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However, her heart hadn’t gotten the memo from her brain, because her heart thudded in her chest like a drum in a New Orleans funeral procession.
He’d said get by.
He didn’t say live without you.
There was a world of difference between the statements. Like night and day. Love and like. Get by and live without.
Even so, she couldn’t shake the satisfaction she felt over his reaction to her letter of resignation. Sure, she’d known he wouldn’t be happy, but she hadn’t fathomed that he would react the way he did.
She stole a glance at Austin through the glass wall that separated his office from her workspace. He was wearing that blue button-down that she liked so much. It contrasted with his dark hair and those soulful brown eyes. Eyes that hypnotized her, that made her lose track of time and occasionally space out and miss what he was saying because she’d been totally transported.
Her thudding heart slowed, leaving her more breathless and full of longing.
He acted like I was breaking up with him.
As if I’d ever break up with him.
If I ever had him.
But I never will.
Why did she have to be in love with her boss?
Why did he have to dangle the potential of a promotion in front of her? She thought she wanted a clean break, so she could get on with her life and forget about him and this ridiculous crush, but the moment he’d offered to talk to his father, all fresh starts flew out the window.
Of course, the Fortunes had been so good to her. They were dream employers. The pay and benefits were top-notch. The working conditions were first class.
She stole another glance at Austin and her ridiculous heart picked up the cadence right where it had left off.
Felicity knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up. Fortune Investments was a family firm. Austin’s sister Georgia handled public relations for the investment firm. They’d never had to advertise in the true sense of the word—not the kind of advertising Felicity wanted to do. They’d built their business on solid reputation and word of mouth. But even from her position as support staff, she knew the business had grown.
Maybe they were ready to expand.
If she got a promotion, it was likely that she’d be in a different department with a different supervisor. Which would mean Austin wouldn’t be her boss anymore—
Don’t even go there.
She’d worked with him for almost five years and during that time, it had been all business all the time. What made her think anything would change if she got promoted?
Yeah, well, a girl can dream.
Just not on Fortune Investments’ time.
* * *
“Did you do it?” Maia Fredericks asked after she let herself in Felicity’s patio door. She didn’t knock. Maia never knocked. Felicity didn’t mind because her friend’s hands were never empty when she came over. This evening, she was carrying a bottle of something that looked like it could be champagne.
“I did,” Felicity said.
“Well, how did it go? Don’t keep me waiting.” Maia dislodged the cork on the bottle. Felicity winced at the loud popping sound.
“You do know you’re not supposed to open champagne that way, right? Besides the possibility of damaging eardrums and putting out someone’s eye, it kills the bubbles and the taste.”
“This way is more fun,” Maia said, helping herself to two flutes from Felicity’s china cabinet. “Besides, it’s not champagne. It’s sparkling rosé.”
“Same principle,” Felicity said. “Haven’t you heard the saying, the ear’s gain is the palate’s loss?”
Maia made a face and waved away her words with a flippant flick of her hand. “You gave your notice. We’re celebrating, and I wanted to start the night off with a bang. How did he take the news?”
Felicity shrugged. “He took it about as well as you might expect.”
Maia handed Felicity a glass of sparkling rosé.
Felicity couldn’t suppress a smile thinking about how upset he’d been by the news.
How am I supposed to get by without you, Felicity?
Did she dare tell Maia what he said? One of two things would happen: her friend would either point out what Felicity already knew—it wasn’t personal. It simply meant that she was good at her job. Or she would read way too much into it and try to tempt Felicity into abandoning her common sense about where she stood with Austin Fortune.
