Page 84 of Serving the CEO

I made a face. “Tired of being asked that. I’m okay, Mom. Really.”

I could tell she didn’t believe me, but I let it go. After all, she was right. It was a lie.

After giving my dad a hug, I picked up a box of books and went to stock the shelves, taking comfort in the familiar work and waiting for my mind to settle so I could talk.

Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and blurted out, “He’s going to take the store.”

Mom covered my hand with hers, a strangely placid expression on her face. “We assumed as much. It was all part of your deal, after all. And you didn’t go through with it.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my eyes burning with unshed tears. “I couldn’t—”

“None of that.” My father approached and wrapped an arm around me. “Do you really think we’d want you to sacrifice yourself, for even a minute, if it meant you being unhappy?”

“You’ll lose the store!” Tears threatened to spill over as I stared at him, with a helplessness inside me that threatened to overwhelm everything else. “I could have handled it for a year. To save the store, I could’ve done it.”

But, really…CouldI have? I didn’t think I could have.

“We don’twantyou handling unhappiness on our behalf—oryours.” My father cupped my hands in his hands and glared at me, a mix of frustration and love on his face. “You’re the light of my life, baby. But you can be so stubborn. It’s not your job to take care of us.”

“It’s not only about taking care of you…although fuck that.” I glared at him when he frowned. “You and Mom worked your asses off for me. I wanted to dosomethingfor you. But I also love this store. Now we’re going to lose it.”

It broke my heart.

I’d never forgive Derrick for this. Never.

He wouldn’t care—it hadn’t been anything more than fodder for his stupid book, but it mattered to me.

“We’ll figure something out.” My father kissed my forehead, then nudged me back. “Now…let’s talk about you. You’re not at work, so I’m assuming there’s a reason other than the fact that you were supposed to be on…vacation.”

“Yes.” Moving back around behind the counter, I scanned the shop before looking them both in the eye. “I quit my job.”

“Okay.” Dad didn’t sound surprised.

My mother folded her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “Good.”

I stared at them as they both watched me, apparently waiting for me to go on. How could they be so easy going about this? Not only were they going to lose their livelihood thanks to me, I had no job either and no hope of helping them.

“I’m not sure what to do now,” I said hesitantly.

“What do you want to do?” Mom asked.

“I don’t know.” I hated saying that.

I’d always known what I wanted to do, what the next step was to getting there. Not knowing threw me so far out of my element that I wasn’t just confused, but completely lost. I had no way to get myself back on track.

“I mean, I still want to help people create their books, but how am I supposed to do that by myself?”

Mom came to me then and hugged me, then kissed my cheek.

“If that’s what you’re meant to do, then you’ll find a way. And we will be right there supporting you the entire time.”

* * *

“Hey.”

Startled, I looked up as Amelia plopped down onto one of the comfy chairs across from mine. I’d just stopped for a short break between customers and being in this part of the store had always been comforting to me.

“Amelia.” My heart started hammering in my chest and once more, I found myself cursing the complexion I’d inherited from my mother as my face heated and my cheeks turned pink. “What are you doing here?”

---