19. He’s Coming Around. Not
Sophie
The last few days have been…okay. Jared hasn’t been nice, exactly, but I’ve noticed a definite difference in his attitude. He’s been the perfect example of distant professionalism.
I don’t care that he doesn’t smile and laugh with me like I’ve seen him do with Scotty. Honestly, I don’t.
Okay, maybe it stings, a little.
It wouldn’t matter at all if I wasn’t having such rotten luck in my job hunt. If things keep going the way they have been, I’m going to be stuck in this job forever…or however long it takes Jared to get fed up and fire me.
Not that I’ve given him any reason to. I’ve fallen into stride here over the last week, and I can tell Scotty now feels comfortable leaving Jared in my capable hands. Today is his last day, and it feels good, seeing his worry fade away and being replaced with excitement over his next adventure.
My spine straightens as Jared’s office door swings open and he steps out. I don’t look, but I can feel his gaze on me. I feel his energy brush over my skin as he stops beside my desk, and I take a deep breath before looking up at him.
“Good work today,” he says. “I’m leaving to go get ready for the party tonight, so you can do the same, if you’d like.”
My head bobs up and down, and my lips curve up. “Thank you, sir.”
His shoulders tense, then relax so quickly, I’m not entirely sure I didn’t imagine it. With a single firm nod, he walks away. I watch him walk to the elevator, his pace strong and steady, and when he steps inside and turns around, our eyes meet and hold until the doors slide closed.
“I’m so excited for tonight!”
Scotty’s voice snaps me out of the trance I’d fallen into, but luckily, he doesn’t notice me staring at the now-closed elevator like some kind of zombie freak. My lips curl up as I watch him glide toward me from the direction of the employee lounge.
“I’m sure it’s going to be amazing,” I reply, grinning. “Especially considering you planned the whole thing, yourself.”
“Who better to plan my going away party than me? I certainly wasn’t going to let Jared handle it. We’d end up in the boardroom, staring at profit reports all night.”
“Or in a funeral home, reciting eulogies for The Black Hart, since this place is obviously going to fall apart without you,” I say with a smirk.
“You’re too sweet,” Scotty says, blowing me an air-kiss. “But I’m not worried in the least. You’ve been amazing this week, and I know I’m leaving this place––and Jared––in good hands.”
I nod and smile in response, not giving him even the smallest hint of the pain streaking through my chest. Scotty is an amazing person, and I hate feeling like I’m lying to him. I haven’t stopped looking for a new job, despite the strides Jared and I have made to be civil to one another.
But I can’t tell Scotty that. My presence here is the reason he feels so comfortable with leaving. He knows this place isn’t going to fall apart without him.
“Anyway,” I say, pushing myself to my feet. “Jared just took off, and he said I could leave, too, to get ready for this shindig.”
“Wow,” Scotty says, his eyes wide. “He really is coming around.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jared never offers to let anyone leave early,” he says, then shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong. He always tries to accommodate employees who need time off, but they have to put in a request for it. He doesn’t offer.”
“Well, this is a special occasion,” I say, refusing to believe there’s any more to it.
“True,” he says with a smirk, his face brightening. “I can’t wait for you to meet Dean.”
“Me, too,” I say, wrapping him in a quick hug before grabbing my things. “See you in a bit.”
“Don’t be late!”
* * *
By the timeI get home, I’m starving, so I make a plate of cheese and crackers and carry it into my bedroom to snack on while I get ready for the party. I open my closet, sifting through my clothes to find something suitable.
Jared offered up the casino’s restaurant for the event, agreeing to close it to the public and even cover the costs for dinner and an open bar. His generosity crumbled a few layers of the wall I’d built between us, but it wasn’t the only thing tapping away at my defenses.