Ethan scoffed, running a hand through his hair.“More important than starting a family?Than being a mother?”His tone dripped with disdain.Are the mangy animals at that shelter more important to you than building a real life with me?”
I flinched.Heat flooded my cheeks as I struggled to formulate a response, to make him understand what the shelter meant to me.
But he had already turned away, effectively dismissing me with the rigid set of his shoulders.As he stalked from the room, the fading thump of his footsteps was a death knell, each retreating step another nail in the coffin of our crumbling marriage.
So I caved, telling myself it would only be temporary, that I could always go back to my job at the shelter once we had a baby.How naïve I had been, desperate to make Ethan happy at any cost—even the sacrifice of my life's passion.
Now here I was, nearly three years later.No children, just a string of devastating miscarriages that had left my body battered and my spirit broken.No career to help me find that sense of purpose again.Nothing but a hollow ache where my dreams used to live.Dreams that were slowly being consumed by the ever-present physical pain.
Tears burned against the backs of my eyelids, but I blinked them away.I was tired of wallowing in self-pity.Ethan had taken enough from me—I refused to let him rob me of my dignity, too.
With a shaky exhale, I straightened my shoulders and reached for the mug of rapidly cooling tea.The warm ceramic relaxed my clenched fingers as I took a sip.One breath, then another.I could do this.I had to.
Pete whined softly, resting his chin on my knee and looking up at me with big soulful eyes.A tiny smile flickered at the corner of my mouth as I reached down to stroke his head.
“Don't worry, bud.We've got this.If those places don't want to hire a total badass like me, that's their loss.”
He cocked his head to the side, seemingly skeptical of my bravado.I giggled, my spirits lifting slightly at his adorable antics.“Okay, so I'm not quite feeling like a badass right now.But I will be again someday, I promise.”
CHAPTER TWO
CARTER
I fired my assistant today.No hesitation, no second thoughts.A swift severance, like amputating a gangrenous limb.Incompetence was a cancer.I wouldn't tolerate it.
Emmett was looking at me like I'd kicked his puppy.He shifted in his seat, fingers drumming against the sleek conference table.For the president of a multi-billion-dollar company, he was incredibly soft.
“Carter, man, don't you think that's a bit harsh?Jenna's only been on the job for a month.I’m sure with some more training?—”
I shot him a look that said it all.I didn't get to the top by coddling mediocrity.He sighed.After months of working together on the latest Price Industries project—a community development that served an underprivileged population—he knew better than to push.
The meeting wrapped up soon after, everyone scattering to their respective corners of the building.I retreated to the temporary office Callie had set up for me.She was the Head of Special Projects, and I met with her frequently enough that it was convenient to have a space to call my own in the building.I also suspected it was a bribe.The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a sprawling view of downtown Columbus.The city stretched out before me, a glittering patchwork of progress and potential.Still, I preferred the quiet solitude of my home office.Most projects kept me from home for months at a time, so when I had the chance to be in Columbus, I’d rather be at home.
I rolled up my shirt sleeves and sank into the buttery leather of my desk chair.Jenna had left a handwritten note on my desk.I crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.Another one bites the dust.I’d had four assistants in the last year alone.Pathetic.
A knock at the door jolted me from my brooding.Wick poked his head in, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
“Got a minute?”
I waved him in, curious.Wick rarely sought me out one-on-one unless it was important.Like that time he told me he’d fucked Emmett’s sister and Callie’s best friend at the same time.Not something I expected, but they’ve certainly made it work.
He shut the door behind him and crossed to the bar cart in the corner, pouring us each a finger of bourbon.I raised an eyebrow.Liquid courage?Now I’m intrigued.
Wick handed me a glass and took a seat across from my desk.He studied the amber liquid for a long moment before meeting my gaze.
“I need a favor.”
I took a sip of bourbon, letting it burn a slow trail down my throat.“I'm listening.”
He exhaled heavily.“It's my sister, Olivia.She's going through a rough time right now.Her husband left her, and she's been struggling to find work.I was hoping...shit, I was hoping you’d give her a shot.At the assistant job.”
I blinked.Whatever I'd been expecting, it wasn't that.“Your sister.The one who likes to bake?”
“Yeah.She's got a degree in business.Graduated top of her class.She's smart as hell.And organized.Practically ran the whole damn Humane Society a few years ago.”
I leaned back in my chair, considering.I didn’t know Wick well, but I knew that he was shrewd, and he wasn't one for nepotism.If he said she could handle it, I was inclined to believe him.
“Fine.I’ll interview her Friday morning.You can ask my assistant for the details.”
