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Why couldn’t she have fallen for someone who was a Christian, lived nearby, and shared a connection with her the way Hudson did?
It seemed so unfair that he was the right guy on so many levels, and yet wrong for her on the most important ones. She had to accept that the desire for a relationship that had lain dormant for the last few years had been well and truly woken by Hudson.
Sadness filled her as she realized that she had to friend-zone Hudson in her mind and in her heart. There could be no flirting. No hoping that light-hearted conversations might lead to something more. No relishing the feel of butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her.
What made it so much harder was the idea that it wasn’t all in her mind.
She knew she’d seen interest in Hudson’s gaze when he looked at her sometimes, and the reserved way he’d dealt with her in the beginning had completely disappeared. Even the fact that he was now in the gym at five-thirty when she arrived instead of his usual six spoke of him wanting to spend more time with her.
It would have been easier to keep her emotions under control if she’d known that there was no hope that Hudson might feel the same way.
Once in her office, Kayleigh made her way to the bathroom to shower and prepare for her day. A day that would be a little less appealing because of Hudson’s absence.
Though it was a challenge, Kayleigh managed not to text or call Hudson, even though she wanted to know how he was doing, and if everything was going okay. But there had been no valid reason to contact him, and apparently, he’d felt the same, since she hadn’t heard from him either.
A knock on her door just after lunch on Friday had Kayleigh looking away from her computer monitor to see Andrea in the doorway.
“Just wanted to give you a head’s up,” Andrea said. “Stephanie called a minute ago to see if you were available for a meeting. I told her your schedule was clear.”
“Did she say what it was about?”
Andrea shook her head. “Unfortunately not.”
“Okay. I guess hold all my calls once she gets here, please.”
“Will do.” Andrea nodded, then returned to her desk.
Kayleigh frowned as she got up to make another cup of coffee. It was rare that Stephanie sought her out, so it left her feeling a little uneasy.
Had something else happened? Guest Relations had had the issue with the thefts. The restaurants had been targeted next. What problem could HR be dealing with that Stephanie felt she needed to speak with her about?
Kayleigh’s worry kicked into high gear as she stirred a bit of cream into her coffee. All that went through her mind were worst-case scenarios.
Finally, she gripped the counter and bowed her head and prayed, asking God to take away the worry and give her wisdom to deal with whatever situation had brought Stephanie to her door.
Best-case scenario was that Stephanie was just stopping by to chat. However, that had never happened before, so Kayleigh was pretty sure that wasn’t the purpose of her visit.
She took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. After doing that a couple more times, Kayleigh picked up her coffee and returned to her desk.
Rather than start on something else that Stephanie’s arrival would just interrupt, Kayleigh sat back in her chair and sipped on her coffee. It was possible she was going to have a reason to contact Hudson after all, though that was definitely not how she’d wanted to talk to him again.
Before she could dwell on that thought too much, Stephanie arrived, and by her expression, Kayleigh knew she wasn’t going to like whatever the HR manager had to say.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” Kayleigh asked as she got up from her desk.
“Yes. I really would.” That wasn’t a good sign, as Stephanie usually preferred tea.
Kayleigh set her mug on the table, then made her way over to the coffee machine. “We can sit at the table.”
As she made the coffee in the single serving coffee maker, Kayleigh glanced over at Stephanie. The woman sat with her shoulder slumped, staring down at the table. It made the butterflies of worry in her stomach flutter wildly.
When the coffee was done, she set it on the table in front of Stephanie, then got the cream and sugar for her.
Though she sat down across from her, Kayleigh let the woman doctor her coffee and take her first sip before she said, “What’s going on?”
Stephanie sighed as she lifted her gaze to meet Kayleigh’s. “Someone has submitted a claim of sexual harassment against one of our employees.”
Kayleigh felt sick to her stomach at that. “Who?”
