Page 99 of Without Apology

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Simon

I refused to give up. That was my first thought as I watched Peyton pull out of the car park. She’d been right in saying I’d been making promises I couldn’t keep. London was a perfect example of that. Phillip hadn’t so much as considered I’d asked to take next week off. Instead, he’d simply scheduled the next deal and arranged for us to fly out on Wednesday. He’d ignored my requested holiday completely.

I’d set myself up to fail in this process of balancing the job and a relationship because I hadn’t taken the time to make any modifications outside of my mindset. But that was about to change.

After updating Phillip about what we’d discovered regarding the payroll anomalies, I drove back to my apartment. We would have the deal finalized by Monday. In my conversation with Phillip, I’d told him I’d be flying to New York to meet with him on Tuesday. I wasn’t sure what I’d say, nor could I predict how he’d react. But if I had a shot at changing my priorities, it had to start there, with setting boundaries.

I stayed in my car, deep in thought until a knock came on my window. It was Emma. Grabbing my bag, I stepped out of the car.

“You’re not going over to Peyton’s?”

I shook my head. “She’s upset. Justifiably so. As far as she’s concerned, I left her sister’s house in the middle of dinner and thought she was a thief. Maybe worse than that, she found out from Tom that I’m due to go to London on Wednesday, thereby ruining our holiday plans.”

“So you’re just giving up on her?”

“No. But I need to figure out a way to show her I can balance work and personal. How I can make her the priority. I don’t know if it’ll be enough, though.”

At the end of the day, I wasn’t sure how tolerant and flexible she could be, especially given her history with her father. I certainly wanted to shift my priorities, but I couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be more emergencies. Nobody could.

“What will you do?”

“After I confront Jeff and his little girlfriend and fire them both on Monday, I’ll fly to New York. I have a meeting with Phillip on Tuesday morning.”

Her shock was evident. “About what? Please tell me you’re not thinking of quitting your job?”

“I’m not sure yet. You know how Phillip can be. He may demand all or nothing.” Ultimately, I didn’t want to quit my job, but I certainly couldn’t spend ten months on the road and expect to foster a new relationship, either. I needed a new arrangement.

“Look, I’m the first to say I hope you can work your relationship out, but I don’t think she’d want you to quit altogether. And I don’t want to see you ultimately resent her for something she didn’t even ask for.”

Maybe if Peyton had demanded it, I might have felt trapped by such an ultimatum. But because she hadn’t, I could honestly consider quitting if Phillip couldn’t respect my boundaries. I wanted more. And this felt right. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Can you arrange the flight?”

She hesitated but then nodded. “Yeah. All right. I’ll book it.”

***

On Monday morning, I met Jeff in his office. George accompanied me, insisting he wanted to be there in his last act as owner. The director of payroll was an arsehole, but he wasn’t stupid. When we accused him, he gave up nothing with the exception of attitude and indignation.

His little girlfriend, Courtney, however, was a different story. Upon being told she might go to jail for a man who wasn’t about to have her back, she rolled like a log, giving up Jeff in a heartbeat. She’d been nothing but tears and apologies. George had been affected, but I hadn’t felt any empathy. No matter how much she cried, she’d stolen almost fifty thousand dollars.

Both she and Jeff got walked out by security. I’d leave it to Phillip whether he chose to prosecute.

I went upstairs to our offices, wondering if Peyton had come in today, but keeping myself from checking.

Emma was busy packing up files into boxes. “How did it go?”

“Guilty. Both have been walked out. IT is revoking all access. My flight all set?”

She sighed. “Yes. You leaving from here?”

“Yes.”

“Have you talked to Peyton?”

“No. Better I speak with her after I meet with Phillip and figure out what I can do about London. With any luck, I’ll be back here on a plane tomorrow afternoon.”

“Maybe the London deal will fall through.”

One could hope.

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