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“Nothing, really.”
Her sad eyes tell a different story. “Lainey, talk to me.”
She sighs. “I sent my book to my editor a few days ago.”
“That’s great. And?”
“And she got back to me today saying the couple and the ending didn’t feel authentic.”
“Meaning?”
“Remember when you said you thought Laurie should end up with Blaze?”
“Yeah.”
“My editor agrees with you.”
I can’t help but smirk. She sees it and playfully slaps my chest, all the while pouting. I can’t help myself; I pull her in closer so I can suck on her lower lip and slide my hand along her thigh. The way she trembles in my arms, her immediate reaction to me, makes me feel like Superman.
“It means I’ll have to change so much,” she grumbles.
“You can do it. From what you said, Blaze and Laurie have chemistry and that’s important.”
“It is, but the obstacles I gave them, they’re too strong. He’s too stubborn.”
“You introduced a growth arc for Liam, now you just need one for Blaze, right?”
“I guess.”
“You’ll find a way to make it work,” I say. “I have complete faith in you.”
“Glad one of us does,” she mutters, before staring at me. “Why are you so happy?”
“Glen offered me a job.”
Her eyes light up. “Ben, that’s fantastic.”
“Yeah.”
She studies me. “You don’t think so?”
I sigh. “It’s about 10,000 dollars a year less than I’m earning now, which might not seem like a lot—”
“No, it’s a lot.”
“It is when I’m not exactly rolling in it to start with. I’ll be able to pay my bills, but I won’t be able to save much.”
“I get that, and I understand your hesitation. You like to be prepared for anything, and you don’t want to stop saving. But it sounds like a really good opportunity to work for someone you like and to keep learning about something you’re clearly interested in. I hate the thought of you working somewhere you hate. You’ve been talking about leaving Eagle Eye Security and this gives you the opportunity to do it.”
She looks so sure, and I know part of the reason I’m talking this over with her is because if I take this job, I won’t be able to buy her anything nice on my new salary.
Yeah, Lainey has never asked for anything, and I don’t know how much longer things between us will last, but the thought still bothers me. As does the fact that it could mean working late nights. Amber hated me working nights. And even though Lainey isn’t my girlfriend, I’m worried she’ll be bothered by it. I know I don’t like the thought I won’t be able to spend as much time with her.
“It won’t be such a small wage forever,” she says. “You’ll either go on to start your own company or move on to something else.”
“He said I could help him grow the business.”
“See?” Her smile is genuine. “It’s all up from here. You can stick to security, or go back to being a bodyguard, or work as a private investigator. You have a lot of options. From what you’ve told me, you’re enjoying this, and I think you should keep doing something that you enjoy. Life is too short to do anything else, remember? If you can make it work short term, I think you should go for it. I mean, if you wanted to, you could even go back to school and study business management, and then open a business that specialises in everything you’ve learned so far. You can do this. You can do whatever you want.”
