Page 54 of Resisting Fate
She steeled herself for the worst. “Thanks, it’s been a great experience.”
“Today is your last day.”
She gulped. “You’re letting me go?”
He slid an envelope across the desk to her. “Full pay. You ever need a recommendation, just ask.” He didn’t sound mad. Maybe Ben hadn’t said anything.
She stared at the envelope and then met his eyes, still not sure what this was about. “So you don’t need me on Monday?”
He gave her a small smile. “Consider it an early Christmas gift. Take Monday off, get ready for the holidays, relax, whatever you want.” Monday was the day before Christmas Eve.
She nearly collapsed with relief. It was so generous and so unexpected. Still, she had to make sure there wasn’t another reason behind the gesture. She knew there was more work to do. “Logan, why? I mean, this is very generous, but have I done something wrong?”
“Not at all.” He stood abruptly. “Enjoy your weekend.”
“You too,” she replied to his retreating back. He’d booked it out of her office.
Hmm…well, it looked like she’d just run out of time to fix things with Ben. It was now or never.
She peeked at her paycheck. He’d paid her in full plus a little extra. Her throat tightened; she’d miss working with Logan. All in all, it had been a fantastic experience working here, knowing her work was appreciated. Except for her screwup with Ben, she had absolutely no regrets. She tucked her paycheck into her purse, stood, and set the strap over her shoulder. She looked around her office, probably the last time she’d have her own private office, and sighed. Then she slowly walked out, grabbing her coat from the back of the door and carrying it, giving herself some time to come up with what she was going to say to Ben.
This wasn’t the right place for that kind of conversation. She should ask him to dinner, someplace nice where they could talk and eat, like a date. A real date. A jolt of adrenaline shot through her. She’d never asked a man to dinner and couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a real date.
She picked up speed, making the short walk to his office and barging right in before she could lose her nerve.
His head snapped up in surprise. “Hi.”
She gripped her purse tightly, her fingers trembling. She took the seat across from him. “Logan let me go. This is my last day, so I wanted to say goodbye.”
His brows scrunched together. “I thought you were working through the end of the day Monday.”
She lifted one shoulder. “He said it was an early Christmas gift, giving me the day off. He paid me in full.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
She nodded. “It was a really nice gesture. Now I’ll have some time to shop. I might be able to get everything done before the big Christmas Eve rush. This might be the first time I haven’t had to shop on Christmas Eve.” Her mouth was running away from her, saying everything but the most important thing.
“Did you like working here?” Ben asked, his tone brusquely professional like she was having an exit interview with HR.
“Yes, everything was great.”And I’m sorry I acted like you were just a casual fuck.
He nodded once. “And you’re happy with the way things turned out? No complaints?”
“Nope. I’m happy.”Much happier if I could be with you again.
“Good.”
They looked at each other for a long moment.
She couldn’t read his expression at all. She broke the silence, eager to move past the awful distance between them. “So I guess…”I’m sorry. I really like you.The words caught in her throat. She wasn’t used to being open with anyone, especially a man. She’d spent so much time and energy protecting herself from the dangers of men.
He leaned forward. “What?”
She gripped her hands tightly together. “I was wondering, I mean, if you wanted to…” She stopped and took a deep breath. He surprised her by speaking at the exact same time with the exact same question.
“Would you like to have dinner tonight?”
