Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171979 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 573(@300wpm)
“What would you like to drink?”
The waitress glanced toward Livvy instead of her.
“I’m just going to stay with the water.” Words tumbled out of her mouth despite the tight constriction of her throat. She wasn’t going to pay seven dollars for a soda, or an iced tea.
Thankfully, Livvy remained silent.
Squeezing lemon in to her water glass, she studied the other occupants of the restaurant, wishing they had already eaten and were back at the office. Feeling nervous, she felt the gazes of the women intermittently on her. Were they like her, waiting for the ax to fall?
When she returned her focus to their conversation, she heard Susan ask if any of them had seen Kent Bryant coming in this morning.
“He’s back?” Nancy asked, giving Livvy a cautious look.
Susan nodded. “I saw him heading to the elevator while I was working the front desk.”
“He was only gone a couple of weeks this time,” Susan went on. “He’s normally gone much longer. Wonder why he’s back so soon.”
Sage swallowed nervously at the way Livvy was staring at Susan. Had the woman lost her mind? Livvy didn’t like Susan paying attention to Kent’s actions. Why was Susan digging her hand back in the hot coals?
“There was probably a problem with one of the cases Mr. Bryant is working on,” she spoke up, drawing Livvy’s intent scrutiny to her instead of Susan.
Wanting to kick herself as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Sage tried not to flinch at Livvy’s gaze on her. Why hadn’t she kept her big mouth closed? Why should she feel sorry for Susan? Neither Susan nor Nancy would take the time to pull the fire alarm if she burst into a flaming ball of fire.
“How do you know?” Livvy asked silkily.
“I don’t.” She shrugged. “It makes sense, though, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose so. It’s not like you’re on speaking terms with Kent. Are you?”
The first act of survival was not to look away when a predator has you in their sight. Sage held Livvy’s gaze.
“I’ve never spoken to Mr. Bryant,” she told Livvy truthfully. “Since I started working at Hollingsworth and Partners, he’s only been in his office for eight days total.”
Livvy’s expression didn’t lighten. “You know exactly how many days Kent has been in the office in the last three months?”
Sage kept her gaze steady. “Susan isn’t the only one who works reception at the front when Brian takes a break. When Mr. Bryant is out of the office, I have to forward his calls. It’s a nightmare to get any of the partners to take his calls when he’s gone. Those days are hard to forget.”
Susan’s laughter had everyone’s eyes turning toward her.
“Sage isn’t joking. I don’t know why Brian hasn’t quit. The worst part of my day is having to cover reception in the morning. That’s why I begged Bree to get someone else to do it in the afternoon.”
Their order arriving gave them something else to focus on rather than Kent Bryant. From the possessive way Livvy was acting, Sage planned to stay far away from him as much as possible. How hard could it be? She wouldn’t recognize him if he was standing right in front of her. He hadn’t crossed her path since she had started work at Hollingsworth, and now she hoped he never would.
Picking up her knife, she sliced the large sandwich in half, leaving the fries untouched. She did allow herself to eat the cup of soup. And as she ate, she noticed the other women had chosen more expensive meals. Livvy and Susan had chosen steak and potatoes, and Nancy had ordered ribs. Each of their meals were double the price of hers.
When the waitress returned to check in on them, Sage asked for a to-go box while the other three women ordered desserts.
“It’s Nancy’s birthday.” Livvy watched as she boxed up her leftovers in revulsion. “You should join us.”
“Eating sweets makes me sleepy. I’d be miserable for the rest of the day.”
“In that case, I’ll let it slide this time.”
Biting back the comment she wanted to make, Sage set the takeout box to the side, giving Livvy an unperturbed smile, all the while her gut churned at the desire to tell her exactly what she thought of her. She wasn’t a coward, nor was she afraid of confrontation, but she didn’t want to lose this job. Livvy was her supervisor, and her ninety-day evaluation was coming up. Depending on her recommendation at the end of this week, her probation period would be over, and she could be reassigned back to the temp agency, which had contracted her for the ninety days.
She was tired of being jostled from one work environment to another, not to mention the benefits being employed full-time would give.
Just four more days, she told herself. Just four more days … she repeated as she watched them eat their cake.