13
She couldn’t believe this. Seth had to bring her home before going into work. Both of them were late. This was so…embarrassing. Last night was amazing and she could picture waking every morning like that, lying in Seth’s arms. But the reality was this could not happen again.
It was a horrible feeling knowing that she wouldn’t get spoken to about her tardiness for one reason. She slept with her boss. Charlene never thought she’d feel like this, but she did. Guilt riddled her. She had broken policy and couldn’t face herself. If she tried to talk to Seth about it, he’d tell her it wasn’t a big issue. But it was. She didn’t want to feel like a hypocrite.
Of course, sitting in her quiet office gave her plenty of time to feel horrible. Well that wasn’t totally accurate. It was a mixed feeling. She’d never felt so alive and wonderful before. The connection she had with Seth left her…speechless. Normally one would consider that to be a good thing. But there are things they should’ve discussed, and she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
And of course, she felt as though she’d been trusted to do the job and follow the company policies, and she let Lawson Steel down on both counts. It didn’t matter if no one knew what had transpired. She did and that was enough for her.
She dialed the number and waited for him to answer. “Hello Mr. Lawson. I was wondering if I could speak to you for a few minutes.”
“Should I be worried, because you usually call me Charles?”
She was trying to keep things as professional as she could. It might have been wise to be a bit more professional last night. Instead she was…a vixen. I couldn’t get enough of him. Probably never would either.
Charlene needed to keep thoughts like that out of her head. It was going to make the meeting with Charles all the more awkward if she didn’t.
“Just a few things I would like to discuss with you,” she said. But it really wasn’t up for discussion. She was going to turn in her resignation. One thing she had learned since starting at Lawson Steel, was that she wasn’t needed. The position of PR was created for one reason. Because no one wanted to tell me I wasn’t capable of getting one on my own.
“If you don’t mind waiting until the end of the day, I believe that would work best for me,” Charles stated.
“That will be fine. Thank you.”
She ended the call and went back to doing what she normally did. Look at the walls and wish there was something constructive for her to do.
Charlene was so tired, and actually thought about closing her office door, locking it, and taking a nap. Her eyes burned from the little sleep she had. Not that she was complaining, but this was going to be an exceptionally long day.
Oh hell.She got up and closed the door. Locking it was a bit too much. But as soon as she sat down, there was a knock on her door. Please don’t be Seth. Her heart couldn’t take seeing him at work today. Not after she decided what she needed to do. The knock came again and she called out.
“Come in.”
Sal opened the door and asked, “Am I disturbing you?”
“Not at all. What can I do for you?” she asked.
Sal closed the door behind him and took a seat. “I have some questions for you. They might seem…odd, but I need to know.”
God, don’t ask. Please, don’t ask.
“I’m not sure I can answer them.” Or willing to. No way was she going to discuss anything that happened last night. She may have shared some kiss and tell stories with Sofia when they were young, but this was different. Everything about what happened with Seth was.
Sal looked at her long and hard and it was driving her nuts. If it was that difficult for Sal to ask, she could only imagine what it was going to be like for her to answer.
Finally Sal started, “Do you know someone named Larry?”
“I know a few. Why?”
“How about any of them that might hold a grudge?”
Charlene wasn’t in the mood for one of Sal’s games. “How about you narrow it down for me a bit? And what business is it of yours who I know and don’t?”
“Why don’t I tell you what I know and you can fill in the blanks. Does that sound fair?” he asked.
“It sounds better.” She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to Sal about her personal life right now. She wanted a distraction, but not one like this.
“When you were in high school, there was a guy Larry Halls that had asked you out.”
Charlene burst out laughing, raised her hand and said. “Larry Halls? High school? Do you really expect me to remember if someone from high school has a grudge? I bet you can’t remember everyone from your school days either.”