Page 34 of Last First Date

"Come on, Knox," he taunted. "You're all talk."

I was tired of talking. I swung, my fist connecting with his face.

He made a surprised sound as he staggered back, blood streaming from his nose. I barely had time to catch my breath before he lunged at me again. This time I was ready for him. He threw a punch that I easily dodged. I aimed mine at his gut. He doubled over with a gasp of pain.

"Get up, Benjamin," I growled, feeling the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

He stumbled back to his feet. His face was a mask of rage and humiliation. "You'll pay for this, Knox!" he spat through bloody teeth.

"Just stay the hell away from Waverly," I growled. "You're drunk. You're making a huge mistake. Just go home."

"Fuck you," he hissed.

My ride pulled up. The last thing I wanted to do was get arrested for assault. I got in the car and leaned my head back. I looked down at my hand, stretching out my fingers and wincing when the pain hit. I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me, but damn, the guy had it coming. The way he was talking about Waverly pissed me off. He needed to get punched.

15

WAVERLY

Ishowed up for work early once again. Between my normal duties and fine-tuning the plans for Benjamin’s event, I was burning the candle at both ends. Knox was very energetic. I supposed I might have gotten a little used to Richard’s laidback style of business. The man was seventy-one and didn’t have the same energy as his grandson. Nor did he have the same burning need to be the best of the best. Richard didn’t need to walk around like he was the king of the world. He was confident in himself and his status.

Knox was young and still trying to prove himself. I didn’t know who he thought he needed to prove himself to. He was the leader of the company. If I was him, I’d take the win and focus on keeping it running the way it was and not risk blowing it up by pushing too hard.

But Knox was not the type to rest on his laurels. He was always looking for new opportunities, new avenues to explore, and that meant more work for me. Not that I minded. The busier I was, the less time I had to think about anything else.

Thirty minutes later, the office was humming along but Knox had yet to show up. I actually got up and searched the office for him, thinking maybe I missed him. But he wasn't there. It irritated me. I assumed he was probably in the bed of some random woman he picked up while out and about. I should have worried less about where he was and been happy he wasn't in the office making demands for coffee and protein bars. A pang of guilt followed my uncharitable thoughts. I shouldn't think so negatively of the man. I didn't know him or what he had going on in his life. Maybe he had a girlfriend, and she was in town. Maybe he was sad and missing her.

I sighed and returned to my desk, focusing on what I needed to do. There was an endless list of things I needed to do, and none involved speculating over Knox's love life. However, the more I tried to push away my thoughts about Knox, the more he made his presence felt inside my head. Although now, I needed to make sure there was nothing on his calendar that I was going to have to cancel since he didn't show up. It was pretty rude in my opinion for the boss not to show up or have the courtesy to call and let me know he wasn't coming in. Instead of it being an easy day with no one to wait on hand and foot, I was now going to be dealing with clients and staff all needing to talk to him. Was he gone for days? Weeks?

"Fucker," I muttered under my breath. He had all of us in here busting our asses and he just decided not to show up. It was unprofessional. And obnoxious.

My scowl deepened as I double-checked his calendar. No meetings, but there were a few calls he should have been on. I'd have to send out apologies and reschedule them. I was still in the middle of crafting a polite email to one of our clients when I got a new email alert.

I clicked over and saw it was from Knox. I rolled my eyes, tempted to ignore the email altogether. It was a little late to call in sick. But maybe there was a good reason he wasn't in the office.

I opened the message from Knox. He informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I was being removed from the Benjamin Caldwell event. All of my meticulous planning and hard work was cast aside. The news struck me as a slight, a blow to my capabilities, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he doubted my competence.

My hands clamped onto the edge of my desk, knuckles white with the force. My breath hitched in my throat. Why would he do this? What had I done wrong? I could feel my heart racing, and a cold sweat starting to bead on the back of my neck. This was more than just a job to me. It felt like a personal attack. And worst of all, there were no explanations or reasons given in his terse message, just a curt dismissal of my efforts.

Hadn't I shown him I was capable of handling events? Hadn't I proven myself? Benjamin was happy. The ideas were good. The planning was without flaw. Everything was on track. Why in the hell would he give me the project and let me dump a bunch of time into it just to jerk it away?

Was I merely a pawn in his grand design for the company? An idea crept up to the edge of my consciousness—quitting. He wanted me to quit. He was purposely trying to push me out without actually firing me. The notion of severing ties with the company, the place where I'd built a career under Richard's nurturing wing, was very tempting. I didn't have to put up with this shit.

I exited the email before I responded. I knew better than to let my emotions rule. It was a good time to take a walk. It wasn't like I had to worry about Knox needing anything. I grabbed my phone and purse and left the office.

I walked to Swig to get my usual drink. It was my comfort drink. It was a nice day, not too cold, so I decided to take advantage of the time away from the office and sat on a bench. I sipped my drink and watched the people around me. I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the nice day. People were walking their dogs, little kids were laughing and playing, and a few ladies were doing yoga on the brightly colored mats.

The idea of quitting popped up again as I watched a woman playing with her son. I had worked so hard for this position and loved my job until he had taken over. It wasn't fair that he could come in and ruin everything. Why did Richard have to give the job to Knox of all people?

I decided to call my mother, hoping for understanding and empathy. This might be the day she gave me a little encouragement and told me it was going to be okay. "Hi, Mom," I greeted.

"Waverly?" she asked. "What's wrong? Aren't you at work?"

"I'm at work, just taking a break," I said. "It's been a crappy day."

She sighed. "You have a great job. I don't know how it could be bad."

That was exactly what I expected. My mother and I had a rocky relationship. She couldn’t care less if I liked my job or not. As long as I kept sending her money, she couldn’t care less if I was happy or not. I was used to her indifference toward me by now, but I was tired of it all. I felt a pang of sadness for the relationship we should have had, and for the missed chances of being loved and supported by my own mother.