rounding the counter to wrap her in his arms. “I’ve been so worried about her for so long. She stuffs it all down. Thinks she can control the emotions that way. But I know it’s been slowly eating away at her. You—you’ve been so good for her.”
I shifted on my stool, the praise suddenly making my skin feel too tight for my body. “I was just there at the right time.” And I wouldn’t let her shut me out. I felt a little guilty for how I had pushed, threatened to leave. But I didn’t regret it. Knowing the full picture of who Kenna was, hearing how strong she was at the worst of times, seeing into that tender heart…it had made me fall for the incredible woman.
Bell shook her head fervently. “No. You two have something special. But I see that fear in your eyes, Crosby. Don’t hurt her because you’re not ready to make the leap.”
I had already made the leap, whether I wanted to or not. I was gone for the woman with her amber eyes and shields of stone. I just hoped I survived the fall.
36
Kenna
The phone on my desk rang, and I let out a muttered curse. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. I’d almost poked my eye out with my eyeliner that morning. I’d spilled coffee on my skirt. And I’d been working on the same payroll accounts for far too long. Logically, I knew that it would take some time to shake off the events of yesterday. But I didn’t do well with not working at an optimal level.
I picked up the phone. “Hello, this is Kenna Morgan.”
“Kenna, it’s Chris. Would you please come to my office?”
My stomach sank. What did he want to chew me out about now? I’d followed my time off requests to the letter. Sure, I was leaving at five p.m. like the rest of the office more often lately instead of staying until seven or eight. But, so what? “Of course. I’ll be over in just a minute.”
I hung up and pushed to my feet, attempting to flatten the wrinkles in my skirt. Thankfully, the material was black, so the coffee stain didn’t show, but I knew it was there, and just the knowledge seemed to throw me off my game. “Get it together, Kenna. Show no fear.”
I held my head high as I wove through cubicles to Chris’s office at the front of the building. I gave a light knock on the open door. Chris waved me forward. “Come in. And close the door, would you?”
My palms dampened as I shut the door. It was rare that we required privacy for meetings. Usually, doors were wide-open, and voices never hushed. I eased into one of the two chairs opposite Chris. “What did you want to talk about?”
An expression of concern filled his face, but it was as fake as the stomach pains a kid moaned about the morning of a big test he hadn’t studied for. “It seems like you’ve been struggling lately.”
My shoulder blades drew together as my spine stiffened. “I have some personal things going on, but I don’t believe I’ve let that impact my work.” In fact, I’d made up every hour I missed.
The expression of concern melted into one a bit sterner. “Unfortunately, I can’t agree with that assessment. You’ve missed more days of work than ever in your history at the company—”
“You mean I’ve taken the personal days allotted to me instead of letting them go to waste?” I wasn’t going to let Chris get away with twisting and turning my actions into something they weren’t. I’d allowed my mother to manipulate the truth yesterday, there was nothing I could do about that. But we weren’t in a courtroom today.
Redness seeped into Chris’s cheeks. “It’s highly unusual for all of your personal days to be used within a week or two.”
“But it is allowed, correct? I read through our company policy, and it didn’t say anything about the days needing to be spread out.”
“It might not be in the company handbook, but it is frowned upon.”
Meaning Chris frowned upon it. Because he was always looking for some way to cut me down or prove that I wasn’t as good of an employee as the higher-ups thought I was. “I have made sure to log some work hours at home. Everything that needed to get done has been completed.”
Chris straightened in his chair, a gleam in his