Page 90 of The Romance Library

‘Noted!’

‘Please! Don’t keep all the sexy Eaves goodness to yourself! It’s been ages since I’ve had any action.’

‘I don’t know anything about his brothers or if they’re single, but I’ll see what I can find out.’

‘Thank you! And congrats! I’m so happy for you. I know how hard it’s been for you since what you went through with your idiot ex. I’m so glad you didn’t let him put you off dating altogether.’

‘Me too. Theo is…’ I felt myself swoon and love hearts filled my eyes. ‘He’s amazing. And so, so talented.’

‘Sounds like it! So what does this mean for the pitch?’

‘I don’t know,’ I sighed, kicking up the sand under my feet and staring out to the sea, hoping to find the answer. ‘Nothing changes, I suppose. We’re still going up against each other. This just makes it more awkward, though.’

‘Yeah.’

‘But I can’t let it distract me. There’s a lot riding on this. I don’t want to let Mrs Davis down. And I definitely don’t want to go back to my old jobs.’

‘I hear you. I know it’s hard, but try not to overthink it. Keep working hard on the presentation and then once you clock off, maybe you could just enjoy your time with Theo.’

Sounded like a good plan in theory. I wasn’t sure it’d be that simple in reality, though.

‘Hon, I have to go back to work now, but we’ll speak later, yeah?’

‘Course.’

‘Congrats again, and don’t forget to find out about the other Eaves hotties!’

‘Will do.’

I hung up and practically skipped back to the B&B. When I arrived, I was tempted to knock on Theo’s door, but we’d agreed. We had to keep our distance.

Time to get back to work.

I switched off my laptop, got up from the desk and crashed back onto the bed. I was exhausted. I’d been working on the presentation all day and my head hurt.

This was so difficult. I wasn’t used to this kind of thing.

I was never the one who did the presentations. I always served the people who did and stayed in the background, supporting the smarter people in the limelight.

I hadn’t gone to college or university like most people my age. It was straight to work for me. For years I’d worked as a sales assistant in different local supermarkets.

Then when I was twenty-five, I met my ex, Silas. He was a customer that used to come in a few times a week.

When he asked me out on a date, I couldn’t believe my luck. He was always dressed in a suit. I never thought in a million years that someone like him would be interested in a shop assistant like me.

In the beginning, he wined and dined me, paying for meals at nice restaurants and buying me gifts. I felt like a princess.

After just six months, we moved in together and he offered me a job at his carpet and flooring company as his assistant. I answered the phone, did filing, made teas and coffees for meetings and other admin stuff.

At first I was so grateful for the opportunity. But as the years passed and I was doing the same tasks day in, day out, whilst other people were rising up the ranks, I grew frustrated. I asked if I could take on more responsibility. Learn new things. Silas would always refuse, saying I didn’t have the right qualifications.

Although I didn’t have A levels or a degree, I still believed I could do the job, if I was given a chance. But he would always make me feel like I wasn’t smart enough.

Before his outbursts about my romance books, he used to mock them, saying they weren’t ‘real books’.

He put me down at every opportunity. I knew I should’ve left him, but I was scared. Everything was tied to him. He owned the house we lived in. He was my boss, so I depended on him for an income. My salary went straight into his account and he’d give me an allowance every week from that. He controlled everything in my life and made me feel like I would be nothing without him.

But almost two years on, after leaving everything behind, I was slowly getting back on my feet. And I finally had the opportunity I’d always wanted: to do something more challenging for a career.

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