Page 41 of Omega's Reluctant Mate
“I’m sorry.”
“No, best to get it over with.”
“Ok. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone and handed it back to the maître d'. “Thank you.”
He nodded and returned to his station.
“Everything ok?” Corey asked.
“Papa’s been trying to reach me.”
“Isn’t he the one who forced you to take a vacation?”
I nodded. “He is, which tells me that this is an emergency. I’m so sorry.”
“Do what you need.”
I reached into my inner jacket pocket and retrieved my phone, then scowled as it powered up and I was inundated with notifications.
My thumb was hovering over the phone icon when it rang again, Papa’s number flashing on the screen.
“Papa?” I asked.
“Nate,” he huffed. “About time you answered.”
“I’m on a date with Corey.”
“You never turn off your phone.”
“I’m on vacation,” I growled. “At your insistence, if you recall. We’re also at the most exclusive restaurant in the city, so pardon me if I wanted to enjoy our date in peace.”
There were a couple seconds of silence, which meant that Papa was feeling properly chastised. He would have retorted immediately otherwise.
“Unfortunately I’m forced to cut your vacation short,” he informed me when he spoke again. “I’m putting you on a plane to London tomorrow afternoon.”
“London!” I cried. “What for?”
“Morningshire Industries,” he stated. “Somebody fucked up in a major way and the only way we’ll be able to keep the contract is by sending in somebody who can act on their own authority. I’m not as familiar with their contract as you are, so I need you on this one.”
“What happened?”
“Wrong billing, wrong products. Everything that could have gone wrong, has.”
I closed my eyes and pinched my nose. There would be time to find out how things went sideways later, for now I needed to fix it. I blew out a long breath. “Ok. What’s the plan?”
“I’ve diverted resources to assemble the right systems. They’ll be ready tomorrow afternoon, then on a plane. I want you to arrive within a few hours of the parts so that you can salvage this.”
I opened my eyes and saw Corey staring at me. My heart ached. I’d promised him more time, and now I had to fly to the other side of the world. I reached across the table with my free hand and rested it on one of his. I needed him to know that I would be back for him.
The days of running from him were over.
Chapter 17 - Corey
Maybe it was hopeful thinking, but I thought I saw tiny changes in Nate. I’d first noticed the bigger things: holding hands and hugs. But now it was hard to overlook the other signs that his feelings towards me were shifting.
