AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stared at me, waiting, and then got up, coming around to my side of his desk. I was standing, but he still used his height, getting too close, and intimidating me.
“You’re leaving me in the lurch like this, and all you’re gonna say is ‘it’s personal’?”
“Yes.”
I took a step back, putting some space between us, and the movement seemed to startle him back to reality. He shook his head and leaned on the edge of his desk, his shoulders dropping.
“Fine.” He sounded resigned, and I left the room, feeling relieved.
I’d made the right decision.
Since then, working for Lucian has been a nightmare. He’s taken to sulking, and has only spoken to me when absolutely necessary, which seems incredibly childish. His wife even called me a few days ago, asking if I’d reconsider.
“He’s been so difficult to live with since you told him you’re leaving. I don’t suppose there’s any way you could…?” She left her sentence hanging, but I knew what she wanted, and the answer was, ‘no’.
As for Cole, I’ve avoided seeing him at all, and I’m not sorry about that. I’m not sure what I’d have said to him, but I doubt it would have been polite.
I didn’t expect a party when I left on Friday, but it would have been nice if my leaving could have been marked somehow. A card, perhaps? Or even just a fond farewell?
Instead, I packed up my desk and walked out the door without so much as a ‘goodbye’.
It reminded me of why I didn’t belong there… especially as I’d received more photographs in the last few days and had no-one to turn to. I deleted them all, knowing I’d be getting a new phone as soon as I started at TBA, and that would be the end of it.
It was the end of the first chapter of my time in Boston… and hopefully the beginning of a much happier one.
At least, that was what I’d hoped, until I spent the weekend doing some proper research into my new employers… or more specifically, into my new boss.
Almost as soon as I’d started, I wished I hadn’t. Not because I couldn’t find out very much about him, but because the Internet was awash with articles. They weren’t the kind of articles I was looking for, though. They were gossip columns, almost all of which described him as ‘Hunter Bennett, millionaire playboy’. That phrase left me cold… and wondering.
He didn’t come across as a playboy, although I wasn’t sure I could trust my own judgement when it came to men. Even so, the Hunter Bennett I’d met had seemed like a gentleman. He came across as fun and exciting, but also – dare I say – tender and considerate.
I’m not sure now which version of him is the right one, but as I climb down from the bus outside TBA’s offices, I realize I’m about to find out.
Maybe…
“Miss Hopkins… it’s good to see you again.”
Doreen greets me in the reception, before I’ve even made it to the desk, and I shake her hand. “It’s good to see you, too. And please, call me Livia.”
She guides me toward the elevators, pressing the ‘up’ button. “I’ve been meaning to ask, do you prefer Livia to Olivia, or Liv… or Livvi?”
I can’t be bothered to explain that Livia is my name, and it’s not a derivation of anything, so I just say, “Livia is fine.”
The doors open and I let her get in first, noting that she looks almost exactly the same as she did the last time I was here, except her skirt is navy blue today, instead of the black one she wore when I came for my interview.
“I don’t know whether Hunter explained,” she says as the doors close, “but I’m only going to be here for this week, and then I’m leaving.”
“Oh… I see.”
“I’m going to guess from your reaction that he didn’t mention it.”
“It must have slipped his mind.”
She smiles. “I admire your loyalty. Hunter will appreciate that.”
I want to ask her if loyalty to Hunter is a problem around here, but I can’t see why it would be, and I imagine she’s just making conversation.
“Where are you going? When you leave, I mean?”
