Page 10 of Merry & Bright
“Bye, guys,” Holly called out as she emerged from the building behind me. I turned to see her legging it down the street away from me, clearly worried I’d try to countermand Marley’s orders. “Have a great Christmas!” she called as she disappeared round the corner.
Brian was already gone, having been first out the door after carrying out Marley’s instructions.
I turned to my last remaining colleague. Rob stood beside me on the wet pavement, looking far too good in his navy peacoat. As always, he glowed with good health and vitality, the chestnut strands in his hair glinting in the pale winter sun. Right now he looked happy, a small smile curving his wide, mobile mouth as he gazed ahead, unaware of my scrutiny.
I wondered what he was thinking about—probably what he was going to do with the rest of his day.
“Well,” I said. “I guess you got what you wanted after all.”
He glanced at me, his smile fading. “What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “You wanted to leave early, didn’t you? And here you go. You got your wish.”
Rob’s lip curled. “And it’s just killing you, isn’t it? The thought of me actually getting to leave early when you were so determined to prevent me.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself but the words stuck in my throat. What could I say? I’d refused his request, hadn’t I? And here I was bringing it up again.
“You know what’s funny?” Rob went on, turning to face me properly. “When I first met you, I really liked you.”
I stared at him, astonished. “Youlikedme?”
“Yeah. You were funny and quick and incredibly bright”—he counted my qualities off on the fingers of one hand as he spoke—“and even though I could see you were a demanding sod, I thought you were a good guy. When you told me you were going to speak to your boss about getting me a job at Quicks, I figured that underneath the bark, there was a good heart to go with the pretty face.”
I blinked at the “pretty face” comment but before I could dissect it, Rob added, “And then I started working with you.”
And there it was. The inevitablebut.
My stomach flipped over as I took in the expression on Rob’s face. The disapproval. Hell, thedislike. I dropped my gaze, feeling sick, waiting for him to start really putting the boot in.
Instead, he sighed. It was a big sigh, heavy with regret.
“I was going to leave this till January...” he began, and my gut clenched with a sudden, horrible premonition.
I snapped my gaze up to meet his and said quickly, “Listen, don’t make any hasty—”
“I’ve been offered another job,” he continued, speaking over me firmly and clearly. “I’ve already informally accepted it.”
Shit. Shit, shit,shit.
“Rob, please,” I said quickly, stepping closer. “Pleasedon’t make any decisions yet. I know I’ve been a grumpy bastard but please, just think this through before you do something as drastic as leaving.”
“I have thought it through,” Rob replied firmly. “I don’t want to work at Quicks anymore. I want to do something different.”
Fuck. I really didn’t want to lose Rob from the team. He was solid and dependable and good-natured. Unflappable. Nothing fazed him. He got shit done, without offending or alienating anyone in the process. He smoothed over all the rough edges I created with my more...direct approach.
Without him, I was going to be toast.
I cleared my throat. “Okay, what’s this new job? Tell me about it.”
“It’s with the Council,” he replied easily. “In the Finance Department.”
“The Council!” I exclaimed, horrified. “You’ll get paid a pittance!”
Rob just shrugged.
“Seriously—you’ll be dropping, what, half your salary?”
He shrugged again, seeming unconcerned. “I’ll also get an additional week of annual leave, and a way better pension. Plus the hours are standard nine to five office hours with flexitime so I can build up hours by coming in early or working late and then, if I want to leave early anytime, I can do that without having to go cap in hand to my boss.” He raised an eyebrow at me and I felt my cheeks heat.