Page 55 of Until Bax

“And I want to buy you out because when you’re here, there is always drama,” Eva responds calmly.

“Me wanting to make sure our employees are here during their scheduled hours is not drama, and until you have the money to buy my share of this place”—she waves her hands around to encompass the room—“we own it together. So if we go under, I’m fucked.”

“The business isn’t going under because Olivia decided to leave early one day with no one on her calendar.”

Without a reply, Julie glares at Eva, Holly, and then me before she storms off down the hall. A moment later, her office door slams so hard that the windows out here in the front rattle.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” Eva sighs, dragging her fingers through her long, dark hair. “I promise I’m working on things, so hopefully, she’ll be gone soon.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I tell her softly as the bell dings, and we both turn toward the door.

“Hey, Ms. Jennings,” Eva greets the older woman, who looks around my mom's age, with a bright smile. “Holly’s going to get you checked in and settled with something to drink, and I’ll be right back out to get you.”

“Sure, darling,” Ms. Jennings tells her.

Eva looks at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your evening.”

“Thanks. Have a good night.” I lift my flowers off the counter and look at Holly as Eva hurries out of sight.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say quietly.

“See you tomorrow,” Holly returns, and I turn to smile at Eva’s client, then walk out the door with a million unasked questions on the tip of my tongue.

* * *

“I thinkI might have to look for another job,” I tell Bax, and his fingers that had been playing with the ends of my hair stop their movement. Reaching forward but keeping ahold of me, he grabs the remote for the TV and presses pause on our show before he drops it to the arm of the couch. Then, with his hand now free, he cups my jaw and lifts my head off his chest, leaving me no choice but to look at him.

“Did something happen today?”

“Yes and no.” I quickly explain the situation that happened after Julie saw he sent me flowers, then the conversation that took place after that between Eva and Julie.

“So she was pissed I sent you flowers, got in her feelings about it, and threw a fit?”

“It seems that way.” I sigh, and his jaw clenches.

“Do you like where you’re working?”

“Yes, and I don’t think Eva would want to get rid of me, but I’m not sure she’d have much choice if Julie decided I needed to go. And this industry is small, so if Julie knows people and shares information about me, even if it’s not true, it could affect me getting another job.”

“Fuck her.”

“Bax—”

“I’m serious, babe. Fuck her. You’re not quitting. You need to sit down with Eva, see where she’s at, and let her know you’re worried and thinking about finding another job. Then, depending on what she says, you go from there.” He shakes his head. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”

“The minute you walked in the door, you kind of distracted me,” I remind him, and he grins.

Tonight, I surprised him with dinner after not getting to cook for him last night, and he showed me with a make-out session that he was happy to find me in his kitchen. Then, after we ate, we took Gemma on a walk and stopped by Kourtney’s, so I could pick up the stuff I needed for tonight. When we got back to his place, we settled on the couch, and work was the last thing on my mind until one of the contestants on the show brought up getting fired from her job.

“How long did you and Julie date?”

“I’d guess three months.”

“Seriously?” My nose scrunches. “Three months is a long time.”

His gaze drops to my nose, and he smiles. “It was during the time Talon and I were getting our business off the ground, so I was distracted with work.”

“Well, you obviously left an impression if she’s still angry about you two breaking up years later.”

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