Page 228
“The answer is no,” Travis replied in an irritatingly voice of a dictator, tearing up the reminder and dropping it into the trash.
“It wasn’t a request. Irequesteda year ago. I was just reminding you that you’re going to have a temp to replace me for two weeks.”
“Not possible,” he dismissed. “I’ll be in Colorado one of those weekends, and I need you there.”
Ally gritted her teeth. “I put in for that time for my wedding. You’ve known that for a damn year.” She leaned over his desk, placing her palms on the edge, furious now. “I haven’t taken a single day off in the four years I’ve worked here. I cash in my vacation time and take the money. Just once, I actuallyneedthe time off. I’m taking it.”
Travis folded his arms stubbornly. “Making coffee might not be in your job description, Ms. Caldwell, but traveling with me when I need you definitelyisa condition of your employment. And I haven’t needed that assistance in the four years you’ve been working for me.”
Travis was right. He had never asked her to travel with him, and itwaspart of her job should the need arise. He did everything alone. So why did he need her now? “This is important,” she muttered.
Ally knew she needed the time off for her sanity. She needed to rip the scab off her wounds and deal with the mess Rick had left behind. Her credit card statements had come yesterday, and she was reminded that she’d never bothered to cancel Rick’s user privileges. The bastard had charged up the cards immediately after she’d closed the sale on the house and caught the asshole cheating on her, probably to buy expensive gifts for his new girlfriend. In her wildest imagination, she never would have thought that Rick would do that to her. Of course, she hadn’t thought she’d find him banging another woman in their home either. And the house needed to go up for sale. Not only did shenotneed the reminder of her failed engagement and five wasted years, but there was no way she could carry the expensive mortgage without him contributing for any length of time. Not with the other debt he’d run up in her name. And she didn’t want to be house poor, killing herself working two jobs just for a home she no longer wanted. This wasn’t where her life was supposed to be. She was supposed to have a fiancé—soon-to-be husband—who was finally working in his profession, contributing to their life together. Instead, she had a mess to sort out, her dream of finally having a normal life completely shattered.
Don’t think about it right now. You’ll figure it all out when you get a minute to breathe. Focus on work.
Travis snorted unpleasantly. “You’re marrying a loser. Better if you don’t get married. You’ll be divorced within a year.”
Ally gritted her teeth, fuming. How many times had Travis said that? And God, it really annoyed the crap out of her that he was actually right. “I’m not getting married,” she answered, her voice clipped.
Travis’s head jerked away from his computer, giving her an intense stare. “Since when?”
“Since about a month ago, when I found my supposed future husband boinking some young, attractive, probably barely legal, big-breasted Barbie doll in our brand new bed,” she answered loudly, her words completely uncensored. Travis made her crazy, but for the first time in four years, she found herself genuinely losing control. “So excuse me if I need some goddamn vacation time that I’ve genuinely earned from your company to deal withthat. I don’t have a second to breathe between working here and at Sully’s. I have personal things I have to take care of. I have a house I now need to sell, and I need to bail myself out of credit card and other debt that I had no part in creating.” Ally gulped and took a deep breath, panic beginning to swamp her for the very first time. “I need some time to figure everything out.” Where did she go from here? Her whole life had revolved around her plan and Rick’s education for years.
“You didn’t tell me,” Travis answered calmly.
Ally threw her hands up in the air, trying to keep herself from going for Travis’s throat. Like he really invited warm and fuzzy conversation? He spent most of his time barking orders at her. “I didn’t realize that I needed to share my personal life with my self-centered bastard of a boss. I keep my troubles to myself because I know that’s the way you like it. You pay me to work, and I do my job. Now I want to take my earned vacation time.” Had she really just called Travis a bastard? They fought constantly, and she’d certainly wanted to say those words to his face about a million times in the past, but she’d never beenthatblunt or unprofessional. She really was beginning to lose it. “Please. Just give me the time off. I’ll come back a better person for it.”
“He hurt you,” Travis stated neutrally.
Ally dropped into the chair in front of Travis’s desk, depleted. “My whole life revolved around his career for years. I stopped going to college after my bachelor’s degree instead of trying to go on for my MBA so he could finish first. It made sense at the time. Or I thought it did. I sacrificed everything I wanted, but I had a plan to make everything work out. I’d work hard, help him finish school, and then it would be my turn. Except, now that it’s supposed to be my turn, it isn’t,” she answered quietly, her anger spent.
“I didn’t realize you worked another job. What do you do?” Travis leaned back in his chair, but he didn’t look away from her, his dark eyes watching her intently.
“I’m a bartender. I work at Sully’s Oasis almost every night of the week. I started as a cocktail waitress, and the owner taught me to make drinks. Eventually, I got good at it. The bartending pays better.”
Travis lifted an eyebrow. “Better than I pay you?”
“No. Better than being a cocktail waitress. I had to work my way up to bartending.” It had taken her two years, but she’d gotten a raise at Sully’s. “The tips are good. You pay me a very good salary. I could never match it with bartending. But the extra job helps to pay the bills. I need to sell the house, get clear of the debt my cheating fiancé racked up, and get rid of the extra job so I can go back to school part-time.”
“You look tired, Alison,” Travis observed, his eyes traveling over her face.
“I’ve been exhausted for years. I’m used to it.” Ally laughed, trying to make light of the situation. This wasn’t the type of conversation she usually had with Travis, and she was feeling raw and awkward. She was much more comfortable fighting with him.
“She better be a good temp.” Travis finally spoke after a moment of silence. “I still need you in Colorado, but you can have the time off before we leave. Just bump it up a week so you’re back before I have to go. I assume since you’re not getting married, what time you take off doesn’t really matter.”
Ally looked at Travis in surprise. “Heis a very good temp, and that would mean I’d have to go on vacation next week.”
“Then go.” Travis shrugged.
“What are we doing in Colorado?” she asked curiously.
Travis grimaced. “A fundraiser. I need an escort.”
Ally gaped at him. “I’m not going as your date to a fundraiser. That’s personal. I thought you had business there.”
“I do. And you aren’t technically my date. I have to attend this function, and I don’t want to go alone,” Travis rumbled. “It’s not that difficult. You go. You talk nicely to people and try not to call them self-centered bastards. And then you eat and drink whatever they have to offer. Tate Colter has been a business associate and a friend of mine for years. He agreed to do this charity ball only if I’d come to Colorado because I haven’t visited for a while. He wants me to be there. Going alone would be—” Travis coughed before finishing. “Awkward.”
“Why?” Ally crossed her arms in front of her. There was nothing strange about going to a fundraiser alone. There had to be something Travis wasn’t telling her. “You attend these types of things all the time. You don’t need me there.”
“It wasn’t a request. Irequesteda year ago. I was just reminding you that you’re going to have a temp to replace me for two weeks.”
“Not possible,” he dismissed. “I’ll be in Colorado one of those weekends, and I need you there.”
Ally gritted her teeth. “I put in for that time for my wedding. You’ve known that for a damn year.” She leaned over his desk, placing her palms on the edge, furious now. “I haven’t taken a single day off in the four years I’ve worked here. I cash in my vacation time and take the money. Just once, I actuallyneedthe time off. I’m taking it.”
Travis folded his arms stubbornly. “Making coffee might not be in your job description, Ms. Caldwell, but traveling with me when I need you definitelyisa condition of your employment. And I haven’t needed that assistance in the four years you’ve been working for me.”
Travis was right. He had never asked her to travel with him, and itwaspart of her job should the need arise. He did everything alone. So why did he need her now? “This is important,” she muttered.
Ally knew she needed the time off for her sanity. She needed to rip the scab off her wounds and deal with the mess Rick had left behind. Her credit card statements had come yesterday, and she was reminded that she’d never bothered to cancel Rick’s user privileges. The bastard had charged up the cards immediately after she’d closed the sale on the house and caught the asshole cheating on her, probably to buy expensive gifts for his new girlfriend. In her wildest imagination, she never would have thought that Rick would do that to her. Of course, she hadn’t thought she’d find him banging another woman in their home either. And the house needed to go up for sale. Not only did shenotneed the reminder of her failed engagement and five wasted years, but there was no way she could carry the expensive mortgage without him contributing for any length of time. Not with the other debt he’d run up in her name. And she didn’t want to be house poor, killing herself working two jobs just for a home she no longer wanted. This wasn’t where her life was supposed to be. She was supposed to have a fiancé—soon-to-be husband—who was finally working in his profession, contributing to their life together. Instead, she had a mess to sort out, her dream of finally having a normal life completely shattered.
Don’t think about it right now. You’ll figure it all out when you get a minute to breathe. Focus on work.
Travis snorted unpleasantly. “You’re marrying a loser. Better if you don’t get married. You’ll be divorced within a year.”
Ally gritted her teeth, fuming. How many times had Travis said that? And God, it really annoyed the crap out of her that he was actually right. “I’m not getting married,” she answered, her voice clipped.
Travis’s head jerked away from his computer, giving her an intense stare. “Since when?”
“Since about a month ago, when I found my supposed future husband boinking some young, attractive, probably barely legal, big-breasted Barbie doll in our brand new bed,” she answered loudly, her words completely uncensored. Travis made her crazy, but for the first time in four years, she found herself genuinely losing control. “So excuse me if I need some goddamn vacation time that I’ve genuinely earned from your company to deal withthat. I don’t have a second to breathe between working here and at Sully’s. I have personal things I have to take care of. I have a house I now need to sell, and I need to bail myself out of credit card and other debt that I had no part in creating.” Ally gulped and took a deep breath, panic beginning to swamp her for the very first time. “I need some time to figure everything out.” Where did she go from here? Her whole life had revolved around her plan and Rick’s education for years.
“You didn’t tell me,” Travis answered calmly.
Ally threw her hands up in the air, trying to keep herself from going for Travis’s throat. Like he really invited warm and fuzzy conversation? He spent most of his time barking orders at her. “I didn’t realize that I needed to share my personal life with my self-centered bastard of a boss. I keep my troubles to myself because I know that’s the way you like it. You pay me to work, and I do my job. Now I want to take my earned vacation time.” Had she really just called Travis a bastard? They fought constantly, and she’d certainly wanted to say those words to his face about a million times in the past, but she’d never beenthatblunt or unprofessional. She really was beginning to lose it. “Please. Just give me the time off. I’ll come back a better person for it.”
“He hurt you,” Travis stated neutrally.
Ally dropped into the chair in front of Travis’s desk, depleted. “My whole life revolved around his career for years. I stopped going to college after my bachelor’s degree instead of trying to go on for my MBA so he could finish first. It made sense at the time. Or I thought it did. I sacrificed everything I wanted, but I had a plan to make everything work out. I’d work hard, help him finish school, and then it would be my turn. Except, now that it’s supposed to be my turn, it isn’t,” she answered quietly, her anger spent.
“I didn’t realize you worked another job. What do you do?” Travis leaned back in his chair, but he didn’t look away from her, his dark eyes watching her intently.
“I’m a bartender. I work at Sully’s Oasis almost every night of the week. I started as a cocktail waitress, and the owner taught me to make drinks. Eventually, I got good at it. The bartending pays better.”
Travis lifted an eyebrow. “Better than I pay you?”
“No. Better than being a cocktail waitress. I had to work my way up to bartending.” It had taken her two years, but she’d gotten a raise at Sully’s. “The tips are good. You pay me a very good salary. I could never match it with bartending. But the extra job helps to pay the bills. I need to sell the house, get clear of the debt my cheating fiancé racked up, and get rid of the extra job so I can go back to school part-time.”
“You look tired, Alison,” Travis observed, his eyes traveling over her face.
“I’ve been exhausted for years. I’m used to it.” Ally laughed, trying to make light of the situation. This wasn’t the type of conversation she usually had with Travis, and she was feeling raw and awkward. She was much more comfortable fighting with him.
“She better be a good temp.” Travis finally spoke after a moment of silence. “I still need you in Colorado, but you can have the time off before we leave. Just bump it up a week so you’re back before I have to go. I assume since you’re not getting married, what time you take off doesn’t really matter.”
Ally looked at Travis in surprise. “Heis a very good temp, and that would mean I’d have to go on vacation next week.”
“Then go.” Travis shrugged.
“What are we doing in Colorado?” she asked curiously.
Travis grimaced. “A fundraiser. I need an escort.”
Ally gaped at him. “I’m not going as your date to a fundraiser. That’s personal. I thought you had business there.”
“I do. And you aren’t technically my date. I have to attend this function, and I don’t want to go alone,” Travis rumbled. “It’s not that difficult. You go. You talk nicely to people and try not to call them self-centered bastards. And then you eat and drink whatever they have to offer. Tate Colter has been a business associate and a friend of mine for years. He agreed to do this charity ball only if I’d come to Colorado because I haven’t visited for a while. He wants me to be there. Going alone would be—” Travis coughed before finishing. “Awkward.”
“Why?” Ally crossed her arms in front of her. There was nothing strange about going to a fundraiser alone. There had to be something Travis wasn’t telling her. “You attend these types of things all the time. You don’t need me there.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201
- Page 202
- Page 203
- Page 204
- Page 205
- Page 206
- Page 207
- Page 208
- Page 209
- Page 210
- Page 211
- Page 212
- Page 213
- Page 214
- Page 215
- Page 216
- Page 217
- Page 218
- Page 219
- Page 220
- Page 221
- Page 222
- Page 223
- Page 224
- Page 225
- Page 226
- Page 227
- Page 228
- Page 229
- Page 230
- Page 231
- Page 232
- Page 233
- Page 234
- Page 235
- Page 236
- Page 237
- Page 238
- Page 239
- Page 240
- Page 241
- Page 242
- Page 243
- Page 244
- Page 245
- Page 246
- Page 247
- Page 248
- Page 249
- Page 250
- Page 251
- Page 252
- Page 253
- Page 254
- Page 255
- Page 256
- Page 257
- Page 258
- Page 259
- Page 260
- Page 261
- Page 262
- Page 263
- Page 264
- Page 265
- Page 266
- Page 267
- Page 268
- Page 269
- Page 270
- Page 271
- Page 272
- Page 273
- Page 274
- Page 275
- Page 276
- Page 277
- Page 278
- Page 279