Under a falling star, p.29
Under a Falling Star, page 29
Austen gasped and threw her head back.
Dee used the opportunity to nibble on the exposed line of her throat.
Finally, Austen couldn’t take the sweet torture anymore. “Let’s go inside.”
Dee nodded, her cheeks flushed from more than the heat of the water surrounding them.
Before Austen could step out of the Jacuzzi, the sound of the glass door sliding back made her pause.
“Danielle? Where are you?” Wade Haggerty, Dee’s uncle and their boss, stepped onto the back deck. “We’ve got a situation with Universal. You didn’t answer the urgent e-mail I sent, and my calls went straight to voice mail, so I—” He stumbled to a stop. “What the hell?”
Oh no! No, no, no. Austen sank even lower in the water and pulled up her arms, covering as much of herself as she could.
Dee stepped in front of her, blocking Wade’s line of sight with her own body. “Could you give us a moment, please?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“I…yeah. I’ll wait inside.” He took two steps toward the sliding doors but then said over his shoulder, “You know what? This can wait. I’ve got more important things to deal with. Come and see me first thing Monday morning. And check your damn e-mail, Danielle.”
He was already through the glass door when Dee shouted after him, “I don’t have my laptop.”
“Then forget about it. Rick and I will deal with it.” The door clicked shut behind him. Barely a minute later, an engine howled on the other side of the house and tires crunched over gravel as Wade sped away.
“Dammit!” Dee sank back into the Jacuzzi and hit the surface of the water, accidentally splashing Austen.
Austen swallowed a mouthful of water and had to cough.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She moved closer and wrapped her arms around Dee, relieved when she wasn’t rebuffed. “It’ll all be okay.”
“Yeah,” Dee mumbled but didn’t sound as if she believed it.
They clung to each other in the tub until their toes and fingers started to prune. Austen felt a bit woozy as she climbed out of the Jacuzzi, but she wasn’t sure if it was from being in the hot water for too long or from having her world tilt on its axis.
Their fingers brushed as Dee wordlessly handed her a bathrobe.
Austen grabbed Dee’s hand before it could retreat. “Dee? If you need us to go home and deal with this, that would be okay.”
Dee shook her head, her lips forming a grim line. “No. You heard Uncle Wade. He wants to talk to me on Monday. For now, let’s just enjoy the weekend.”
Austen nodded, but they both knew neither of them would be able to relax. She vowed to make the best of it and distract Dee as much as she could. Not letting go of Dee’s hand, she bent and picked up the bowl of fruit. “Come on. I hear some chocolate-covered strawberries calling our names.”
Chapter 30
After agonizing over her decision the entire weekend, Austen knew what she had to do when she entered the lobby on Monday morning. She waved at Vanessa behind the reception desk but didn’t hang around to chat. She headed straight for the elevator that brought her to the fifteenth floor.
The scent of espresso wafted down the corridor, as it had the first day she had started working at Kudos Entertainment. For a moment, she was tempted to veer off to the break room and delay the inevitable, but then she shook her head and continued to the corner office on the left.
Mr. Saunders was already at his desk with the door open when she entered the outer office. He looked up and smiled. “Good morning, Ms. Brooks. Did you have a nice weekend?”
It had been nice—up until the moment Dee’s uncle had stepped onto the back deck. Instead of answering, she walked over and hesitated in the doorway. Was this really what she wanted to do? She had promised herself to never uproot her life for a woman again.
Mr. Saunders frowned. “Is everything okay?”
Austen hesitated for a few moments longer before deciding that things were different with Dee, so she could no longer stick to the promises she had made herself in the past. Her future with Dee was more important than clinging to the past, and if she had to decide between her job and her relationship, her decision was clear. The lump in her throat prevented her from speaking, so she just handed him the letter she had typed up when they had returned from the cabin.
He took it and held it in his hand without opening it. “What’s this?”
Austen took a deep breath and said, “My resignation letter.”
The word hung between them for a few moments.
He tried to hand the letter back, but Austen shook her head and refused to take it. “No,” she said. “I mean it. It’s not a decision I made lightly, but there’s no other way. I quit.”
“But why? Am I handing you too much work, or—?”
“No. I love my job, but…” She shrugged and smiled. “I love your sister more. I should have done this months ago.”
He set the resignation letter on his desk and looked at it for a few more seconds before rising slowly. He stood before her, and for the first time since she’d met him a year ago, the suave businessman looked as if he didn’t know what to say. Finally, a small smile crept onto his face. “I understand. I hate to lose you as an admin, but who knows, maybe I’ll have you as a sister-in-law one day.”
Austen grinned. “Who knows.” If Dee ever asked her, she certainly wouldn’t say no.
They shook hands, and Austen said, “I know my contract says I have to give two weeks’ notice, but I would appreciate it if I didn’t have to finish my two weeks. That could be awkward for Dee now that your uncle knows.”
“Shit. Uncle Wade knows about the two of you?”
Austen nodded and pressed her lips together. “Yes. He’s probably reading her the riot act right now.”
“Shit,” he said again.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t worry about the two weeks. Head home and start looking for a new job. And if you need any references, come straight to me. I will highly recommend you to any future employer.”
“Thanks, Mr. Saunders.”
“Tim.”
She shook his hand again and repeated, “Thanks, Tim.” She headed for the door but turned as she reached it. “Do you think you could go over and make sure your uncle doesn’t rip her head off?”
He rubbed his chin. “Do you really think that’s a good idea? Uncle Wade would only get angrier, and Dee never wanted me to get involved in her business.”
By now, Austen knew Dee well enough to realize that wasn’t entirely true. Dee had gotten used to fighting her battles alone; that was all.
“You really have no idea how lonely Dee feels in this company.” She paused, surprised about the sharpness of her tone, but Tim was no longer her boss, so she could afford to be completely honest. “Everyone seems to hate her, just because your uncle keeps giving her all the dirty jobs. Her position in her family isn’t any better. No one asks her how she’s doing; they just expect her to function. She’s been fighting all the battles alone for fourteen years, and she never gets any appreciation. For once, having a little support from someone in the family would mean the world to Dee.”
Tim stared at her and straightened the collar of his shirt as if it had gotten a little too tight. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right.”
“Yeah.” Austen rubbed her neck. “Sorry for coming off to you like this. I didn’t mean to speak so candidly.”
“No problem. I think I needed it.” He crossed the room, rotating his shoulders like a boxer preparing for a fight. “All right. Let me go and rescue our damsel in distress. Want to come?”
Austen nodded. “But I’d better wait in front of his office, or the dragon will slay us all.”
* * *
Dee hesitated in front of her uncle’s office and slid her hands over her vest to make sure it was properly buttoned.
Two of the company’s admins walked past, eyeing her and whispering to each other.
Great. Dee gritted her teeth. She could only imagine what kind of gossip would circulate among the employees by lunchtime. She took a deep breath and knocked.
Uncle Wade waved her in but didn’t offer her a seat, so she stood in front of his desk like a naughty child who’d been called into the principal’s office.
He leaned back in his two-thousand-dollar executive chair and regarded her for a while without saying a word, letting her sweat.
Dee didn’t give him the satisfaction of fidgeting. She stood with her head held up high. Yes, she was in deep shit, but she wasn’t ashamed of her relationship with Austen.
Finally, Uncle Wade sighed. “I’m very disappointed in you, Danielle.”
That pierced Dee’s emotional armor. She winced. If there was one thing she had always strived for, it was a little recognition from her family. She wanted to say something, but he cut her off with one impatient movement of his hand.
“I warned you to stay away from her, didn’t I?”
“Yes, and I tried, but—”
“But, of course, you didn’t listen. You went ahead and created another problem for the company. Like we don’t already have enough on our plate with Universal and that licensing mess. I really expected better of you.”
Dee pressed her lips together, not happy with him equaling her relationship with the projects that had given her headaches for weeks.
After a few more minutes, he ran out of steam, slumped against his high-backed leather chair, and waved her into the visitor’s chair. “You know I can’t ignore this affair. I wish I could, especially since you are my niece, but I have to do what’s best for the company.”
“Relationship,” Dee said quietly.
He frowned. “What?”
“It’s not an affair, Uncle Wade. We’re in a relationship.”
“Whatever it is, we only have two options here.” Leather creaked as he leaned forward. “Either you break up with her, or we have to fire her.”
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the open words were still like a slap to the face. Her hands went cold, and heat shot into her cheeks. “No! I’m not breaking up with her.”
“All right.” Her uncle nodded. “That leaves the second option. Do you want to let HR know, or should I—?”
Dee jumped up. “I don’t want her to get fired either. She’s the best admin in this whole damn company. She doesn’t deserve—”
“Careful,” her uncle said, a warning snarl in his voice. “She brought this upon herself. I mean, what do you expect me to do?”
She dropped back into her chair. “Nothing,” she said. “I don’t expect you to do anything.”
“You want me to just put my head into the sand and ignore the whole thing?” His brows climbed up his forehead. “You know I can’t do that.”
You manage just fine with Rick’s flings. She bit her lip and held herself back from saying it. “No, that’s not what I meant. You don’t need to do anything about the situation, because,” she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, “because I quit.”
The words seemed to echo through the room.
They stared at each other.
Dee blinked. Had she really said that? Had she really just quit her job and given up the position she had worked for all her life?
Judging by the expression on Uncle Wade’s face, she had. He looked as if someone had thrown a bucket of toads into his face.
Oh, shit. Was it too late to take it back?
But after her initial shock waned, she realized she didn’t want to. This felt amazingly right.
His face as red as a fire truck, her uncle finally managed to say, “But…but what about the Universal project?”
She had worked her ass off for this company for fourteen years, and that was all he had to say? “You wanted to give it to Rick anyway.”
“But he can’t do it on his own. He—”
“That’s no longer my problem.” How freeing it felt to say that. Only now did she realize how much the constant power games, company politics, and family entanglements had gotten on her nerves. She stood and walked to the door.
“You are out of your mind,” her uncle shouted after her.
Dee turned back around and shrugged. “Maybe I am, but I don’t think so.”
“You could have been my successor one day. No woman is worth giving that up for.”
“That’s where you are wrong.” With a feeling as if she were sleepwalking, she left his office. One foot went in front of the other, but it felt as if she wasn’t in full control of what she was doing. It was like watching a movie with herself as the main character. She couldn’t stop it. Nor did she want to. The sound of the office door closing behind her for the last time echoed through her ears all the way down the hall.
* * *
Austen slowed her hurried jog down the hall and gripped Tim’s arm. “We’re too late.”
Dee walked toward them without seeing them. Her stride, normally long and confident, was now unsteady and searching, as if she wasn’t sure how firm the ground in front of her was.
Austen’s heart clenched. She wanted to rush over and embrace her, but this wasn’t the place. “Dee! Um, Ms. Saunders.” She bit her lip and looked left and right to make sure they were alone in the hall. “How did it go?”
Dee looked up and blinked. It took a few seconds for her gaze to focus on Austen. Slowly, her face creased into a smile. “You don’t have to worry about what you call me anymore. I just quit.”
Austen pulled at her earlobe, sure she couldn’t have heard correctly. “Did you just say…?”
“I quit.”
Austen reached out for the wall to steady herself. “But…but this job meant everything to you. It was the focus of your life.”
“Not anymore. I was too busy working my ass off to realize it, but my job hasn’t been really fulfilling for quite some time. The resentment from the employees, having to prove myself to Uncle Wade like some greenhorn fresh out of college, that constant feeling that he might pull the rug out from under me anytime and make Rick his successor instead of me…” Dee shrugged. “I didn’t want to admit it, but it got to me.”
Tim started to laugh and slapped his thighs. “You two are quite the pair.”
Dee narrowed her eyes at him. “You really think me quitting my job is funny?”
“No, but she,” he pointed at Austen, “did the same.”
“You did…what?”
“I quit my job,” Austen said quietly.
Dee stared at her and then shook her head with a wry smile. “Tim is right. We really are a pair.” She pulled Austen into her arms in the middle of the hall.
Sally squeezed past them, watching them with wide eyes, but Austen no longer cared. She pressed her face to Dee’s shoulder and held her more tightly. She had been fine with giving up her job to save Dee’s. It had been the logical thing to do, since Dee was a COO and she just a lowly admin. But logical or not, she now realized how good it felt to know she wasn’t the only one willing to make sacrifices for their relationship.
Finally, they let go and looked at each other.
“What now?” Austen asked.
“I have no idea.” For the first time in her life, Dee didn’t seem to have a plan.
“Well,” Tim said, “now that Dee is no longer our COO, I could just tear up your letter of resignation and you could keep working as my admin.”
Austen had enjoyed working for him, and that way, at least one of them would have a steady paycheck, but going back to her job while Dee gave up hers didn’t feel right. She’d have to talk to Dee before she made a final decision. “Why don’t I finish out my two weeks? That would give us time to think about it and you a chance to find a replacement.”
Tim nodded. “All right. Then we’d better get back to work. We can’t all be people of leisure.” He winked at his sister.
Dee slapped his shoulder and kissed Austen’s cheek. “See you later.” She walked toward her office.
“Hey, where are you going, Sis?” Tim called. “The elevator is over there.”
Dee turned. “There’s something I need to grab from my office before I go.”
She had already disappeared around the corner when Austen realized what it was—the mouse she had given Dee at the Christmas party.
This year, there would be no Secret Santa and no office Christmas party for them, but Austen knew she wouldn’t miss either as long as she had Dee.
Chapter 31
Austen threw a glance up the curving facade of Kudos Entertainment’s headquarters as she stopped in front of the entrance to close her umbrella.
It would feel strange not to come here nearly every day anymore, and she could only imagine how Dee must feel. Not that either of them regretted their decisions or had the time to miss their old places of work.
Her heels clicked over the polished travertine floor as she entered the lobby and walked past the potted ferns and the crimson couch.
The Christmas tree in the center of the lobby was even larger than last year’s. The sales department had decorated it with little red plastic apples and candy canes that were just as fake.
She went up to the fifteenth floor, said good-bye to Sally and Jack and the rest of her colleagues, and then went to clean out her desk.
Most of the office supplies belonged to the company, and she’d never been able to put a framed picture of Dee on her desk, so there wasn’t much to pack. She placed her dictionary, her squishy stress ball, and the stapler that belonged to her into the box she’d brought and then went through the desk drawers to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
All but one drawer were empty already, but when she peeked into the last one, something white and silver caught her attention.
The paper snowflake! She’d put it in there last December and had then completely forgotten about it. She took it out and smoothed her fingers over the blank paper.
Beneath the snowflake lay two pieces of paper. One was the slip of paper with Dee’s name on it that she had drawn for Secret Santa. The other was the sticky note Dee had written when she had given back the snowflake. Smiling, Austen read it.
Dee used the opportunity to nibble on the exposed line of her throat.
Finally, Austen couldn’t take the sweet torture anymore. “Let’s go inside.”
Dee nodded, her cheeks flushed from more than the heat of the water surrounding them.
Before Austen could step out of the Jacuzzi, the sound of the glass door sliding back made her pause.
“Danielle? Where are you?” Wade Haggerty, Dee’s uncle and their boss, stepped onto the back deck. “We’ve got a situation with Universal. You didn’t answer the urgent e-mail I sent, and my calls went straight to voice mail, so I—” He stumbled to a stop. “What the hell?”
Oh no! No, no, no. Austen sank even lower in the water and pulled up her arms, covering as much of herself as she could.
Dee stepped in front of her, blocking Wade’s line of sight with her own body. “Could you give us a moment, please?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“I…yeah. I’ll wait inside.” He took two steps toward the sliding doors but then said over his shoulder, “You know what? This can wait. I’ve got more important things to deal with. Come and see me first thing Monday morning. And check your damn e-mail, Danielle.”
He was already through the glass door when Dee shouted after him, “I don’t have my laptop.”
“Then forget about it. Rick and I will deal with it.” The door clicked shut behind him. Barely a minute later, an engine howled on the other side of the house and tires crunched over gravel as Wade sped away.
“Dammit!” Dee sank back into the Jacuzzi and hit the surface of the water, accidentally splashing Austen.
Austen swallowed a mouthful of water and had to cough.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She moved closer and wrapped her arms around Dee, relieved when she wasn’t rebuffed. “It’ll all be okay.”
“Yeah,” Dee mumbled but didn’t sound as if she believed it.
They clung to each other in the tub until their toes and fingers started to prune. Austen felt a bit woozy as she climbed out of the Jacuzzi, but she wasn’t sure if it was from being in the hot water for too long or from having her world tilt on its axis.
Their fingers brushed as Dee wordlessly handed her a bathrobe.
Austen grabbed Dee’s hand before it could retreat. “Dee? If you need us to go home and deal with this, that would be okay.”
Dee shook her head, her lips forming a grim line. “No. You heard Uncle Wade. He wants to talk to me on Monday. For now, let’s just enjoy the weekend.”
Austen nodded, but they both knew neither of them would be able to relax. She vowed to make the best of it and distract Dee as much as she could. Not letting go of Dee’s hand, she bent and picked up the bowl of fruit. “Come on. I hear some chocolate-covered strawberries calling our names.”
Chapter 30
After agonizing over her decision the entire weekend, Austen knew what she had to do when she entered the lobby on Monday morning. She waved at Vanessa behind the reception desk but didn’t hang around to chat. She headed straight for the elevator that brought her to the fifteenth floor.
The scent of espresso wafted down the corridor, as it had the first day she had started working at Kudos Entertainment. For a moment, she was tempted to veer off to the break room and delay the inevitable, but then she shook her head and continued to the corner office on the left.
Mr. Saunders was already at his desk with the door open when she entered the outer office. He looked up and smiled. “Good morning, Ms. Brooks. Did you have a nice weekend?”
It had been nice—up until the moment Dee’s uncle had stepped onto the back deck. Instead of answering, she walked over and hesitated in the doorway. Was this really what she wanted to do? She had promised herself to never uproot her life for a woman again.
Mr. Saunders frowned. “Is everything okay?”
Austen hesitated for a few moments longer before deciding that things were different with Dee, so she could no longer stick to the promises she had made herself in the past. Her future with Dee was more important than clinging to the past, and if she had to decide between her job and her relationship, her decision was clear. The lump in her throat prevented her from speaking, so she just handed him the letter she had typed up when they had returned from the cabin.
He took it and held it in his hand without opening it. “What’s this?”
Austen took a deep breath and said, “My resignation letter.”
The word hung between them for a few moments.
He tried to hand the letter back, but Austen shook her head and refused to take it. “No,” she said. “I mean it. It’s not a decision I made lightly, but there’s no other way. I quit.”
“But why? Am I handing you too much work, or—?”
“No. I love my job, but…” She shrugged and smiled. “I love your sister more. I should have done this months ago.”
He set the resignation letter on his desk and looked at it for a few more seconds before rising slowly. He stood before her, and for the first time since she’d met him a year ago, the suave businessman looked as if he didn’t know what to say. Finally, a small smile crept onto his face. “I understand. I hate to lose you as an admin, but who knows, maybe I’ll have you as a sister-in-law one day.”
Austen grinned. “Who knows.” If Dee ever asked her, she certainly wouldn’t say no.
They shook hands, and Austen said, “I know my contract says I have to give two weeks’ notice, but I would appreciate it if I didn’t have to finish my two weeks. That could be awkward for Dee now that your uncle knows.”
“Shit. Uncle Wade knows about the two of you?”
Austen nodded and pressed her lips together. “Yes. He’s probably reading her the riot act right now.”
“Shit,” he said again.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t worry about the two weeks. Head home and start looking for a new job. And if you need any references, come straight to me. I will highly recommend you to any future employer.”
“Thanks, Mr. Saunders.”
“Tim.”
She shook his hand again and repeated, “Thanks, Tim.” She headed for the door but turned as she reached it. “Do you think you could go over and make sure your uncle doesn’t rip her head off?”
He rubbed his chin. “Do you really think that’s a good idea? Uncle Wade would only get angrier, and Dee never wanted me to get involved in her business.”
By now, Austen knew Dee well enough to realize that wasn’t entirely true. Dee had gotten used to fighting her battles alone; that was all.
“You really have no idea how lonely Dee feels in this company.” She paused, surprised about the sharpness of her tone, but Tim was no longer her boss, so she could afford to be completely honest. “Everyone seems to hate her, just because your uncle keeps giving her all the dirty jobs. Her position in her family isn’t any better. No one asks her how she’s doing; they just expect her to function. She’s been fighting all the battles alone for fourteen years, and she never gets any appreciation. For once, having a little support from someone in the family would mean the world to Dee.”
Tim stared at her and straightened the collar of his shirt as if it had gotten a little too tight. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right.”
“Yeah.” Austen rubbed her neck. “Sorry for coming off to you like this. I didn’t mean to speak so candidly.”
“No problem. I think I needed it.” He crossed the room, rotating his shoulders like a boxer preparing for a fight. “All right. Let me go and rescue our damsel in distress. Want to come?”
Austen nodded. “But I’d better wait in front of his office, or the dragon will slay us all.”
* * *
Dee hesitated in front of her uncle’s office and slid her hands over her vest to make sure it was properly buttoned.
Two of the company’s admins walked past, eyeing her and whispering to each other.
Great. Dee gritted her teeth. She could only imagine what kind of gossip would circulate among the employees by lunchtime. She took a deep breath and knocked.
Uncle Wade waved her in but didn’t offer her a seat, so she stood in front of his desk like a naughty child who’d been called into the principal’s office.
He leaned back in his two-thousand-dollar executive chair and regarded her for a while without saying a word, letting her sweat.
Dee didn’t give him the satisfaction of fidgeting. She stood with her head held up high. Yes, she was in deep shit, but she wasn’t ashamed of her relationship with Austen.
Finally, Uncle Wade sighed. “I’m very disappointed in you, Danielle.”
That pierced Dee’s emotional armor. She winced. If there was one thing she had always strived for, it was a little recognition from her family. She wanted to say something, but he cut her off with one impatient movement of his hand.
“I warned you to stay away from her, didn’t I?”
“Yes, and I tried, but—”
“But, of course, you didn’t listen. You went ahead and created another problem for the company. Like we don’t already have enough on our plate with Universal and that licensing mess. I really expected better of you.”
Dee pressed her lips together, not happy with him equaling her relationship with the projects that had given her headaches for weeks.
After a few more minutes, he ran out of steam, slumped against his high-backed leather chair, and waved her into the visitor’s chair. “You know I can’t ignore this affair. I wish I could, especially since you are my niece, but I have to do what’s best for the company.”
“Relationship,” Dee said quietly.
He frowned. “What?”
“It’s not an affair, Uncle Wade. We’re in a relationship.”
“Whatever it is, we only have two options here.” Leather creaked as he leaned forward. “Either you break up with her, or we have to fire her.”
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the open words were still like a slap to the face. Her hands went cold, and heat shot into her cheeks. “No! I’m not breaking up with her.”
“All right.” Her uncle nodded. “That leaves the second option. Do you want to let HR know, or should I—?”
Dee jumped up. “I don’t want her to get fired either. She’s the best admin in this whole damn company. She doesn’t deserve—”
“Careful,” her uncle said, a warning snarl in his voice. “She brought this upon herself. I mean, what do you expect me to do?”
She dropped back into her chair. “Nothing,” she said. “I don’t expect you to do anything.”
“You want me to just put my head into the sand and ignore the whole thing?” His brows climbed up his forehead. “You know I can’t do that.”
You manage just fine with Rick’s flings. She bit her lip and held herself back from saying it. “No, that’s not what I meant. You don’t need to do anything about the situation, because,” she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, “because I quit.”
The words seemed to echo through the room.
They stared at each other.
Dee blinked. Had she really said that? Had she really just quit her job and given up the position she had worked for all her life?
Judging by the expression on Uncle Wade’s face, she had. He looked as if someone had thrown a bucket of toads into his face.
Oh, shit. Was it too late to take it back?
But after her initial shock waned, she realized she didn’t want to. This felt amazingly right.
His face as red as a fire truck, her uncle finally managed to say, “But…but what about the Universal project?”
She had worked her ass off for this company for fourteen years, and that was all he had to say? “You wanted to give it to Rick anyway.”
“But he can’t do it on his own. He—”
“That’s no longer my problem.” How freeing it felt to say that. Only now did she realize how much the constant power games, company politics, and family entanglements had gotten on her nerves. She stood and walked to the door.
“You are out of your mind,” her uncle shouted after her.
Dee turned back around and shrugged. “Maybe I am, but I don’t think so.”
“You could have been my successor one day. No woman is worth giving that up for.”
“That’s where you are wrong.” With a feeling as if she were sleepwalking, she left his office. One foot went in front of the other, but it felt as if she wasn’t in full control of what she was doing. It was like watching a movie with herself as the main character. She couldn’t stop it. Nor did she want to. The sound of the office door closing behind her for the last time echoed through her ears all the way down the hall.
* * *
Austen slowed her hurried jog down the hall and gripped Tim’s arm. “We’re too late.”
Dee walked toward them without seeing them. Her stride, normally long and confident, was now unsteady and searching, as if she wasn’t sure how firm the ground in front of her was.
Austen’s heart clenched. She wanted to rush over and embrace her, but this wasn’t the place. “Dee! Um, Ms. Saunders.” She bit her lip and looked left and right to make sure they were alone in the hall. “How did it go?”
Dee looked up and blinked. It took a few seconds for her gaze to focus on Austen. Slowly, her face creased into a smile. “You don’t have to worry about what you call me anymore. I just quit.”
Austen pulled at her earlobe, sure she couldn’t have heard correctly. “Did you just say…?”
“I quit.”
Austen reached out for the wall to steady herself. “But…but this job meant everything to you. It was the focus of your life.”
“Not anymore. I was too busy working my ass off to realize it, but my job hasn’t been really fulfilling for quite some time. The resentment from the employees, having to prove myself to Uncle Wade like some greenhorn fresh out of college, that constant feeling that he might pull the rug out from under me anytime and make Rick his successor instead of me…” Dee shrugged. “I didn’t want to admit it, but it got to me.”
Tim started to laugh and slapped his thighs. “You two are quite the pair.”
Dee narrowed her eyes at him. “You really think me quitting my job is funny?”
“No, but she,” he pointed at Austen, “did the same.”
“You did…what?”
“I quit my job,” Austen said quietly.
Dee stared at her and then shook her head with a wry smile. “Tim is right. We really are a pair.” She pulled Austen into her arms in the middle of the hall.
Sally squeezed past them, watching them with wide eyes, but Austen no longer cared. She pressed her face to Dee’s shoulder and held her more tightly. She had been fine with giving up her job to save Dee’s. It had been the logical thing to do, since Dee was a COO and she just a lowly admin. But logical or not, she now realized how good it felt to know she wasn’t the only one willing to make sacrifices for their relationship.
Finally, they let go and looked at each other.
“What now?” Austen asked.
“I have no idea.” For the first time in her life, Dee didn’t seem to have a plan.
“Well,” Tim said, “now that Dee is no longer our COO, I could just tear up your letter of resignation and you could keep working as my admin.”
Austen had enjoyed working for him, and that way, at least one of them would have a steady paycheck, but going back to her job while Dee gave up hers didn’t feel right. She’d have to talk to Dee before she made a final decision. “Why don’t I finish out my two weeks? That would give us time to think about it and you a chance to find a replacement.”
Tim nodded. “All right. Then we’d better get back to work. We can’t all be people of leisure.” He winked at his sister.
Dee slapped his shoulder and kissed Austen’s cheek. “See you later.” She walked toward her office.
“Hey, where are you going, Sis?” Tim called. “The elevator is over there.”
Dee turned. “There’s something I need to grab from my office before I go.”
She had already disappeared around the corner when Austen realized what it was—the mouse she had given Dee at the Christmas party.
This year, there would be no Secret Santa and no office Christmas party for them, but Austen knew she wouldn’t miss either as long as she had Dee.
Chapter 31
Austen threw a glance up the curving facade of Kudos Entertainment’s headquarters as she stopped in front of the entrance to close her umbrella.
It would feel strange not to come here nearly every day anymore, and she could only imagine how Dee must feel. Not that either of them regretted their decisions or had the time to miss their old places of work.
Her heels clicked over the polished travertine floor as she entered the lobby and walked past the potted ferns and the crimson couch.
The Christmas tree in the center of the lobby was even larger than last year’s. The sales department had decorated it with little red plastic apples and candy canes that were just as fake.
She went up to the fifteenth floor, said good-bye to Sally and Jack and the rest of her colleagues, and then went to clean out her desk.
Most of the office supplies belonged to the company, and she’d never been able to put a framed picture of Dee on her desk, so there wasn’t much to pack. She placed her dictionary, her squishy stress ball, and the stapler that belonged to her into the box she’d brought and then went through the desk drawers to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
All but one drawer were empty already, but when she peeked into the last one, something white and silver caught her attention.
The paper snowflake! She’d put it in there last December and had then completely forgotten about it. She took it out and smoothed her fingers over the blank paper.
Beneath the snowflake lay two pieces of paper. One was the slip of paper with Dee’s name on it that she had drawn for Secret Santa. The other was the sticky note Dee had written when she had given back the snowflake. Smiling, Austen read it.
