Page 33 of Delayed
“I need some time to think.” She slid herfingers through her hair and sighed. She wanted to walk out. Toslam her office door and never look back. Not getting the promotionwas one thing. Not getting it because she didn’t scratch the CEO’sback was something else.
“Okay. I’ll let you have some time. But I’mnot going to let you sulk for long. You deserve better than this.”Janice tugged Anna into a quick hug. “Call me later.”
Anna nodded. Once Janice closed the door,Anna sat at her desk. Her inbox highlighted several new emails shehad no desire to open. She didn’t want to do anything but scream orpunch something. Violence wasn’t her usual go-to response, but theinjustice of it all had pushed buttons she usually had under lockand key. She’d need more than yoga today—maybe a kickboxingclass.
Her cell phone rang. Rex’s name flashed witha picture she’d taken of him at the beach. It usually heated hercheeks to see him shirtless on her screen, but this time her skinitched with irritation. She’d texted him about John’s scheduledmeeting this morning. He’d sent her a fingers crossed emoji. Noluck today—that was for sure.
“Hello.” She barked, unable to tamp down thefire coursing through her.
“Hey. Okay. You don’t sound happy.” Rex’svoice dropped. “Did everything go okay?”
She cackled. “Jacob got the promotion.”
He was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry,Sunshine. That sucks. They clearly made a poor decision.”
“Ha! Maybe if I hadn’t let you sweep me intoa distracting relationship, this wouldn’t have happened.” The wordswere harsh and though she’d thought them initially, she didn’tbelieve them to be true in her heart. She was hurt and lashing out.She knew this, but didn’t know how to stop it.
“Uh. I’m not sure what to say to that.” Hefell quiet again.
“Look, I don’t mean to take this out on you.You certainly had nothing to do with them choosing Jacob. But forthe last several weeks, I’ve been unfocused. More worried aboutseeing you than going above and beyond at work. Now I’m stuck.There is nowhere for me to go here.”
“I understand you’re upset. It’sdisheartening that they’d pick Jacob over you.” He exhaled. “Butyou do have places to go. It may not be with the company you’re atnow, but there are other places that would appreciate you and yourhard work.”
“It would be convenient for you, wouldn’tit?” She snapped.
“What would?”
His obtuseness annoyed her. “Me not workinghere anymore. Maybe you can convince me to sell my condo and moveto Orlando, right? Me getting passed over for the promotion worksout for you.”
“How so, Anna?” He barked. His voicedeepened. “You not getting the promotion has made you angry—at me.I don’t feel this has worked out in my favor at all.”
She winced. The bite of his words hurt.“I’ve been here for eight years, Rex. Eight years of myprofessional career working my ass off. Doing great work. Trying toprove I deserve to get to the next level. A few weeks of lost focusand its gone.”
“Do you think it’s a lack focus or yourcompetitor being a lackey to your CEO? Because I don’t think you’vebeen unfocused. I’ve watched you put in hours on the weekends I’mthere.”
“Maybe if I’d put in more hours on work andless on having sex with you, I’d be in a better situation today.”Her words sounded ludicrous even to her. But she couldn’t shut hermouth. Her emotions controlled. If Jacob were in her office rightnow, he’d point to her behavior as the exact reason she didn’t getthe promotion.
“I’m not sure I can say anything right nowthat will make this situation better.” He sounded defeated.
“I’m sure there is nothing you can say.”
“Okay, then. Give me a call later today onceyou’ve had time to process it.” He cleared his throat. “I know thisseems awful right now. And I’m sorry I’m not there to comfort you.I want nothing more than to wrap you in my arms, Sunshine. But youwill figure this out. You’re brilliant when it comes to marketing,when it comes to anything, and I’ll do everything I can to help youwalk through this change.”
She said nothing. What could she say—thanks.Right now, she didn’t feel grateful about anything. And she wantedto blame someone. She could blame Jacob. She should blame Jacob orthe CEO. Or her own manager who didn’t have the balls to take astand for her. But she blamed Rex. Or falling for Rex.
Chapter Eighteen
The drive from Orlando to Tampa had beenexcruciatingly slow. Rex had sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-4while the state troopers cleaned up yet another accident. All hewanted to do was get to Anna before she made the decision theirrelationship was more of a distraction than anything.
Though two days had passed since Anna hadreceived the horrible news that she’d been passed over for theAssistant Vice President promotion, Rex had only spoken to hertwice and both conversations had been terse and brief. He had thedistinct feeling she was avoiding him, and he didn’t like that onebit. It was the first time he’d resented the traveling role he hadat Dog Tired Brewery. He’d been in between Houston and Austinmeeting with a few restaurants that wanted to add Dog Tired totheir beer selections.
He wasn’t supposed to be back untilThursday, but he’d been able to rearrange his schedule and cram allhis visits in between Monday and Tuesday so he could hop the planeback to Florida. The private jet had to fly into Orlando as one ofits co-owners needed it Wednesday evening. So he had to trudgethrough the Orlando to Tampa traffic.
He pulled into Anna’s condo complex. Her carwas in its spot in the parking lot, so he had high hopes she’d behome. He parked in a guest spot and jogged the outdoor staircase tothe third floor.
Rex knocked on Anna’s door. He fidgeted withhis t-shirt, wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow with the backof his hand, took a couple of breaths, then rapped again.
Footsteps padded to the door and the locksclicked. The door cracked open, and Anna peered out with puffyeyes. She’d been crying. Damn it.
