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“Yes. He knows you need a break. He said you can do what you want.”
“I don’t need a break.”
His steely tone caught her off guard. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not his job to cover for me.”
“Of course, it is.”
He held up a hand. “Carmen, I appreciate you putting this together, but I don’t have time for a trip.”
“It’s just a weekend—”
“And I don’t want you talking to Gavin on my behalf either.”
Her excitement disappeared as she surveyed him. He was upset, which was so unlike him. “It’s not a big deal, Marcus.”
“It is to me,” he said quietly. “I can’t just take off for the weekend. I’m working on a huge deal, and I have to be on my A game.”
“You can’t even take off for a day?”
“No.”
They stared at one another. She didn’t know what to say. She assumed he would fall in with her plan. She hadn’t expected him to decline or reprimand her for a weekend trip.
“I thought you understood how important my job is to me,” he said.
“Of course, I know how important it is.”
He shook his head. “It’s not just a job for me; it’s who I am. You know why.”
He was talking about his background, which so few knew about. “I get that, but the job will still be here when you get back.”
“I wasn’t born into it like Vinny. I have to work to keep my position.”
She went cold. “You think Vinny didn’t work to be COO?”
He frowned and then ran a hand down his face. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just … All my life, I’ve been working to be where I am today. I don’t want anything to jeopardize that. I like everything just the way it is, and I don’t want anything to interfere with my career.”
She felt as if she walked into an invisible wall. He liked everything the way it was, including their convenient relationship, which apparently didn’t include trips together.
“Gotcha,” she said and ignored the mortification twisting her stomach into knots. “Will do.”
She leaned toward the mirror to apply more lipstick. He stood behind her, watching silently. She hoped he didn’t notice her shaking hand. When she headed toward the bedroom, he stepped in front of her. When his hand cupped her face, she resisted the urge to pull away. She confused his affection with something deeper and more meaningful. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“You understand, right?” he said gently. “Work is all I have.”
Everything in her turned to ice. He couldn’t have said anything to hurt her more. He just put her in her place. They agreed to friends with benefits. He was keeping his end of the deal, and she wasn’t. She was doing that stupid girly thing, complicating their relationship with emotions and vacations, and even went so far as to talk to his boss, and he didn’t like it.
“Carmen?”
She could hear the worry in his voice.
“I thought we understood one another,” he said.
There was something in his eyes, a wary concern that made her feel even worse.
Humiliation consumed her. What he once healed, ripped, and bled, but she didn’t acknowledge it. She steeled herself and gave him an over bright smile.
