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“Yes, I did.” I jump up and start pacing as I search for words. I tied them to a contract. They weren’t supposed to tell her that I was the donor of the grant. “Now, before you get mad, I didn’t force them to hire you back or anything. I never even suggested it.”
“You know that they promoted me and gave me a huge raise right after you fired me, right?”
“Well, yes,” I hedge. “But I had nothing to do with it.”
“You know what that looks like. It looks like you bought me a job.” Now, she is standing up, and her hands are on her hips. She is spitting fire from her eyes, all traces of tears gone.
I hold up my hands in defense. “No, seriously, I didn’t tell them to do that.”
“You donated it in my name. What did you think would happen?”
Well, shit. She knows about that, too. I guess there is no hiding from any of this.
“Okay, full honesty. The day after I found out that the organization was important to you, I did some research on them. I determined that they’re a reputable organization that does a lot of good, so I decided to give them a grant. It was supposed to be a surprise for you.”
Lana’s eyes go wide. “Oh.”
“Then, we had our fight. You left the office, and I was so angry with you for lying to me. But, even as mad as I was, I was also worried. I was worried that you might not be able to get a job right away and wouldn’t be able to pay your bills. So, I bumped up the timeline for the grant and had it issued in your name. I had hoped that they would at least hire you back full-time. It was a nice surprise that they promoted you, too.”
“You stipulated that they hire someone to handle the grant money,” she accuses me, hands on her hips.
“Well, yes.” I shrug. “But I didn’t specify that it had to be you.”
She walks over to me, and now we are standing face-to-face, her hands still on her hips. I’m still trying to get a read on her. She’s hiding her emotions behind a blank facade. What I wouldn’t give to reach out and kiss that perturbed look from her face.
“I should be really upset with you for butting into my business like this. I could have found a job on my own, you know.”
“Of course. I never doubted it.”
“I do really love this job, though. It’s my dream position,” she admits.
“Does that mean you aren’t mad?”
“Maybe a little. I’m not letting you off that easily,” she says.
“I can make it up to you.” I step closer to her, reach up, and stroke her cheek with my thumb. When she doesn’t pull back, a tiny spark of hope ignites within me.
“Thank you for the donation to the shelter. I’ve already started putting it to good use,” she says softly.
“No thanks needed.”
I continue to stroke her cheek and her neck. What would she do if I kissed her? My eyes drift down as she grabs her bottom lip between her teeth. The temptation to do the same with my own teeth is almostunbearable. I’m so close to her lips… But I need to keep my senses about me. She doesn’t need me pawing all over her right now.
“Jake.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you mean what you said about moving to the country?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Jake?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to move to the country.”
As I look at the mischievous smile on her face, I can’t help but laugh. I pull her close in a tight hug, and she hugs me back even tighter. It feels incredible to have my arms around her again.
