Because of Sydney (26 page)

I stood to pay Mac for dinner before walking out of the bar. This had been one hell of a Monday.

T
here was fidgeting. And then there was what I was doing. I crossed my ankles one way and then the other. I pulled the hem of my skirt so much I could see stress lines in the fabric. I didn’t know how long Alice was going to make me wait in the conference room.

The door opened and she walked in, only she wasn’t alone. Frannie from HR was with her. Shit.

“Thanks for coming in, Sydney.” The two women sat across from me.

“Of course.” I tried to smile, but my lips felt like they would start to tremble at any second.

Alice cleared her throat. “I had Frannie join us so we can go over everything together.”

She didn’t need to say another word. I knew exactly what decision she had made. My job at the
News & Record
was over.

I sat in silence while they explained the company’s policies on fraternization with a source. Frannie read an excerpt from the employee handbook and presented a copy of the document I had signed when I was hired. I tried to stay calm, but I felt like I was underwater and their words were muffled by the water in my ears.

“I really do wish you all the best, Sydney.” Alice stood.

“Thank you,” I tried to make it louder than a whisper.

“Let us know where you land.”

I nodded. I couldn’t imagine staying in touch with her, but it felt like a necessary gesture.

Alice left the room so I could complete the with exit paperwork with Frannie. It was embarrassing enough to be fired, it was humiliating to lose my job because I had slept with Mason. I might as well be Hester Prynne.

Frannie smiled lightly when I handed over my press pass and the key to the newsroom. I told her I didn’t have any personal effects in my desk so I wouldn’t need a box to pack.

She escorted me to the door and watched from the glass as I walked to my car. My throat tightened. I could feel her eyes on my back as I moved across the parking lot. But I couldn’t turn around. I couldn’t let my shoulders slump, or the tears fall. I unlocked the driver side door and sat behind the steering wheel.

I thought I saw Alice standing at the skinny window in her office, but I cranked the ignition and pulled onto the road.

It wasn’t until I hit the next stoplight that I let the heat and the anger of my embarrassment spill over. They were hard ugly sobs that wracked my body. I heard the car behind me honk when the light turned green.

I wiped at my eyes enough to see the road and sped forward. Those were the only tears I would allow myself to have. I had to focus on whatever future lied ahead.

He was dressed in his usual white button-up shirt, pacing on the balcony. I let myself in, so he didn’t know I was watching him. Whoever was on the other end of that call was getting an earful.

I headed to the bedroom. I had left my phone charger plugged in next to his bed. I wrapped the cord around my hand, and sat on the edge. Mason slept closest to the door. The pillow smelled like him. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about last night. As nervous and upset as I had been, he had found a way to make me forget about it.

He was the kind of man who could draw a bath and wash my back. Refill my wine. Hold me while I fell asleep. Listen to me say the same things over again. Mason had turned into a completely unexpected man.

I walked back to the living room to see if he was finished with the call.

“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Hey.” I was on the verge of losing it again, but I stiffened my back, holding the feelings in.

“And what did Alice say?”

I shook my head. “They gave me the HR speech and let me go. You’re looking at an out of work reporter.”

“Come here.” He moved toward me, locking his arms around my back. “They are crazy for not finding a spot for you at that journal. They just gave their competition an advantage. I consider that a bad business practice.” His thumb smoothed the back of my shirt.

“I don’t think Alice considers business practices. She’s an editor.”

“It’s a business. But it doesn’t matter. That’s done. It’s over.” He dropped me from the hold.

“I guess I should work on updating my resume and pulling together my work portfolio. It’s going to take a little bit of time.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”

“Of course it is. I have to get another job before word gets out why I left the
Record
.”

Mason looked at the number on his phone when it rang and hit ignore. “I’ll get that later. I have a proposal for you.”

“Ok?” I sat on the couch.

“Did you give Alice the story I mentioned the other night?”

“No. I was going to use it, but I never had a chance. Why?”

“Apparently, no one has picked up on it yet. I need that good bit of PR to circulate. Combating environmentalists and homeless mothers is bad for business.”

I thought about Matt’s desk in the development office. The application was likely buried underneath his cheat sheet for Halo. He might get to opening mail today.

“Anyway, I’d like you to write the article.”

“I can’t write it. We went over this whole thing.”

“You can’t write it if you work for a news establishment. You
can
write it if you are on my PR team and it’s your job to release the information.” He had a wide smile.

“You want me to work for you? You’re going to hire me?”

“I could send the information to my media team, but they aren’t here. They don’t know the details like you do. You’ve already interviewed Shawna, and I’m sure she’d be happy to see you again.”

“How is this not a conflict of interest?”

“This is business. I can hire whomever I want. I can release whatever information I want. I want you to write a piece on Lachlan Corporation’s dedication to relocating a few of the displaced Cove residents. This is what PR firms do every day. My PR firm happens to be in Dallas. You are here.”

I considered everything he was saying. I didn’t want a handout. I didn’t want to be unemployed either. I had student loans due each month, not to mention a car payment and rent for the studio apartment.

“But how would it work between us?”

“Sweetheart, work is work. And when it’s five o’clock we shut that down and it’s just you and me.”

“What’s the starting salary?”

“You’ll get the same as what I pay the other two on PR.”

“Do you have a number?” I prodded.

He walked over to the laptop on the dining table. “I need to pull it up. Hold on.” He opened several files before finally giving me an annual sum.

“And benefits?”

“Yes, darlin’, you get all the benefits. The whole works.”

“And I’m based here in South Padre?”

He crossed the room. “You’re based wherever I am.”

My eyes flashed to his. I felt the tingles run to my fingertips. This no longer felt like I was negotiating the terms of a new job. I was going to be terrible at separating my feelings from work. I wasn’t even on the job two minutes, and all I could think about was what Mason was implying.

“You want me to travel with you?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” He shrugged like I had asked if we could share a pizza.

“Is that a standard part of what your PR people do?”

“It’s what I want to be standard with you.” His eyes softened, the deep pools of cobalt sucking me in. “I have to leave for Dallas in another day. The idea of leaving you here while I’m up there isn’t very appealing.”

I held my breath. This was different from the San Antonio trip. I could feel it, even though he wasn’t saying it.

He turned when his phone rang again. “I’ve got to take this. It’s the west coast.”

I nodded. I watched as he walked onto the balcony, sliding the door behind him. Ten minutes later he was back inside, his cell phone stuffed in his front pocket.

“My entire day is booked with calls. I need to know if you want the job.” His eyebrows arched, and for a minute I knew he didn’t see me as the woman he shared a bed with. I was an employee holding him up.

“Yes. I’ll take it.”

“Good. I think you’ll like working for Lachlan Corporation.” He walked to the table and jotted something on a piece of paper. “Here. This is Mark’s number. Give him a call and tell him to set you up with email. And have a new computer shipped to you at my address. He can overnight an HR packet too.”

I took the slip of paper. “But won’t they know about us if I tell him that?”

I saw the playfulness return to his eyes. He shifted the hair from my shoulder, laying a kiss along my neck. “Syd, you’re sleeping with the boss now. And I can do whatever in the hell I want.”

He tipped my chin toward him. My heart beat faster. I could feel his breath against my face. Smell his cologne in the air. I moaned as his lips possessed mine, stealing the air from my body. I clung to him, desperate to taste him.

Suddenly, I heard the ring and felt the vibration from his pocket as his phone rang. He pressed his forehead to mine. “Back to work.” He sighed and walked out of the room. “Roger, good to hear from you.”

I sat at the table. I had no idea how this was going to work.

I didn’t need to wait for my fancy new computer to arrive to jump on the first order of business for Lachlan Corporation. I drove toward Beach Combers Cove. It was good to get out of the condo. I couldn’t stay in there all day, watching Mason pace on the phone. I shifted between wanting to rip his clothes off and wanting to ask him a hundred questions about the job and his company. Neither was on his agenda today.