Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,95
law firm with a career aspiration and a hope that she’ll be treated fairly by the men she meets. And she is going to meet men like Brandon, who’ll get ahead of her because their uncle is the union organizer, or their uncle owns the firm. And she’s going to meet someone like you. Someone who talks a great story on equality, but when it comes down to it would rather support a second-class man over a first-class woman. And she’ll come home and cry to you about how unfair it all is. And before you stop to hug her and tell her it’s going to be okay, remember you did it to me. I quit, Elijah.”
She pulled her lanyard with her work pass from around her neck and then slipped her laptop out of her bag. On a post-it note, she wrote her username and password.
“Stop. Look, I was frustrated. Let’s slow down and talk about it.”
“Talk about what, Elijah? You think this conversation was a one-off. You’ve made me feel like this for months. It started way before you wanted me to go fix the school and you gave Brandon The Grosvenor.”
“Look. I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll give you the lead job back. The Grosvenor’s yours.”
She glanced out of the window at the building she loved. It hurt to know she’d not see it to completion. But the relief she felt inside, the lightness she felt in her heart, told her she was doing the right thing. “Thank you for saying that, but it’s too late. I’m sure Brandon will do an awesome job for you.”
“Listen. Take twenty-four hours. Hell, take a week. Go back and see how your dad is doing.”
Cassie smiled sadly and shook her head. “I’ll be talking to my dad, but not coming back.”
As she walked to the door, Elijah called her name one last time. “Wait, you said you had a solution to the north wing electrical delay.”
Cassie pulled the door open. “Bye, Elijah.”
She stepped out onto the construction site and sighed. This skyline had been part of her life for a decade. Now it was time for a change. She grabbed her phone and dialed.
“Dad, is now a good time? I have a proposal for you.”
Jake wiped his hand across his face as he turned up the road to his house. He was so damn tired his bones ached just driving the truck. In the thirteen days since he’d left Cassie, he’d worked like a fiend. Some mornings, he’d even gotten up so early that he’d been at the distillery before Sienna’s shift had finished to eke out a little more production.
There was a chance that the weekend after next, he’d be able to spring another trip to see Cassie. He hadn’t told her yet because there was no point in getting both of their hopes up. But, man, going home to an empty house and waking up alone were getting old real fast.
When he pulled into his driveway, there was a car he didn’t recognize. And he was too busy looking at the car to notice there was someone sitting on his porch, until that person was illuminated by the truck’s headlights.
His heart dropped through the floor of the truck and bounced straight back up into his throat when he realized Cassie was right in front of him. He slammed on the brakes, turned the engine off, and jumped out of the truck in two seconds flat.
“Cassie,” he said, striding toward her. He wanted her in his arms and didn’t care why she was suddenly here.
“I lied to you.”
Her words hit him square in the gut. “What? Cass?”
She held her hands up to stop him from scooping her up and holding her. “Well, I lied to myself. I got caught up in an old dream.”
Old dream? Did she mean him?
“Cassie. You better get to your point real quick because I can’t decide if I’m about to lose you or carry you to my bed and keep you there for a couple of days.”
“It’s all good, I promise. I just . . . I need to talk to you first.”
“Fuck that.” Relief flooded him so quickly he felt like his knees might give out beneath him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, his head spinning as she kissed him back.
Quickly, he opened the door and led her to the sofa. “Stop with the buildup, Cass. Tell me the big reveal, then go back and tell me what led up