Page 36 of Sassy Love
“Bide our time? He’s tracking our progress. Which means that if we don’t make any, we stay longer.”
Oh fuck, of course.
I run a hand through my hair again and she stills, her gaze stuck on the motion. A heartbeat later, she shakes her head as if snapping herself from a trance. “Well, we should discuss the sleeping arrangements.”
I drop my hands by my sides. “Like, left or right?”
“More like, floor or bed,” she snaps.
“You can’t be serious.”
She raises one elegant brow and pins me with those darkening browns.
“Whatever, I’ll take the floor. You take the bed, Lamont.”
Her eyes narrow over an incredulous stare. “This does not make up for Carlson’s, if you’re thin?—”
I close the distance between us and am in her space before she can take a step away. She leans back.
“What makes you think I have any intention of admitting fault there? I gave you opportunity to fix that, and you didn’t.”
“What?” Her face twists with confusion.
“You could have taken that idiot for millions. But I guess opening my email was beneath you.”
“Whatemail?”
I study her face for a beat, looking for any hint of a lie. When I find none, I ask, “You really didn’t get the email I sent you the day you were fired?”
“I lost access to all systems immediately. Hell, that snot-nosed weasel in IT was probably shutting down every bit of access I had as I was getting my ass handed to me in Carlson’s office.”
She never even saw it.
That takes the wind out of my sails.
Fuck.
She folds her arms as if things that come from me could only be harmful and she needs protection. “What did you send?”
“Litigation recommendations. Unfair dismissal, anything you could pin him with relating to how you were fired down to the sexism, the vernacular and insults he tossed around that day.”
Her mouth gapes.
“It’s not too late, you know. It still occurred. You were still disrespected and let go on grounds that wouldn’t stand in court. I had Griff do some research for you, in case I’d missed anything.”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Griffin, my college buddy; he’s a litigator. A damn good one.”
Her mouth closes as her phone buzzes on the bed, its screen lighting up. “I have to take this...”
She swipes the phone up and heads for the door. As she opens it, she answers. “Hey, Mills. You okay, babe?”
The door closes behind her, and I stand in the room, wondering how I missed that Lamont is a mother. How she has a kid. And is a single parent...
That explains the mama bear attitude she owns. Fuck, that must be hard, especially with the hours we work.
All of a sudden, I’m jealous of the fucker that got to make a kid with her and annoyed at myself over said thought all in the same beat. With almost two hours to kill before the first activity, I open the laptop and work on this quarter’s report. After a solid hour passes, the front door opens and Lamont wanders in. Her hair is a mess around her shoulders, her face flushed, like she’s been exercising.
