Page 112 of A Forever Kind of Rancher

He opened his kit that had a bunch of miscellaneous crap in it, and looked at the red tubes of glass sitting in their case. Color was something he never used. And he rarely used glass because it was just so damn fragile.

But maybe it was time he took the risk.

“I quit,” Grace said, her voice strong in the empty room. “And it’s not entirely your fault. Though...a lot of it is.” She stared down her boss and felt a surge of power. “I’m good at what I do, and you get caught up in this petty system where you punish one of your best consultants because you’re trying to exert your power. It’s my fault that I didn’t stand up for myself about the client, because frankly, he was sexually harassing me, and I did keep that to myself. I shouldn’t have. I don’t trust you would have behaved any better, Doug, but I could have at least given you the chance.”

Everything that had been bound up inside her, frozen, suspended in her need for perfection, her paralyzing fear of making mistakes, melted now. Released in a flood.

“Grace,” Doug said, spreading his arms out. “I’m shocked. I thought we were all friends here.”

“We are not friends, Doug,” she growled. “You’re condescending, sexist and a bit of a racist.”

“Oh, come on now, Grace...”

“You made me be the elf last Christmas, because I was cute, and small. And I believe at some point you suggested I be a ninja elf.”

“It would have been cool.”

“No. No, it wouldn’t have been cool. And it had nothing to do with Christmas. Also, asking the attractive female employees to sit on your lap is awful, and someone has to tell you that. But we’re all too afraid to tell you because you’re our boss. But you’re not my boss anymore. You’re just a tiny, little...mole man with an office. An office I no longer have to visit on a weekly basis. Goodbye.” Grace turned on her heel, her heart pounding, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She couldn’t believe she’d just done that.

Holy crap. “Grace.”

She turned and looked at Doug, who was still sitting, shocked.

“Yes?” she asked.

“What can I do? I can give you some extra accounts. We can work it out. I won’t make you be the elf again.”

She shook her head. “We can’t work anything out because this just isn’t where I want to be. I don’t know quite what I want, but...it’s not this. And it’s not here. But...for heaven’s sake please try to be less of a jackass. For the sake of everyone that’s left in the office.”

She walked out of the office and down the hall, past Carol’s desk. “’Bye, Carol,” she said, “I just quit. And I told Doug to stop being a jackass.”

Carol’s eyes widened and she gave Grace a low-profile thumbs-up. Grace walked out the door and got into the elevator, tugging her phone out of her bag and dialing her dad.

“Dad, I quit my job,” she said when he picked up.

“What?”

“I quit. I just...walked into my boss’s office and quit because I hated my job and I don’t have another job, but I do still have my savings...but I don’t have another job. And I know you’re disappointed because now I’ve thrown everything off and I... I called my boss names so I’m never going to get a reference from him. And I did because... I’m in love with this guy and Dad, he’s an artist. And a cowboy. Which is possibly the most random combination ever, and if there was a way for him to seem more unsuitable to you, I don’t know what it would be. I don’t even think he went to college.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and the elevator doors opened to the lobby.

“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

She walked out into the lobby and then out onto the street. “I was just very irresponsible and made a bunch of decisions based entirely on my feelings. I...think I’m having a midlife crisis.”

“You’re thirty, Grace,” her father said, his voice soft.

“I know. But I’m going through something.”

“You were unhappy at your job?”

“Yes.”

“And you think this will make you happy? You think...this man will make you happy?”

She looked up at the sky, at the buildings looming overhead, the sun burning her eyes. “I don’t know. But...it doesn’t really have anything to do with Zack because we...broke up. But he made me realize some things. Things I want that I didn’t know were so important to me. I’m just sad that... I think you’re going to be disappointed in me. And Hannah already...she’s hurt you and Mom so much and I just don’t want to hurt you, too. I want to be the daughter you want to have.”

There was a long pause. “I am so sorry that I never told you,” he said.

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