Page 11 of Hers to Love
If it wasn’t for Sabrina and her father, Marshall.
But what about the office? Did he work on a gondola? How…romantically odd.
“Well, we have it for the next hour! The Arno River is lovely. Let’s go!”
Marshall offered his hand, and Kori accepted it, allowing herself to be led down the steps and into the long, lean boat. She took a seat toward the bow of the ship and put on her best smile to show Marshall she didn’t find him at all peculiar.
Or crazy.
She still thought he was a little nuts. Did this man work at all?
“How was your first night?” Marshall asked. “Feeling any jet lag?”
Kori shook her head. “After lunch, I pretty much crashed. I’ve been up for hours, so I’ll probably feel it today.”
He grinned. “Sounds about right. I know traveling overseas can be tough on the body. I imagine you’ve done a lot of it over the last few years.”
“I’m pretty used to it, yes. But I would like a break.”
“Good! You can check my schedule when we get to the office. I don’t think I have any business trips coming up, so we can use the jet. If you’d rather keep your feet on the ground, you can spend a few days touring the city.”
Kori returned his smile. She liked the sound of that. Especially when this country was so picturesque. She adored the cobblestone streets and was anxious to visit the sea. She could keep her feet on this ground for as long as he wanted.
Seeing her opening, she asked, “When are we going into work?” She tried not to shrink back and keep her tone light and non-accusatory. She understood he was the CEO and everything, so he could do what he wanted, but he was still the leader. And leaders had to…well, lead. Right? He had said his last year was full of personal and professional growth. How did he grow being out of the office?
A flash of knowing crossed Marshall’s eyes, and Kori braced herself for his response. “We’re going in a bit. After our ride. I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed when you first got here. After working for Brigham, I figured you would appreciate a slower schedule. Or, at least, a less hectic transition.”
“And I appreciate your consideration,” Kori said quickly. “It wasn’t expected, and I’m really just eager to make a good impression.”
He stared at her but said nothing. Did he think she wasn’t grateful? She certainly wasn’t doing a good job showing gratitude. Kori wondered how much he knew of her exit from Brigham’s company. She looked away and rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.
“Kornelia, don’t worry,” Marshall said softly. Kori met his eyes. “Everything is going to be okay.” He frowned and sighed. Marshall settled back against the side of the boat. He dipped his fingers in the water and flicked it up in the air. “At least for the next few months. After that, who knows? We’ll probably both be out of jobs.”
Kori’s lungs constricted. “What?” she managed to squeeze out. What was he saying? They’d both be out of jobs? Sabrina never mentioned her father was leaving the company.
Marshall’s lips twisted into a lopsided grin. “You might as well know now that my company is trying to get rid of me.”
Kori’s jaw slacked.
“Yeah, I know. It’s a surprise to me too but, actually, not really. This last year has been…” He trailed off, his gaze looking distant.
Was he thinking about his recent divorce? The drinking he did at lunch yesterday had set off a red flag.
Marshall cleared his throat. “It’s been tough, to say the least.”
“Your year of freedom?” Kori hesitantly asked. “Personal and professional growth?”
Marshall chuckled. “Yeah. Too much freedom, apparently. I guess I’d grown to know that professionally I needed some time to myself. And I’ve also grown to know that too much idle time really is the devil’s playground. I’m the type that thrives off work. What should’ve been a year of record growth was merely average. Instead of throwing myself into work, I…took a lot of time off.”
Kori kept her lips together. She was having difficulty processing the information. If the company’s growth had been average, why would the board be trying to push him out? Every year wouldn’t be exponential growth. There had to be something else. Kori felt too new to ask. She’d have to pick up her information from the job.
“Anyway,” Marshall continued, “we’ll at least have the summer. How does that sound?”
She offered him a closed-mouth smile. As a beggar, she really couldn’t be choosey. She’d take whatever money she could for her legal fund and then figure it out later.
“We’ll enjoy Italy, and I’ll try to pay you as much as possible to help out with…you know.”
“Thank you,” Kori said softly.
