Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
“It wasn’t like that. I didn’t plan any of this, Carter.” She took a sip of wine, and then a much longer one that almost finished the glass.
“So, all these long days and late nights… they’ve all been…?” He didn’t even sound angry, but there was a note of disappointment in his tone that was worse.
She closed her eyes and blew out a heavy breath. “Yes.” After a second adding, “I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a one-time thing.”
There was silence across the table, and it drew out for long enough that eventually she needed to look. He was just watching her from his seat. Brow furrowed, expression solemn, just… watching.
“Are you mad?” she asked in a soft whisper.
“How long was this going to go on before you finally told me?”
“I-I don’t know. I guess I was hoping it would get better before I had to.” It was the wrong answer.
He started to say something and then closed his mouth. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he reached for his glass, but instead of drinking the wine, he just pulled the glass over and began tapping the side of it with his fingernail over and over.
Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting.
She cleared her throat. “Carter, I—”
“Eat your dinner, Allegra. I could hear your stomach growling when you came in. I’m guessing you didn’t have time for lunch again today.”
She swallowed and looked down at her plate. Despite being slightly queasy from nerves, she was still ravenous. She picked up her fork and began to eat without answering. He wouldn’t like the answer, and he didn’t need one anyway. Her silence was as good as an admission.
But just because he expected her to eat didn’t mean he was done talking. “I thought you knew better than this. I thought I could trust you, but apparently not.”
One stolen glance at his expression sent her back to her food without a word. He didn’t want her input; that much was obvious. And honestly, there was nothing she could really say at this point that would help matters.
“It stops now. Tonight,” he said with a note of finality that made her cringe.
She didn’t want to know what that meant.
Allegra heard him pick up his fork and start pushing food around his plate, but she didn’t look up to see if he was actually eating. Only when her food was gone did she look up. She reached for her glass, but at some point, she’d emptied it.
“Is there more wine?” she asked. Her voice was soft, hesitant. He considered wine part of the dinner experience, but they rarely had more than one glass with a meal. Tonight though, she had a feeling she was going to need some fortification.
“No. I don’t want you tipsy for this conversation.” He dropped his fork and went to the kitchen. A second later he returned with a glass of ice water and set it in front of her. “You probably haven’t been getting enough water lately anyway.” It wasn’t a question.
“Thank you.” She didn’t correct him, but to her credit, it wasn’t one of the things she’d let slide. Mostly thanks to the fancy water bottle he’d gifted her at Christmas. She’d gotten used to carrying it around with her everywhere, and it tracked her ounces for the day.
Oh well, at least I have that going for me. It felt like she didn’t have many other successes she could have reported.
“Done?”
She nodded, while noticing that his plate had barely been touched.
“Good. Why don’t we talk about those text messages.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’d really rather not.” She resisted the urge to squirm in her seat like some naughty child.
“Too bad. Start talking.”
Where to even begin? She’d been hiding things from him for so long that she didn’t even know what to say. “It’s just… work stuff.”
“Just work stuff?” He stared at her. His caramel-colored eyes, usually filled with warmth and love, had gone cold and hard. “Allegra, I wouldn’t talk to a dog the way that man was talking to you in those texts. Edward is your supervisor, right? How long has he been treating you like his personal lackey?”
Allegra sighed. “It’s not that bad. He’s just… difficult to work with. But he promised if I took on these extra projects, he’d recommend me for a promotion. It will be worth it, and then I won’t be under him anymore.”
“How long ago did he make this promise?”
She shifted in her seat. She didn’t want to answer that question but, “About five months ago.”
“So, for five months you’ve been doing the work of three people, while he dangles a promotion over your head?”
“It’s-it’s not like that.” It was exactly like that. It was only supposed to be one extra project, one time, but once she’d open the door…
And in the meantime, she had to put up with every demeaning comment and criticism, while pouring all her energy into trying to keep up with the heavy workload he’d dumped on her. It would be worth it, eventually.