Carter Reed

Amanda swung her wide eyes to me, but I readied myself. There it was. I saw the realization settle in. The surprise had moved over and her eyes darkened from hurt. She’d heard me mention the higher administrative levels. I must’ve talked about Theresa since her boss was near the top.

I hung my head. I should’ve given myself up. Maybe that would’ve helped. But no, it wouldn’t have. Things would’ve been the same and we wouldn’t have had Carter’s protection. She didn’t know who I went to for their safety. Carter stressed the importance that they couldn’t know about him. He had his reasons. I would trust in them. I would trust in him.

“Oh. I see.”

Theresa frowned now as she looked between us. Her eyelids fluttered and I knew she was starting to figure out that something was wrong. She drew in a deep breath and gave Amanda a polite smile. “Well, it was nice to have met you. Are you ready, Emma?”

I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak, not yet.

As we left, I looked back. The hurt had transformed into a glare, but I saw a small tear. Amanda flicked it away she turned her back to me.

My heart dropped the farther I walked away from that bathroom door. I didn’t know how or what had happened, but my friendship with Amanda wouldn’t be the same. She knew something changed in my life and it wasn’t the same type of change that had happened to them. Things got worse for them while things got better for me.

As Theresa led the way out the door and across the road to the popular pub, I made my mind up. I didn’t know Carter’s exact requirements, but I wouldn’t forget my friends. I needed to see Mallory again. I had to make sure everything would be okay between me and her.

When we walked inside, I cringed as I saw the place was packed. It seemed that everyone needed a drink. A large portion of workers from The Richmond sat in the front. There were servers from the restaurant, clerks from the front desk, and a few of the managers. All of them looked up and all of them quieted when they saw I was with Theresa. She led me towards the back and grabbed a table in a corner. Across the room were the girls that I would usually grab a drink with. They paused when they saw who was with me now. A few of them dropped their mouths, but leaned forward to the others. The buzz in the restaurant doubled as Theresa waved down a waiter.

I needed a drink. Now.

As Theresa ordered a pizza for both of us, I nodded when she asked if she should order a pitcher of beer. As soon as it arrived, I downed my first glass.

“Oh, whoa.” Her eyes widened. “Was I that hard on you?”

“No.” A grin escaped me. “I’m sorry. Things have been pretty stressful for me lately.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I heard your vacation wasn’t planned.”

I had been reaching to pour a second glass, resolved that it was going to my last drink for the night, but I dropped my hand back to my lap at her words. “What do you mean?”

“Oh.” She shrugged as she sipped on her own beer. “Nothing, really. I heard that something bad happened and you had to leave town suddenly. A family crisis?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I was in the office with Noah when he took the call. He called Mr. Hudson himself and told him that you were on vacation that whole week.”

Oh god. I wasn’t surprised, but I hadn’t realized it had gone down like that. I looked at my lap with my mind whirling. Noah Tomlinson himself had taken the call? I jerked back up. “When did he get that call?”

“Oh. Um, last Friday?” She frowned. “Why?”

So much didn’t make sense. I had not shown up at my job for four days. Didn’t they have questions about that, but no, not with that explanation coming down from the boss himself. And he took the explanation from one phone call? I shook my head. Carter was more than a sparring partner to Noah Tomlinson. Maybe he was even more than an investor.

“You okay, Emma?”

“Uh, yeah.” I tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. You’re right. It was a family emergency. I—uh—everything is better now.” I hoped everything would be better.

“Good.” Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she leaned closer, across the table. “I have to tell you that I’ve been itching to work with you on a project like this.”

“Really? Why?”

She laughed. “You’ve earned your way up the ladder. You’re quiet. You’re hard working, and you’ve lasted the longest as Mr. Hudson’s assistant. He’s so hard to work with. Anyone who’s lasted as long as you have and not gotten the punt by him says a lot about you. Plus,” she giggled, “if everything goes well with this new account, you and I both are going to be promoted.”

“Really?” My eyes went wide. “How do you know?”

She sat back, still trying to quench her smile, and shrugged. “I can’t tell you that, but I know it’s a definite possibility. They’ve had their eye on you for awhile.”