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“I’ll see you later,” she said, and gave my hand one last squeeze.
Standing there, watching him, I pictured myself following Colton into the elevator and telling him how I dreamt of him every night. He’d laugh and scoop me up in his arms. I sighed and wiped the goofy smile from my lips before returning to the mailroom. I was a few minutes late, but Clive didn’t yell at me. He was too busy talking about last night’s game.
Just as I dropped my knapsack, my phone buzzed. It was a message from my brother.
Marco: Looks like I’ll be home for dinner. The supermarket laid a bunch of us, part-timers, off. ?
What?
I read his message again, checking to make sure I’d read it right the first time.
Crap. What now?
Mom and Dad already worked two jobs and the grocery hours worked best for Marco’s school schedule.
My shoulders slumped with the added burden.
What should I do?
The afternoon dragged on and the guilt of knowing I could help Marco, but I was too afraid to do it, gnawed at me.
Come on, Frances. You were never like this. You used to challenge yourself in college. But that was before… him.
I pressed down on my lips and pushed the memories away.
Grabbing my phone, I opened a new text for Erika.
Me: Send me the info for the mall position.
2
Colton
Where are those files that I asked for?
Damn it, I’d forgotten again that my last PA quit. I didn’t have time to look for another one.
I pressed the intercom button for one of our accountants. “Daniel, bring me the Robert Morgan file.” Daniel remained silent on the other end, but I knew he’d do it. He always did, albeit grumbling.
A few minutes later, my brother Ryan strolled into my office, carrying a yellow file folder. “Here,” he said, dropping the file on my desk.
“I asked Daniel to bring it to me. This isn’t your job.” As a lawyer, Ryan led the legal department at Crawford Corp. I picked up the file anyway and leafed through it.
“It’s not his job either,” he said, dropping into the black leather armchair in front of my desk and crossing his arms. “When are you going to hire a new assistant?”
“Soon. I just have a million other things to do first.” I found the report I was looking for and pulled it from the file.
Leaning forward with his forearm on my desk, Ryan asked, “So, how was your date last night? I saw the pictures all over the internet this morning.”
I sighed, knowing he wasn’t kidding. “It was a one and done.”
“Ouch, that’s harsh. What happened?”
“The same thing that happens every time. She talked little, looked down at her phone often, and worked her way into my pants quickly.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you complain about any woman putting her hands on you.”
“Yeah, well, if I didn’t think she was sticking her hand down there to look for my wallet, I may have been a little more flattered.”
