The woman stopped knitting and looked up at Katherine. “I’m Mary, I hope we can keep each other company over the next couple days.”
Katherine smiled. “Kat,” she said, not wanting to give too much information, another habit picked up after years on the run.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
She wanted to be nice, but experience told her to be careful. “I’m going to run to the bathroom before we get on that bus. I hate the bathrooms in those things.”
Mary giggled. “They do leave a little something to be desired.”
Katherine stood up, taking her suitcase with her as she made her way to the bathroom. She liked to take the late buses because they tended to be less crowded, which meant more space to spread out. She knew by tomorrow morning, they would all be packed in like sardines as they made more stops along the way, picking up new passengers. It always seemed like they took on more than they let off. If she had to be stuck by someone for the next twenty-four hours, it may as well be Mary, she thought to herself.
Chapter Ten
Ben
THE FIRST THING HE did when he opened his eyes was roll to the side and reach for his phone on the bedside table. Through bleary eyes, he stared at the screen, hoping to see a missed call or a message or two from Katherine. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to text her last night. Around eleven, he had sent her a simple goodnight text, hoping for some kind of response. He got nothing in return.
He closed his eyes, trying not to let the disappointment get him down. She was still working through some stuff, he told himself. He’d give her space. He got ready for work, wishing like hell they could repeat yesterday’s morning routine.
Once he grabbed a breakfast sandwich, he headed out the door. Work would keep him busy and his mind off Katherine.
“Yeah, right,” he muttered, checking left, then right before pulling into the street.
Nothing kept his mind off Katherine.
“Uh-oh,” Rachel mumbled under her breath as he walked by.
“I’m fine,” he said, and kept moving into his office.
She followed him inside like usual, shutting the door behind her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”
She put a hand on her hip and shot him a glare. “Liar. What happened and don’t tell me nothing because it is very obviously something.”
Ben leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. “Katherine,” he said the one word that he hoped would explain it all.
When he looked at Rachel, her hand was still on her hip, but now she had a confused expression on her face. “Katherine?”
He nodded. “She’s doing her weird, leave me alone thing again.”
“Yesterday you walked in here like you were on cloud nine. Did something happen between then and now? Did you tell her you loved her?” she asked, a horrified look on her face.
“No, I didn’t say a word to her. I didn’t get the chance.”
She relaxed her stance a little, gesturing for him to take his seat behind his desk. “Sit. We need to go over this because I am thoroughly confused at how you could have screwed this up so quickly.”
His jaw dropped open. “I didn’t do anything!” he shrieked, still standing next to the chair.
“Sit.”
He flopped down, feeling rather childish, his arms crossed over his chest defensively. “What?”
If anyone from the outside world saw the exchange, they would be horrified. He was the billionaire boss being told what to do by his secretary. What those people wouldn’t realize was that Rachel was more friend than employee. She was given a free pass to treat him like a child—to an extent.
“Let’s start at the beginning. We’ll figure this out and she’ll be back in your arms in no time,” she promised.