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He stared at me for a long moment, seemingly weighing the options in his head. He eventually sighed and scrubbed his chin with his palm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, faking contentment as much as possible. “Yeah, it’s fine.” I stood, gesturing for him to leave. “Drive safe.”
Chris stared at me for a long moment, then he pulled me close and kissed my forehead before he walked out. I waited until I heard his truck drive away to slide down to the floor. I leaned against the front door and sighed.
God, I was an idiot.
13
CHRIS
My phone buzzedon my work desk. I glanced down to see my mom was calling and quirked an eyebrow. She didn’t usually call me, especially during work hours when she knew I was probably at the office. The last time we spoke was months ago on Christmas while I spent it alone at home.
A knock at my open door luckily saved me from the phone call. Unfortunately, it was Dylan. He’d been avoiding me since I snapped at him nearly a week ago. Why did everyone feel the need to confront me on a Friday afternoon?
“Yes?” I asked.
“Hi, Mr. Warner—”
“It’s okay to call me Chris,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
His cheeks reddened. “Okay, Chris. I wanted to ask if you were offering overtime again this weekend. The money has been helping a lot, and I don’t want to be excluded because of what happened last weekend. I promise I wasn’t flirting with Ms. Sparks. We were talking. That’s it. I have a girlfriend.”
My eyes shifted closed for a moment. Great, I created this problem by not thinking before acting. I sprung on them like a wildcat without thinking about the repercussions.
Usually, I didn’t care about things like that. I barely cared if a woman I slept with the night before was snuggling up next to another man the same day. I always thought it wasn’t my business.
Now, I’d veered too far off in the other direction, acting like Sav’s business is mine whether she’s talking to me or not. And since Saturday night when I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation while she was hurting, she’d barely talked to me.
The woman who might be holding the reins to my heart was upset with me again, and the guy I wrongfully accused of causing a rift between had avoided me all week too, until then.
“Forget about what happened last weekend,” I said. “I was being an asshole, which wasn’t fair to you. I don’t have anything on the calendar for tomorrow, but I can let you know about future opportunities if you want.”
He nodded. “Yes, sir. I’d appreciate that.”
“No problem. I promise you aren’t being excluded from anything. I can be a dick sometimes, but you’re a great worker, and I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable or leave.”
That satisfied him, so he left happy. I was glad somebody could be.
With a sigh, I shifted back to my computer and continued to work on my expense reports. I needed to turn them in by three and then head to the Sparks to organize supplies and set up some foundational spots to begin renovating downstairs for the coffee bar.
After a few minutes of work, my phone buzzed on the table again. I’d forgotten Mom had even called. I swiped to answer and clicked on the speakerphone option. “What do you need?” I asked, still moving my mouse around to continue working.
There was a long pause before she answered. “Just wondering how my only son is. How’s business going? Ginger says you’re expanding White Oak?”
“If Ginger says it, then it must be true.”
Another awkward pause. “Okay, that probably means business is doing well, right?”
I just wanted her to get to the point. “How much money do you want?”
“I was going to at least catch up with you for a few minutes first,” she admitted.
I rolled my eyes, even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “You don’t need to do that. What do you want money for?”
She clicked her tongue in disapproval. “You also don’t need to be so rude.”
“How am I being rude? You’re bothering me on a workday while I’m trying to finish some important paperwork. If you need money, ask and tell me why. I’m not giving it to you for stupid shit, but I will help if you’re in a bind, so what’s the issue?”
