Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I kept on going. “I know I’m not qualified to handle running this place, but I can listen to someone complain just as well as you can. Plus, I have no problem telling them to call whoever gets paid to do that specific job, Fluff. I work in customer service. I’m a professional at resolving issues,” I told him with a straight face. “If you want to look at it like this: I’ve kind of been training for this, not my whole life, but for a long time.”
Henri blinked again before his attention dropped to my keys sitting beside his hand again, and his throat bobbed.
I pushed them closer. “I’ve got about half a tank of gas in my truck,” I let him know.
Another very, very deep breath left that incredible body. And I almost didn’t hear him start to say in a strangled voice, “You’re….” He paused, his forehead wrinkling. “You’d do that?”
Did he have to sound so surprised?
I pinched my lips together. “Your Furry Highness, you’re tired, you’re overworked, and I think you might have needed a vacation five years ago. Go. If it’s life or death, I’ll call you. I’ll lie out of my teeth if I have to first though. I promise to exercise sound judgment. I won’t let you down. You can trust me,” I told him seriously, meaning every word and hoping he was aware of it. “You’re the one always taking care of everybody else. Let me help you out this time.”
He was quiet for so long, his expression so blank, so still, that I honestly had no idea what he was going to decide.
Then those amber irises caught mine, and he started shaking his head. “I don’t—”
“You don’t have anything to feel bad for. From everything I’ve learned around here, it’s a well-oiled machine. Residents don’t bother you when you’re on shift, and I’ve heard some of your work conversations—they’re not that important. Right? If it’s an emergency, I can call you. The only people who might text or call are Matti and Sienna. I talked to my parents last night, so you won’t hear from them either. My phone won’t go off much if you have it,” I told him.
That chest I might have been becoming obsessed with rose and fell, and… he nodded.
Henri freaking nodded.
Those long fingers curled around my keys, and he palmed them. “I don’t know where I’m going,” he let me know. “I won’t go far.”
“I don’t need to know.” I shooed him. “Go. I’ve got this. My job is dealing with upset people. It’s a science, and I’m nice, but I’m not that much of a pushover. The customer isn’t always right when they’re shopping at the Nina Trading Company. A little tough love never killed anybody. Go.”
He didn’t go right then; he hesitated with my keys in his hand, thinking it over, and probably thinking it over again.
But Henri gave me a look—a warm, nice one—that made me beam at him.
At this hardworking, loyal man who made the bones that made up my chest feel too small for my heart.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, and in the next second, he was gone.
“Yes, ma’am, you have a great day too,” I said into the phone the very next day, only partially paying attention while holding out my thumb at Pascal who was waving his arms like the lunatic he was.
He was trying to get my attention again. The little boy had a radar for knowing when he wasn’t someone’s sole focus, especially when it counted, which it did at that moment because the kids were having a cartwheel competition, and I was the lucky judge. There was a small whiteboard on my lap, and someone had already tried to bribe me. That someone being Pascal. With a piece of onyx he’d found in his pocket.
Except I was scoring all the kids 9s and 10s. The 9s were given out if they couldn’t complete the cartwheel, but as long as they landed on their feet, they got a 10. They were adorable. And with the weather being amazing and a steady breeze keeping the area where we were at cool, I was having one of my favorite days yet with the kids. But with everyone else?
I waited until the other end of the line went totally dead before I did my best Henri impression by keeping my features neutral as I set his phone back into my fanny pack. Heaven forbid someone see me rolling my eyes, figure out who I’d been talking to, and it get back to them. The truth was, I had no clue how Henri did this crap every day, having to keep cool while dealing with people acting like their issue—no matter how big or how small—was life or death.
I’d made a list of the problems people had called with. Some of it had been important, but some of it hadn’t been. The list was saved in the notes app on Henri’s phone as: MFer. Someone’s satellite TV wasn’t working. Someone else couldn’t log on to their Wi-Fi. Margaret needed to vent about her hot water heater again. Someone wanted to know if they could add on to their house. Another resident burned themselves and the PA wasn’t answering her phone. Someone thought they sensed something they shouldn’t have. A teenager called to complain about their parents grounding them. Margaret called again to complain some more about her water heater.