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“I know, I just… I thought he’d talk to me about it first.”
“Why would he? Both of you know you can’t continue,” Ella paused, “playing together.”
“I know,” I said.
“Do you?” Ella asked.
“Yes,” I said.
She yawned again. “Honey, I’m sorry. I love you, but I have to go back to bed. I have a meeting first thing in the morning.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have called.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “You should always call me. I love you, Ry.”
“I love you too,” I said.
I ended the video call and reread the message that Celeste had sent me. Mr. Steele - Deacon - was now my actual boss. I knew I could no longer play with him, so why did I feel this hurt that he had so quickly and ruthlessly ended our time together?
Forget about that. What will you do about your mother?
I chewed at my bottom lip. Aiden had said Deacon would only work at the company for a month. I’m sure he’d be interested in playing with me again once he was finished. Why wouldn’t he? I pleased him as his pretend assistant, and we were… compatible in certain areas. So, that meant I only had to go a month without the extra cash I’d get from my second job. I could scrimp and go without for a month to get the money I needed to send to my parents from my regular job.
How? You’ve lowered your food budget as much as you can without starving yourself, moved into a cheaper apartment, bought a piece of shit car, and sold everything you own of value. How will you find extra money from your paycheque?
I’d lower my grocery budget more - my mother was right, I could stand to lose a few pounds - and park Marvin for the month. I wouldn’t need to drive to Mr. Steele’s house, and our office was on a bus route. I could buy a bus pass for the month, saving me on car insurance and gas.
If you don’t pick anyone for a month, Celeste and Catherine will fire you.
Not if they thought I needed surgery or something. I hated lying, and I wasn’t very good at it, but I absolutely could pretend I needed a month to recover from surgery and that I’d be back. They wouldn’t see it as anything more than a coincidence that my return was around the same time Mr. Steele started booking me again.
This isn’t a good plan, Riley. Starving yourself and lying to the sisters isn’t -
I silenced my inner voice and shut off my car before hurrying through the parking garage. I had a plan in place, and it would work. Now, I just needed to get through the month without anyone discovering that Deacon and I had known each other before he started working at the company.
CHAPTER 20
Deacon
“Okay, so if you get those reports to me by tomorrow morning, I’ll look over them first thing, and we’ll go from there,” I said.
Richard nodded before standing. “Thanks, Deacon. I appreciate you stepping in on such notice.”
“My pleasure,” I said. “We’ll get through this next month as smoothly as possible. I realize Victor Rainer had a very different leadership style than me, but I want to reiterate that asking questions or making mistakes is not something I’ll freak out over. Clear?”
“Yes.” Richard paused. “You impressed the team at lunch. Rainer came across as an arrogant asshole from the start, and we all struggled to work with him. He was more professional with us than he was with poor Riley, but to be frank, none of us were upset when Aiden fired him.”
“Well, I’ll demand the best from all of you, but I’ll always be respectful and won’t lose my temper,” I said.
“I’ll have those reports on your desk when you arrive in the morning,” Richard said.
“I appreciate it,” I said.
I waited until Richard left my office before sinking back into my chair. Other than when I’d escaped to the restaurant bathroom at lunch to text the sisters, it was the first time I’d had a moment alone since I walked into Aiden’s office and saw Charlotte standing there.
Riley. Her name is Riley.
I sucked in a deep breath, scrubbing my hand across my jaw. It had taken every last ounce of my willpower to scrub Charlotte - Riley - from my brain and concentrate on the job I was brought to do. But, seriously, what were the fucking odds that Riley would work for Aiden’s company?
