Page 81 of Beat around the Bush
God, I’d never been so mad about something. But Oakley being in danger when no one was there to help her? That made my blood fucking boil.
He stuck an eyebrow in the air. “I’m not seeing the correlation.”
I was almost struck speechless.Almost. “You’re not seeing that you broke my one rule and one of my employees was put in danger? She wasalone, Leo.”
He gave the slightest shrug. “I did break the rule, and I do apologize for that, but I had a package I needed to send out.”
It grated my fucking nerves that he was so casual about this. “I don’t give a fuck about some goddamn package, Leo. You left her alone here after you agreed to cover for me, and she could have been hurt.”
“But she wasn’t. And she said it was okay.”
Not physically, but mentally I knew it messed with her. It’d mess with anyone. Fear like that didn’t just go away because you were safe now. I didn’t miss her looking over her shoulder thepast few days, her flinch if something fell on the floor, or her pace quickening when she went to the break room. I didn’t give a damn if she said it was okay. He knew he wasn’t allowed to leave anyone alone here, and he still did it.
“Get out.” He was being careless, and I wouldn’t put Jacey or Oakley through that. We looked out for each other; that’s how it worked at Tumbleweed Feed.
“What?” he asked, blinking twice.
“I said get the fuck out.”
He sat forward, confusion clear on his face. “You’re firing me over something I didn’t even do?”
I sat a little taller, only to get more air into my lungs to keep myself collected. “Did you forget about my one rule, Leo?”
He shook his head. “No, but Oakley being scared of some thief isn’t my problem. Is this because you’re sleeping with her?”
My entire body froze, my blood stopped pumping, my heart ceased beating. Anger was all that flowed through every inch of my being. “I’m only going to say it one more time. Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
Leo stood, shoving back the chair as he did. “Whatever, man.”
I almost wanted to laugh.Almost.
He turned on his heel and left, leaving me in the store alone.
At least this time, it was for good.
***
My knuckles tapped against Oakley’s front door and I stood there, waiting for her to answer.
It was a sunny Saturday morning, but the chill in the air still bit at my skin. I’d told her to dress warm for what I had planned today, and seeing her outfit when she opened the door a few seconds later showed that she listened.
Oakley smiled brightly up at me and I stepped a foot over the threshold, unable to resist kissing her.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” she said after I pulled away.
“Good morning. Ready to go?” I’d tried my best to sleep off my bad attitude from my conversation with Leo yesterday, but the only thing that really brightened my mood was looking forward to spending today with Oakley.
Jacey was at the feed store today with the new hire, Mateo. I’d been on the verge of hiring him when I interviewed Oakley, and no offense to Mateo, but there was no way in hell I wasn’t hiring her. Now that Leo was no longer working there, it opened up the position for Mateo to fill.
He’d worked in retail before, so he knew most of the ins and outs, but Jacey was still training him on the register and everything today. I’d called him before I left the store last night, and he’d been more than happy to take the job.
Thank God for that, otherwise my date with Oakley would have taken a rain check.
“Yep, let me just grab my purse.” She reached behind her to the tiny table she had by the door, then slipped out, lockingit behind her. She was wearing light blue jeans with a white knitted turtleneck, her denim jacket over that, white gloves, white snow boots, and a beige beanie.
“You got thermals under those jeans?” I asked her as we walked down the tiny path to my truck.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t go out without them in this cold. The sun is a liar,” she joked.
