Ben smirked. “Let him sue me. I don’t care. It isn’t like I don’t have the money. It will be fine. You let me worry about that. I will own up to my mess.”
“It isn’t right. You were only protecting me. He fired me for being assaulted. It’s so wrong,” she said, slapping her hand on her jeaned thigh.
“I’m not worried about it. I would do it all over again. All of it. It was all worth it,” he insisted.
Her heavy sigh told him she was stressed. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel stressed and like she needed to run away. The woman had dealt with more in the past five years than the average person dealt with in an entire lifetime. It wasn’t fair, and he hoped he could help right some of the wrongs that had been done to her.
“Katherine, this is not a big deal. I can help you find another job, or—” he stopped talking in the nick of time.
He was about to offer to support her but knew that was a loaded conversation and he seriously doubted she would ever accept an offer from him. From anyone for that matter. Katherine had to find her independence. He wanted to help, but this was something she needed to do for herself. He had to take a step back and support her without doing it for her.
“Or?” she asked when he didn’t finish his sentence.
“Or you can find one. I know you will,” he said easily.
Another long sigh. “I know. I will. I guess it’s time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.”
He chuckled. “Today or tomorrow if you want, can be the first day of the rest of your life. Take some time. Figure out what you want to do. You don’t have to rush into anything.”
Again, he had to stop himself from suggesting he help her out financially until she could get on her feet. He knew she had some money put away and hoped it was enough to keep her afloat while she figured out what to do next with her life.
“I thought about that on the way over here. I like the coffee shop business. Is it silly for me to want to be a barista as a career goal?”
“Sweetheart, you can be anything you want to be.”
Her mouth spread into a smile. “Thank you. I appreciate you saying that. I should let you get back to work. I know unlike me, you actually have a job to do,” she teased.
He laughed. “My job is flexible, most of the time. Stay as long as you like.”
She shook her head. “I walked over here. I think I’ll keep walking.”
“It’s a little chilly out there.”
“It was fine. I like it. I want to see what jobs are out there. Maybe I’ll be inspired.”
He nodded his head and gave her a quick kiss. “Make sure you do something that makes you happy. It’s time you lived for you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll have someone reach out to the bakery. I have no problem paying for the damage. I wasn’t an innocent bystander. I should pay.”
Her head tilted to the side. “I hate that you have to.”
“Katherine, you know the money isn’t an issue. It’s business. He needs to recoup his losses. I’ll pay. I’m sorry you lost your job. Are you sure I can’t talk to him and ask him to rethink his decision?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. He made the decision and I don’t want to work for anyone like that.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again for lack of anything better to say.
It felt like he owed her. His inability to control his temper had led to her being fired. There was a chance Tim would have walked away. A slim chance, but he didn’t technically have to beat the shit out of the guy and break his nose or whatever it was the guy ended up with. He hoped it was a broken nose. He wouldn’t be surprised to get sued by the guy.
She gave him a strange look and he suddenly got the idea he may have said the wrong thing. Shit.
Chapter Five
Katherine
SHE STUDIED HIS FEATURES and could see he was truly sorry. It made no sense to her.