Page 22 of Twist of Fate
“So, um—”Solid start, Finn. Banging job.“You’re living in Ireland?”
And now I am stating the obvious.
What is it about this girl that has me reverting back to my awkward, pubescent teen years?
“Yes.” Her voice. Christ, I haven’t heard it in years, and the sound of it sends shivers down my spine. “Just moved here a few days ago.”
“Did you come here for me?” The question slips out before I can stop it, and I regret it the instant it leaves my lips.
I wince as her mouth gapes open, and that same look of betrayal she had in the conference room returns before quickly being replaced by something else entirely.
Anger.
“And who exactly would that be, Mr. Larkin? Or is it Mr. O’Connell these days?”
I let out a deep sigh of regret. “Okay, I deserve that. And it’s both. I just tend to stick to my mother’s last name. Or at least, I have since—”My father excommunicated me from the family.“But I am an O’Connell.”
“Good for you,” she mutters before those big blue eyes go wide, and she looks up at me. “Please don’t fire me.”
I have to suppress the genuine smirk that’s threatening to break free. There’s the Ash I know. “I’m not going to fire you. I get this situation isn’t…ideal. Believe me, we’ve had our fair share of weird in this office.”
“Weirder than this?” she sputters before quickly adding, “Was it all just some big joke to you?” Now that she knows I won’t fire her, she isn’t holding back. “Were you just slumming it as a tour guide for fun that week—like a boss undercover or something—and thought you’d sweeten the deal by hitting on a tourist?”
“What? No. I was an actual tour guide.” I run a hand through my hair, realizing just how badly I fucked this up. “For two years, like I told you. That wasn’t a lie.”
Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to understand it. “Why?”
“It’s a long story, but I was there in earnest. I wasn’t pretending.” I try to emphasize, leveling my gaze with hers. “None of it was fake.”
A heavy silence settles between us before she asks, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“A stipulation of my employment.” My father didn’t want folks to know he’d banished his only son and heir to work as a tour guide. They found out soon enough, though. I wasn’t ashamed of it and still dropped in to help train new tour guides from time to time. “It’s another long story. But also—” I pause, unsure if revisiting the past is such a good idea. “I liked being just Finn Larkin.”With you.
She adjusts in her seat, uncrossing and recrossing her legs. My throat works as I focus my attention back on my computer, trying to find something to talk about. Talking to Aisling used to be the easiest thing in the world. The difficult part was forcing myself to not speak to her—to distance myself from her.
“How are you adjusting?” I ask as the words on the screen all blur together. My focus is shite right now.
“Well, it’s only been a few days. I’ve barely adjusted to the time change.”
“Right.” I nod. “Where are you staying? Do you have a flat?” That’s something a boss can ask. Not too personal?
Christ, I’m her boss. She reports to Nora, and Nora reports to someone else, but all roads lead to me. So, technically, I’m her boss’s boss’s boss?
There’s no technicality.You’re her boss, arsehole.
“No flat, yet. I’m staying in a hotel until I can find something.”
A hotel? That can’t be cheap. “And what does your mam think? About you moving to Ireland? I’m sure, knowing her, she probably tried to stow away in your luggage.”
Her face blanches, and she practically jumps to her feet. “I—um…I should probably get back to my desk,” she says. “First day and all. It was nice to catch up.”
It takes a whole minute after the sound of her heels fading down the hall for me to register that she’s gone.
What did I say?
I shift my focus from the empty chair back to my computer. Her employee file is still open on my screen, and I click into it, scanning the sections related to her work visa and focusing on what might provide better insight as to why she is here and, even more importantly…why she just bolted from my office as if her ass were on fire.
SEVEN
