Page 89 of Not As Advertised

I’d been fully dismissed. However, if she thought that was enough to send me on my way, she was about to find out she was very wrong.

“Indie, of all the times to fuck with me, this is the one time in my life not to do it. I can personally guarantee to become a thorn in your side here at Appealifyou don’t tell me where she is right now.”

She didn’t even reward my ill-advised threat with a reaction. She focused on her computer as if whatever she was working on was going to save the world from nuclear warfare.

When it became clear I wasn’t leaving, she turned her head to make eye contact as she spoke.

“Bad move, DA. Threatening the best friend is not the way to Abbie’s heart and certainly not to get me to cough up any information. Not to mention, I can’t imagine you’re in HR’s good books at the moment, hmm?” Her smile was sickly sweet, knowing she had me there.

She swiveled in her chair to face me once more and clasped her hands on her desk as if she were a duchess. Who was this woman? She managed to look down her nose at me while I stood above her. It was a rare talent.

“Well, let me explain it to you in terms you will understand, DA. You fucked up big-time. I don’t give a fuck about this job. I’m only here to piss off my parents. I have a big trust fund. That means I don’t have to give a shit about anything you could possibly do. I could walk out the door right now without theslightest hesitation, so don’t lower yourself to empty threats to get what you want. Abbie thinks you’re a better man than that. Act like it.”

Her voice was a hushed whisper, which I appreciated, even if her words were designed to take me apart, piece by piece.

Shit. She was right. I was better than this. I didn’t treat others poorly. I’d had enough of that growing up. I felt as if I was simultaneously being chastised by my high school principal and the Queen of England. It was one of the oddest moments of my life.

“You’re right, Indie. I am sorry. I’m just desperate to fix it. Please help me.”

I matched the quiet tone of her voice. I didn’t need anyone else to bear witness to my heart dangling out of my chest either.

She nodded as if I’d at least passed the first of many tests she’d cooked up.

“Thank you. That at least sounded genuine. I can appreciate you’re sorry and feeling guilty. But after her meeting with the boss and HR, she’s on her own timeline, doing her own thing for the next two weeks. I’m not going to be the one to help you sabotage her decisions.”

I dropped my head between my shoulders and closed my eyes in defeat.

“What can I do to convince you to tell me where she is?” I wasn’t above begging at this point.

“You can sure as fuck come up with a better idea than just apologizing for a start. You’ve got fourteen days to come up with the most epic gesture to prove to her that you are in this for the long haul. Only then can you come back to me, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll help you. In the meantime, take the time to figure out what the hell you want, DA. If she’s not the one for you, then you need to be kind and let her go.”

“She is. Absolutely.”

The eyebrow of skepticism made its return.

“Okay, well, you think on that for sure and get back to me. All right, DA? And it better be good.”

I could tell I wasn’t going to get anything more out of her today. She was right that I needed a plan. But I didn’t need another millisecond to know if Abbie was the one for me. Every molecule of my being knew that for sure, and some part of me had since that very first day across the park.

“Yes, fine. I will. But when I come back to you, you’d better help me. And could we cool it with the ‘DA’ shit?”

“I’ll be waiting with bated breath.” Her tone indicated nothing of the sort. “And we can negotiate the DA title when I hear what you come up with.”

“Fine.”

She turned back to her computer before quickly spinning back with one more jab.

“Oh, before I forget, don’t even think about bugging Emery at the college. I’m sure you could find her contact info quite easily. She’s not going to tell you anything either. She’s a sweetheart and doesn’t need you bugging her. She has a bleeding heart. If you make her feel guilty with your sad, aggressive Eeyore routine, I’ll shred you. And then I’ll let her three brothers have a go at you. Get me?”

God, I was exhausted by this conversation. The government should seriously get this woman on their payroll. Good thing she hadn’t decided to take over the company.

“Yep, got it. I’d say thank you, but this has been agony. I’ll be in touch.”

“Agony sounds just right,DA. Good talk. See ya!”

Now I had to figure out how to prove to Abbie she was everything to me.

The first thing I needed to do was put out the fires at work. Abbie had already dealt more than her share of stress from the fallout of our situation. Regardless of the problem, it never should have fallen on her shoulders to manage alone. As her boss, it was my responsibility to bear the consequences of our actions. It was a major source of heartache for me that things had blown up while I was away.

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