Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Bonnie was waiting, two Guinness on the table in front of her, one partially gone. She looked stressed, her dark hair a mess from her habit of tugging on it when worried. I slid into the booth across from her.
“Bad day?”
She rolled her eyes. “Some of the senior staff are having trouble accepting the new guidelines. They love arguing and fighting among themselves and dragging others into it. Rex flipped out over some of the new HR guidelines set out.” She took another long sip of her beer. “Not that he can change anything. But he likes to damn well try.”
I swallowed a mouthful of the frothy, bitter ale, letting it flow down my throat and quenching my thirst.
“Relics.”
She nodded. “And poor Autumn takes the brunt of it. She’s the one having to write and implement the new ways of doing things in the departments. Most of the staff are thrilled to still have jobs and be part of a new vision. Others…” She trailed off with a grimace. “It was a day.”
I grunted in sympathy. You would think I’d been gone for a month, not a weekend, the way things had piled on my desk. Plus, given the fact that I had been distracted at the thought of this chat and thinking about Autumn and the time we’d had, the day seemed endless.
I cleared my throat. “So, was she okay?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“She is brilliant, Sully. She listens and soothes, talks and somehow makes them think they are getting what they want, even when they’re not. Rex is a hard case, but by the end of the afternoon, she had convinced him that he already followed the guidelines so there wasn’t an issue. It was an amazing performance. She’s fabulous at her job.”
“But it’s only temporary?”
Bonnie pursed her lips. “I wish it weren’t.” She tapped out a long, unsteady beat on the scarred wooden tabletop with her thumb. “I would love it if she were here permanently.”
“No chance of that?”
“I don’t think it’s been thought of or even considered.”
“Maybe somewhere else in the company, if she’s valuable,” I suggested mildly.
Bonnie frowned thoughtfully. “Even if there were, and as much as I would love it, I’m not sure Autumn wants to live in Scotland.”
“But if she did…” I trailed off.
She shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
A loud noise startled me, and I turned to look over my shoulder. Someone had fallen off their chair and was on the bar floor, his mates laughing at him as he stood. Chuckling, I turned back around. “That’s gonna leave a mark,” I said mildly.
Bonnie was staring at me, her eyes narrowed.
“You have a mark of your own, I see,” she murmured. “I saw a couple just like it earlier.” She leaned closer, her voice dropping. “On Autumn’s neck.”
“Oh. Ah…”
“And you’re suddenly interested in her career choices.” She folded her arms, and I felt the movement of her crossed leg under the table as she swung it in vexation. I knew in that instant she’d already figured it out.
“Start talking, Sully. Now.”
I cleared my throat. “Funny story, that.”
A hand went to her hair and tugged. “I’m already laughing. Now, spill.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, last week was hell, and Lloyd arranged a mini break. I decided to go to the cottage.”
“I sent you a message.”
“Which I didn’t see. I, ah, arrived during the snowstorm and found Autumn there.”
“And like the gentleman you are, you turned around and walked back to the village and stayed over the pub.”
“Well, to be honest, that never even occurred to me.”
“What. Did. You. Do?”
“We introduced ourselves once she got over the shock of me barging in, and I slept on the sofa.”
Her eyes narrowed even further.
“Until the heat pump stopped working and she had to come by the fire to warm up.”
“So you gave her the sofa and slept on the floor.”
“Not exactly. I had to warm her up.”
“Ever heard of blankets and coffee?”
“We tried that. She fell asleep on me, and later…” I shrugged.
Her voice rose at the same moment the pub had a sudden quiet spell. “You had sex with my friend?”
There was some general laughter, and one of the blokes threw up his hands. “You go, mate!”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” I muttered, ignoring the stares and grins. “Why don’t you announce it to the whole town?”
“Sullivan. Brady. Black. I sent her there to relax and unwind, not get sexed up and ravished by you! Oh my God, you have no idea what she’s been through!”
“I know about the stalker.”
That made her pause. “You do? She told you about that?”
“Yes. She fainted when I walked in since it frightened her. Later, I asked and she told me.”
“She doesn’t talk about it with many people.”
“I’m not many people. We’re different.”
She lifted one eyebrow at me.
“I didn’t just jump her, Bonnie. For God’s sake, you know me better than that. We talked about a lot of personal things.”