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Cath glared at him, putting down her pen before she threw it at him.
“I sure do—about Phillip McIntyre and my demotion.”
He came into the office and closed the door behind him.
“There was no demotion.”
She stood. “I’m so angry I could scream! How could you not tell me what you planned? I’m called into a stranger’s office and told I now work for him. That he’s been made head of the European Division. Trace, I was promised that position!”
“It’s not practical at the moment. And it’s not feasible for you to report directly to me. Not given the current situation.”
“You knew about this. You’ve been planning it. Why didn’t you tell me ahead of time? I deserved to know instead of walking into everything cold this morning. You had both days this weekend. I thought we had something special going, instead I get shafted the moment I walk into work this morning.”
“I knew you’d be upset,” he began.
“You better believe I’m upset. I’m so angry I don’t know what to do.”
“Calm down. It can’t be good for you or the baby.”
“I guess that’s not good for anyone but you.”
“Business and my personal life are two different things,” Trace said.
“Not between us. That’s all we have is a business arrangement. How could you not tell me!”
“I don’t have to tell you how I run this business.”
He had that hard edge to his voice.
Cath was not intimidated. She stared at him for a moment, then, deflated, sat back.
“Of course you don’t. It’s my own fault. I thought we had something more than we do.”
Once again she’d misread the situation.
“So when the baby is born, do I still get Brussels?” she asked, holding herself tightly against an anticipated blow.
“We’ll have to discuss that when the time comes. I can’t promise to hold a job for almost a year. The market is dynamic. Things change.”
“But you did promise.”
He knew she planned that move. How could he now say differently?
Because it suited him, that’s how.
“I’ll do what I can.”
He waited another moment, but she refused to meet his eyes. When he turned and left, it was all Cath could do to refrain from crying.
She felt totally defeated. The only bright spot in her future was the birth of her child, and even with that there was no guarantee. All the years of work, of study. All the planning in the world didn’t make a bit of difference.
She went through the rest of the day on autopilot. Promptly at five she left, taking a cab to her apartment.
Once inside she shed her coat and sank down on the sofa. She couldn’t believe Trace had been so ruthless. So different from what she had expected from him.
Could she stand to parent with a man who would be so narrow in his thinking he only saw business and not the ramifications of what he did? He had stopped calling her in the end of August without a word—because it suited him.
He had hired a stranger and given him Cath’s promised job—because it suited him. The future didn’t look as clear as it had. Maybe she should leave now before he broke her heart even more.
