And then, I waited.
Chapter 21
Becka
His phone felt warm in my suddenly cold fingers. Whoever the caller was, she was crying. Through choked sobs, she said, "Listen, Mister Ward, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realize that it was such a big secret."
I frowned.A secret? What secret?
With a loud sniffle, she continued. "And she claimed she had a big surprise, somethingreallygood. She promised over and over again that you'd be delighted to see her."
As I listened, I tried to think.Her?
Who on Earth was she talking about?
Imogen?
More to the point, who was the caller?His last assistant?
It sure sounded that way.
If so, this didn't bode well.
None of it did.
I gave Jack a horrified look as my fingers tightened around his phone. By now, his eyes had grown so cold that my fingers felt nearly warm in comparison.
He held my gaze as I continued listening to the woman sob and eventually begin repeating herself.
The whole thing was beyond awful. Cripes, I didn't evenknowthe woman, and I felt like crying along with her.
As for Jack, he looked like he'd be fine with using her teardrops to wash his boots.
Between sobs, she was still going. "Just please, give me another chance, okay? I'll do better. I won't tell anyone anything, just like the agreement says. I'm sorry. Really,reallysorry."
By now, I was sorry, too.
Not only was the call beyond depressing, I felt dirty and disgusting for eavesdropping on someone else's misery.
Finally, the message ended with the promise that she'd be waiting by the phone, just in case he changed his mind.
In the sudden silence that followed, I didn't move a muscle. With the phone still pressed to my ear, I stared at the guy who'd been so nice –andso horrible, depending on the situation.
Finally, I heard myself say, "I'm not sure I want to work for you."
"Yeah? Well, too bad," he said. "A deal's a deal."
My hand dropped to my side, and his phone clattered to the floor. On instinct, I crouched down to swoop it up, mumbling, "Sorry."
"Don't be," he said. "That's yours."
I was still crouched on the floor. With the phone once again in my hand, I looked up. "What?"
"That's my business phone," he said. "From now on, it'syourproblem, not mine."
I stood. "But wait a minute. I never accepted the job."
His eyebrows lifted. "You sure about that?"
