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“Hello?”
“Rebecca, it’s your mother.”
I sighed. “Hi, Mom. Is there something you need?”
The noise in the background got louder for a second before she spoke. She must be pacing. She did that when she was really irritated. I guess refusing to pick up her calls all day pissed her off.
“Yes. When are you coming home? Thanksgiving is tomorrow, you know. You were supposed to be here last week.”
I wasn’t really paying attention to her, my focus on the document in front of me. The IT team was requesting a change in material for the construction on their floor for better ventilation and I’d need to pass on the request to Carl after the holiday. They were already done for the night and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.
“Rebecca! Are you even listening to me?”
I blinked, frowning. “Yes, I’m listening. I’m not coming home for Thanksgiving though. I have to work.”
She made an irritated noise. “Nonsense, it’s a holiday. No one works on Thanksgiving.”
I rolled my eyes. “Is Father working?”
She went quiet which was all the answer I needed. “See? Lawyers don’t take holidays, Mom. I need to go, I’m working right now and if I want to be home at a decent hour, I need to get this done. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Rebecca! You can’t keep doing this! We are your family!” she screeched.
I’d regret it later but right now I just didn’t want to deal with her so I pretended I didn’t hear her and hung up, putting it on silent so I could focus on the paperwork in front of me.
“That sounded rough.”
Glancing up at Jaime, I shrugged. “That’s life. What are you doing here? I thought you said you had another security meeting.”
He chuckled, pulling his chair up to the other side of my desk. “That was three hours ago, Bex. You work too much.”
Shooting him a scowl, I turned back to my laptop to draw up the paperwork for the requested change. I could probably wait until morning but Samwise has been mad at me again for working too much and has been punishing me by clawing my furniture. I didn’t want to deal with him right now.
“You do realize the building is closed tomorrow, right? It’s a holiday.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I sighed heavily. “I’m aware. I’m working from home tomorrow.”
I glanced up in time to see him make a face. “You weren’t lying just to get out of going home? Who works on Thanksgiving?”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I do. Not only do I refuse to celebrate the mass genocide of an entire race of people, I have no interest in going home and fighting with my family. I’m not going to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for me and my cat so I’ll be working. Any other questions? I really need to get this done.”
He left me alone after that, leaning his chair back on two legs while he played with his phone. It was dark by the time I finished and packed up everything I’d need to work over the holiday. When I pushed to my feet, Jaime dropped his chair down, following me out.
“Weather’s been clear, let's take the SUV.”
He never made fun of my fear of driving in the snow after the first time and it was a much more pleasant trip than freezing my tail off taking the train. He opened my door for me and jogged around the front while I checked my email one last time.
Once we got moving, he asked, “Wanna join me for Thanksgiving?”
Frowning, I glanced at him. “What?”
He lifted a shoulder, keeping his eyes on the road like I preferred. He’s figured out by now I can be a bit of a side seat driver so he did his best to follow the rules while I was in the car with him.
“No one should be alone over the holidays. We don’t even have to call it Thanksgiving if you’re that against it. It’ll just be a really big meal.”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head, looking back at my phone. “I’m fine. Chinese take-out and paperwork are my holiday traditions. You have fun with your family.”
He made a face. “I wouldn’t consider dinner at Liam’s ‘fun’. The girls help a bit but it’s still a tense affair.”
