Page 7 of Winning Her

Laura rolled her eyes, but there was a trace of worry around them even as she frowned at me.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me?” she asked.

I bit down on my lip, indecisive. On the one hand, having someone to vent to would be wonderful. I’d done it back when I was a student and things got hard, and it had helped. On the other hand, this was something so private I worried about just blurting it out. Laura and I were friends as well as colleagues but she didn’t know everything there was to know about me. There might be the relief of someone else knowing, but…

Even if she were a friend, I’d have to relive the humiliation to tell her all about it. That was something I was not willing to put myself through, even to get this huge secret off my chest.

“Nothing, really,” I murmured, my eyes sliding away from hers because I didn’t like lying to her. “I’m just thinking a little too much, that’s all. You don’t need to worry.”

She watched me for a while in silence. I knew she knew I was lying, but as long as she wouldn’t call me out on it, I was going to ignore it.

“Whatever you say,” she said dismissively after what felt like a whole minute. “But you should probably go and see to whatever that call was. It’s obviously something important. You’re not acting like yourself. I’ve never seen you just stop in the middle when you’re baking.”

I took a deep breath then released it slowly, sending her a grateful look for not prying, even as I dreaded what I was going to walk into in a little while.

“You’re right,” I muttered. “Absolutely. It was… something important.”

It was the last thing I wanted, but I started undoing my uniform.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she shouted at me as I walked towards the employee area.

I was too distracted by my thoughts and worries for a verbal reply, but I waved at her over my shoulder.

A side door in the kitchen led into the staff area. I moved over to my locker and switched my chef’s uniform for my overcoat before picking up my purse. Then I made my way out of the hotel using the staff entrance and exit.

I might as well go help my mom out because I knew she might need to prepare for the return of the prodigal sons.

I just need to keep my feelings about Trent to myself, I thought, hoping it was possible. Hell, I might not see him at all… I’m busy, and he probably would be as well…

I was just trying to placate myself. No matter how busy we both were, I was close friends with Emily, and my parents still worked at the family mansion. That he and I would run into each other was very likely.

My mind jumped back into the past, and I remembered his laughter. The bitter heartache of it—just the memory of it—made my cheeks burn, even now when I was an adult and I knew my worth. I wasn’t the same insecure teenage girl with her first crush; I was a grown woman with a career who’d set a path for herself.

I can't forget the past, I thought to myself with a sigh. I doubted I ever would, no matter how many years passed. And seeing Trent in the flesh for the first time in years would just make it all the harder for me.

Then there was a hopeful thought.

I’ve grown since then, so he must have as well, right? Maybe he’d grown past the smarmy teenager that laughed when I declared my love for him and wiped his kiss away.

A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

3

Trent

I left work an hour after talking to Emily and drove home, where I packed a small bag before starting on the journey back home, to Charlotte.

Damn, I’d hoped I’d never had to go back there.

There was a reason I hadn't been back since high school, but this was something important.

Please, I thought. Let nothing happen to Dad.

The extent of my worry surprised me a little. My dad and I hadn't been close in quite a while. I could barely remember the times when I loved and respected him like a father without any smudges getting in the way. That had been gone a while ago.

But here I was putting my whole life on hold. On hold, because I knew what I was going to do once I got home. Yeah, I already did work for my dad and his empire, but I also had my separate career. I’d spent time building it, and I was leaving it like it was nothing.

There was no way to know how long this was all going to take. I’d left Jennifer with a lot of work to do, and I’d be immersed in running things for my dad soon. I knew just how much work he had on his plate because I still remembered how he’d stay out late more often than not, and when he did get back, he looked exhausted.