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“As well as you’d expect.”
“I would intercede on your behalf, but my contract is up for renewal next year, and I’d like to keep driving,” he says. Julian is on my side, but he won’t risk anything to help, either.
I can’t blame him, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hoping for a sympathetic ear. “I’ll leave you to it. There’s a project on my laptop begging for attention.”
I leave, and Lily follows me out the door.
Her skirt bunches in her fist as we walk together. “I’m on your side,” she says quietly. “You two helped me win yesterday, and that was nice of you. I just wanted to say thank you.”
Lily scurries away before I can respond, probably back to Julian or one of the empty offices.
Alone, I shut my door and put my head on the desk. Jake is busy with his responsibilities, or I would call him. Of course, that means bursting into tears, and I don’t want to do that, not during the work day. Plus, I already had my annual cry, and that’s enough.
Faced with no other option, I cover my head to better drown in self-pity.
“Sarah?” A familiar hand strokes my back.
“Jake. How did you get in here?”
“We have an ally.” He nods towards the door where Lily stands. “She snuck me in.”
“I owe you,” I say.
“Please don’t tell anyone I did it,” she says before leaving us alone. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“It’s our secret,” I call out, but Lily doesn’t hear.
Jake is kneeling beside me, so I launch myself into his embrace. He falls back slightly before steadying and tightly wrapping his arms around me. We laid in bed longer than we should have this morning, and he held me then, too.
“Is he at least talking to you?”
“He’s interrogating me.” Boone’s questions were both reasonable and galling. My assertion that our choices may differ is fair, but the onslaught left me raw. “Don’t you have that sponsor thing?”
“It turns out rescheduling is easy when your sponsors like you.”
“Are you done today?”
“Done until we fly out since you’re coming with me. You can also cancel your hotel reservation because we aren’t hiding.”
I’m confused. “Where will we stay?”
“I have a trailer that needs to justify its expense soon. You’re staying there with me.” He strokes my cheek and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m not leaving you, Princess. That was a promise, and I’m keeping it.”
“That’s good because I’m not wanted. Let’s go.” I stick my laptop in its case and pull my purse from the bottom drawer.
Jake watches but doesn’t make any move to leave. “What exactly did he say?”
A replay of that conversation won’t help matters. Getting caught without an engagement ring is embarrassing, and I’m not ready to share that yet. I prepared for a slew of questions requiring me to validate my commitment to the job and Jake’s character. Boone dismissing my decisions with such hostility was unexpected. Perhaps it should not have been.
“He threatened your career and claimed you did the same in return.” I don’t ask if that’s true. Boone initially led me to believe he shared their complete exchange after Jake wrecked Boone. Jake confirmed it, and if there’s more, it may be best that I don’t know. “He believes our relationship is part of your devious plot to hurt him.”
Jake rubs a temple with the tip of one finger. “I see why hewould think that. What else did he say?”
Boone’s interrogation bothers me, but the last part hurts. “I pointed out that he’s trusted my judgment in the past.”
“Of course he did. You’re wicked smart,” Jake says. He pulls at my chin with his thumb and softly kisses me. “Listening to you is a path to victory.”
I almost smile because, like Boone, he can’t stop using racing expressions. “Not this time. I felt foolish, like a little kid who doesn’t know her mind.” Josie, Jake’s little sister, pops into my head. She’s a teen girl struggling to find purpose while all the adults insist she’s too young to know better. Her feelings probably aren’t so different from mine.
