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While he took Asher for a quick walk, he tried to think of a way out of his situation. Between tossing and turning every night in a strange bed, and having to fight Lizzy off, the thought of quitting was one of the few things that could put a smile on his face. He couldn’t just quit, of course. He would have to be a grown-up and talk to Lizzy.
Talking to her was the last thing he wanted to do. Just thinking about it put him in a bad mood. Once he got back into the house and organized everything for the following day, he followed Samantha’s lead and went to bed early. Even though sleep wouldn’t come easy, relaxing in bed beat pacing around the house and worrying about things he couldn’t control.
Bryce showed up at the office bright and early on Friday morning. He had successfully avoided Lizzy the past few days instead of toughening up and facing her. He did most of the work from his rental and only showed up briefly during the workday. If he continued the trend, it would only be that much longer before he could put the job behind him.
“You’re here early,” he heard a voice say from behind him. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Bryce felt his shoulders slump when he turned around, and he was unable to stop his natural reaction. “No special occasion. I just wanted to get caught up on work for the week.”
“Well, I’m not complaining. We should do lunch today since you’re here,” Lizzy offered.
“That’s not a good idea. I told you I’m seeing someone. I wouldn’t like it if she had a lunch date with an ex, so I won’t do it to her,” he answered carefully.
“I didn’t realize things were serious between you two. Good thing it won’t be a date. And even better that I hardly count as an ex.”
“Things are serious enough. Anyway, did you get everything forwarded to your dad? I needed him to sign off on a few things before I can move forward.”
“Your girlfriend can’t be upset over a business lunch. I can run and pick up the signed papers and meet you at the Irish Pub for lunch. It’s not a date. It’s work. You said you need those things, and the quickest way to get them is for me to pick them up,” she insisted.
“Lizzy. I appreciate the offer, but I have a lot of work to do. I can’t step away for lunch.”
“Honestly, lunch would have been pushing it anyway. Why don’t we make it dinner? Dad’s in DC, so for me to run that over to him and get back will take longer than a couple of hours, and I have a few things I need to do first. I’ll meet you at Miss Mabel’s at five. I have to work my other job, so I won’t be able to do that run until next week otherwise. But I can leave it all here until my dad comes in next week if you want.”
Bryce hated to be backed into a corner. If circumstances were normal, he would have waited her out. Whenever someone tried to rush him, he did the opposite and took his time. But, circumstances were not normal. He would do whatever he needed to get the job over with.
“Fine. I’ll meet you there. I won’t have time to eat dinner because I have to get back to let my dog out, but we can do appetizers or something quick since we both need to eat,” Bryce agreed warily.
“Perfect! I’ll see you there. I’ll be in my office for a bit if you need me.”
Bryce felt a sense of dread as he watched her walk into her office and shut the door. He knew what she was about. There was nothing innocent about her lunch or dinner invitations. Truth be told, things had never gone far between them because she had always made him feel uncomfortable. She was too pushy for his liking; even when he was single.
Bryce closed himself in his office and caught up on everything besides the paperwork Lizzy held captive. He really had fallen behind by avoiding his office in order to avoid her. Even if he worked until it was time to meet her, he wouldn’t be able to finish everything by the time he had to leave. The realization made his mood even worse. He would have to work through the weekend unless he wanted to start the new week behind schedule. So much for his weekend at home.
By the time he looked at his phone, he had a missed call from Samantha, and it was time for him to head over to meet Lizzy. He wasted no time calling Samantha back so he could break the news about seeing her that weekend. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, but the sooner he canceled, the better.
“Hey,” Samantha answered.
“Bad news.” He was quick and to the point as he climbed into his truck.
“What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Her voice rose with every word.
“Everything is fine,” he reassured her. “Except for the fact that I won’t get to see you this weekend.”
“Seriously?” The disappointment in her voice was nearly palpable.
“Seriously,” he answered with a sigh. “Samantha, I’m so sorry. I was really looking forward to seeing you. In fact, that’s what kept me going all week.”
“I’m sorry too,” she said. “You should at least get the night off.”
“I do have the night off. There’s just so much shit to do, I’ll have to spend most of the day tomorrow getting caught up. And there’s no point making the three-hour drive just to turn around and drive back. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I get it,” she reassured him. “Next weekend. Put it in your calendar. We’ll have the entire weekend together.”
“I’m meeting someone for appetizers on my way to the rental. It’s nothing, but I don’t want you to think I’m hiding anything.”
“Okay?”
“I can cancel if you want me to. In fact, I don’t even want to go,” Bryce rushed on.
