Hunter or a living with me in Miami.”
“I want them both.”
