You Only (Cameron Farms Book 1) - Melanie Jayne Page 0,61
prior years, so monies could be hidden easily. She reached for her phone to text Finn, but Matt’s words rang in her head. “You must recognize the chain of command.” She wanted to warn Finn. Fucking chain of command. She had to wait to talk to Wes; her hands were tied.
Five days later, Ashley and Hale were having dinner, sitting at the farmhouse’s huge kitchen table.
“This is really good. I didn’t realize that you could cook so well.” Ashley took another bite of the chicken breast stuffed with sausage and rice.
“I’m trying to make up for the last couple of weeks. I was so bad.” Hale motioned to the last chicken breast. “I’ll split it with you.”
Ashley held out her plate. “Thanks. According to Maria, you survived on Red Bull and cereal, kinda like a finals week that wouldn’t end.”
“Oh come on, I had popcorn and some peanut butter sandwiches for variety,” she teased, but it was true.
“I know that you can’t discuss what the problem is, but can you tell me anything?”
“I found something that Wes needed to review. He agreed with my findings, Moe had to be notified. I had to break it down, and that took a good bit of time. Almost like preparing for a court case.” She still felt that she needed to catch up on all the missed sleep.
“Your findings, are they gonna cause problems between you and the mayor?” Ashley’s head tilted and she watched Hale closely.
“I shouldn’t think so. I just followed the numbers, which is my job. Why?”
“You two seem to be getting along. You take his calls and you know, um, you smile more.”
Hale frowned. “Do not.” She sounded like a teenager. Finn had been calling, and had stopped by to say hello a few times. It was nice, but she wouldn’t allow herself to read anything into it. Everything was too new and fragile.
“Yeah, you do.” Ashley gave a very satisfied smile. “I’ve been watching you.”
“Yuck, stalker much? That’s creepy that you’d admit that.” Hale shivered dramatically.
“It’s not creepy, it’s interesting watching you two deal with one another. I might use you as a case study for a research project.” Ashley defended.
“So, what does my stalker see?” She put her fork down and gave Ash her full attention.
“He watches you. No, it’s more like he’s studying you, trying to figure you out.”
“I thought you were studying marketing, not psychology.”
“Then, there are the times that you smile when you say his name or when I give you his messages. Your body relaxes and you do a real smile, not the one that you plaster on your face for meetings, or when people stop by.”
Wow, Ashley was perceptive. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Jasmine about this behavior that you claim to see. She will demand that you follow me with a camera.”
“Too late, we compare notes all of the time.” Ashley gave a huge, shit-eating grin.
“Enough. Time to change the subject. Tomorrow, I need to go over all of the arrangements for my trip to Tampa. I need to look at my clothes and make sure everything is ready.” She let out a groan. “I can’t tell you how much I hate the thought of having to wear a business suit and hose again.”
“Buck up, it’s only for a few days. Think of it as an extended costume party.”
“I’m not looking forward to making this trip. I’ve known about it for months, but the timing really sucks.”
“Are you worried about working with your old team? I mean, you obviously haven’t lost your skills.”
“No, the work part is easy. I think it will be a little weird. I mean, they work together all of the time and I am out of the loop. I was with my team ten or twelve hours a day for weeks at a time and now I’ll feel like an outsider.” She was feeling some nerves, wondering if she would be able to work smoothly with the team.
“Are you getting tired of always being the outsider?”
Hale’s head jerked as if Ashley had smacked her.
Ashley hurriedly held up her hands. “Hang on, what I mean is, that it has taken you a little while to get into the groove here. I understand, you don’t want to be the center of attention, but I have to think that there have been times that you get lonely. You used to be surrounded by people, co-workers, friends, and now you spend a lot of time by yourself.”