27. Chapter 26 Katrina
M ay 2024
“Kat!” Nadine grins brightly at me as I approach her desk. She stands to greet me with a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming in today. I thought the meeting was going to be virtual.”
I shrug, not knowing what else to say. “He emailed me last night asking me to come in for it. I had to get up ridiculously early to make it on time, because of course he isn’t going to push back his next meeting.”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course not. That meeting is his weekly chance to gossip and get drunk on a golf course.”
I stifle my laughter behind my hand, smiling at Liam as he passes by on his phone. I note the way their eyes track each other’s movements, clearly aware of where each other is in a room. “Have things not gotten better between you?”
She sighs, sitting back down as I lean against her desk. “You know when people make a joke that’s stupid, and then they apologize for it but can’t seem to get over it themselves?”
“And end up making a bigger deal out of nothing because they’re so worried about messing up again?” She nods in confirmation, and I groan. “No, I thought Liam was better than that.”
Her gaze drifts in the direction he just went, even though he’s long gone. “He is. I just don’t know if he knows what he’s doing. I’ve tried talking to him about it, but that’s a conversation he’s avoiding like the plague.”
It’s surprising to know that Liam doesn’t seem receptive to the conversation Nadine wants to have with him. Maybe he’s worried he’ll end up sticking his foot in his mouth, but he’s already doing it. I’d had the same conversation with Will when we first started the whole I know I’m fat, so stop acting like I’m not , but he’d taken it the complete opposite direction, making pointed, negative comments about my curves. Liam, I think, is strictly in the world where he thinks the word “fat” is bad and should be avoided.
Which isn’t his decision to make.
“So, tell me how Columbia’s treating you!” Nadine leans toward me on her desk. “I can’t believe you’re dating an Olympic swimmer. I looked him up; he’s cute!”
Unable to hide my grin, my cheeks flush, and I duck my head. “Yeah, he’s something special. A lot different from my previous relationship.”
“Oh, Kat,” she breathes out. When I look up at her, she’s beaming back at me like I’d just told her something amazing. “I’m so happy you’ve found someone like that. I could tell the moment you walked in, you are in love.”
“Whoa.” I laugh, shaking my head. “We’ve been together a couple of weeks. No one said anything about love. Calm down.”
Her grin is knowing. “But you’re falling, aren’t you?” Her phone rings before I can answer, and she rolls her eyes, reaching for it. “Yes, Mr. Dalton?”
I stand a little straighter, glancing at the clock on the wall behind her. I’m still five minutes early, and as I listen to Nadine’s side of the conversation, I know Thomas wants me to come in as soon as I get here. I’m already heading toward his closed office when Nadine waves me away.
I knock on Thomas’s door once before pushing it open. He waves me in without looking up, so I move into the room before closing the door behind me. He hasn’t said a single word or even looked up by the time I settle into a chair across from him.
I clear my throat. “So, you wanted to see me?”
He holds a hand up before the sentence fully leaves my mouth. Chastised, and confused as to why I needed to come right in, I sink back in my chair and wait for him to finish whatever it is he’s working on. I try to distract myself by looking around his office, a room I’ve barely ever been in, but there’s nothing to focus on. It’s completely void of life and looks staged right down to the dusty fake Ficus in the corner.
When I was a kid, I wondered if my mom had married a robot. As a fully grown, rational adult woman, the thought passes through my mind again.
“Thank you for coming in, Katrina,” Thomas finally says about ten minutes later. He closes the laptop, steepling his fingers together on top of his desk. “We need to discuss the project you’ve been working on.”
My brows furrow. “Sure, of course,” I reply, trying to recall the details from my last email. “The pool installation is on track to be done this week—that’s for the inside pool. We ran into some issues with the wiring—”
His hand goes back up again, silencing me. “I’ve been receiving your email updates, Katrina. This meeting is not one for you to talk in. You need to sit and listen. Do you understand?”
He raises a brow as though he’s ready for me to challenge him, but I’m too stunned to say anything. If he’s happy with my reports, why am I here? So, I just wait for this to make sense.
“I’m taking you off the project.”
Immediately, I’m sitting up straight again. “I’m sorry, you’re what?”
“Taking you off the project,” he calmly repeats. “You’ll finish this week out and have the weekend to clear out your rental. I expect you back in the office by Monday morning.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense! I’m on track, under budget, and the clients are happy with my work. You even said you were pleased with my reports. Why would you take me off the project now? It’s halfway done!”
“Stop getting emotional. This is just business.”
“No, it’s personal,” I shoot back. “This is you refusing to take me seriously. What’s going to happen? I did half the work and now you can hand it over to Brent or Chad, and they’ll take the credit?”
Thomas rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “This isn’t about credit. You’ve grown too close and, unsurprisingly, you’ve become too emotionally invested in this place and these people.”
My frown deepens. “What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve always been too emotional.” He peers at me over his glasses. “Now you’re helping a client’s girlfriend fix up a house for free—”
“I am doing that in my free time as a favor to a friend. I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”
Thomas glares at me, peeved over being interrupted. “You’re not acting like yourself, Katrina. Arguing with Will, spending all your free time with clients, refusing to answer your boyfriend’s calls.”
“Will and I broke up, Thomas.” I keep my tone even, not letting my anger bubble over any more than it already has. Not only that, but Will hasn’t reached out to me once. “I’m dating someone else now and am under no obligation to answer any attempted communication from Will.”
“That’s just ridiculous.” Thomas waves me off. “Why would you end a perfectly healthy relationship?”
“Because it wasn’t healthy.” He scoffs, but I keep going. “I ended things because he did something horrible and he has no regrets about it. I ended it because he spent two years treating me like shit and has no regrets about it. He doesn’t care who he hurts to get where he wants to be. I don’t want to be with someone like that.”
“Will has goals, ambition. You should want someone like that,” he stresses. “Someone who can pick up your slack when you fall short, which you often do.”
The words ring in my ear, the meaning behind it more evident than ever: I will never be good enough for him. For most of my life, that’s really bothered me, but lately, I’ve found myself caring less and less. I don’t need to stick around people who make me feel like shit about myself.
“I don’t feel like doing this, Thomas,” I admit. “I’ve spent my whole life justifying who I am to you, and I’m sick of it. Why don’t we just acknowledge the truth you never wanted to own up to? You never wanted to be a father, and I’m nothing but a disappointment to you.”
Thomas stares back blankly but doesn’t argue. The words settle around us before he speaks again. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, let’s move on to the reason you’re here.”
It’s the only answer I’ll ever need, and it tells me everything I need to know.
Nodding, I cross one leg over the other and lean forward. “Sure. You’ll need to find someone else to finish the project for Bryce and Carter, because it’s not going to be me.”
“At least you see sense on that. I’ll assign it to one of the guys, and I’ll see you in the office on Monday morning.”
“No, I think I’ll just do it now.” I stand, bag in hand. “No use delaying it.”
Thomas peers at me over his glasses again. “Do what now, Katrina?”
“Get a file on the project ready and clean out my desk.” I’m amazed that I don’t hear a single waver in my voice. “Have everything squared away so I can quit in peace.”
I’ve never seen Thomas look so shocked before. I almost want to grab my phone and take a picture.
“What are you talking about?”
“I quit,” I explain patiently. “When I leave today, I’m not coming back.”
“You can’t quit,” he scoffs. “I hired you because your mother wanted me to.”
“And I’m quitting because I want to. You no longer need to feel any sense of loyalty to me. I’m not an idiot, Thomas; I know you never wanted me. Here or in general.”
“Now that is not true. I gave you everything you could have needed. You wanted for nothing.”
“Except acceptance and love. All the things you gave me, they never came out of the kindness of your heart or because you cared. You did them because they were expected of you.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose, a sure sign I’m driving him up the wall. “That’s the way life works. You meet the expectations placed in front of you.”
A part of me feels sorry for him because I know that’s all his life has been. He inherited this business and the legacy of a major corporation responsible for building the state. That’s his whole life. The only time he ever looked for more was with my mom, and they’re two emotionally absent people who deserve one another. But I don’t want that kind of life for myself. I want more.
“I’ve spent my whole life being told who I am and who I should be, but not anymore. I’m not feeling like I need to justify my choices to anyone, so I quit.”
His frown causes a crease across his forehead. “Your mother is going to be so disappointed.”
I grin. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
For the first time in my life, I have the last word with my stepfather and step out of his office; the door swinging shut behind me. I take a few deep breaths, letting my new reality settle in before I head back to Nadine’s desk.
“What’s going on?” she questions, looking up at me from her computer with wide eyes. “Thomas just told me to collect your badge on your way out.”
“I need to put together a file for whoever takes over the project in Columbia, because I just quit.” Panic crosses her face, and I know what’s she’s worried about. She’s worried about being left alone in this place without another woman to lean on and, if I could, I’d take her with me in a heartbeat, but this is where she needs to be right now. “Are you following me to my desk so I can get everything sorted?”
“I mean, technically, I’m supposed to.” She waves over one of the interns, instructing them to manage the desk while she makes sure I don’t do anything questionable, which gets a snort out of me.
Honestly, what questionable thing could I really do? Especially since I didn’t feel like arson was the best answer.
About twenty minutes later, I’m almost done putting the folder together for whoever is going to take the project over. I knew it wouldn’t take long, my notes are meticulous, and I like to stay organized during a job. Still, I wanted to make sure everything was as clear as possible. More for Carter and Bryce than whoever gets to take credit for most of my hard work.
“Okay, I was able to make to some arrangements for you.”
I glance over at Nadine, who has been busy typing away at her phone and spinning in an office chair, before I look back at my computer. “What kind of arrangements?”
“With the rental you’re staying in.” My stomach drops as I turn to face her again. I hadn’t even thought about needing a place to stay. “Obviously, there’s no way Thomas will continue to let you stay on company funds, but it’s also not our property. I talked to the landlord, who has had zero issues with you as a tenant, and she’s willing to let you take over the remainder of the agreement.”
“And how much is it?”
“Sixteen hundred a month with everything included,” Nadine replies, scrolling on her phone. “This month has already been paid for, which Thomas will not be getting back, so she says you’re covered. The remaining balance through September is about sixty-five hundred. She said you can terminate anytime.”
It’s less than what I’m paying Thomas and my mother a month for the guest house, which I’m surely vacating now. It’s not ideal since I don’t have a job, but I have enough in savings to manage the difference. “Tell her I’ll take it.”
Nadine nods, her fingers flying across the screen again as I wrap up the project file and send it off to Liam to hand over to whoever needs it. About five minutes after the email goes through, Liam is at my desk, his eyes practically bugging out of his head when he sees me packing things into the boxes Nadine has found.
“I can’t believe you actually quit,” he admits, pulling me into a quick hug. He and Nadine exchange a tight smile, confirming further that whatever tension they had is still there.
“She’s a badass.” Nadine smirks, handing me a stack of books I kept in my desk for when my days got boring. Like I told Carter, Thomas didn’t trust me to do much. “What’s your boyfriend going to think about all this?”
I stop, books held in midair at her question. I hadn’t really thought about that, yet. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw me a party.”
“I’m considering throwing you a party,” Liam says, leaning against my desk. “What’s next?”
I shoot off a message to the whole group:
I know I should text Carter separately, but I need to get a move on before I get kicked out. I’m officially unemployed. I’ll explain when I get back to Columbia. Carter, call me when you land.
When I look up, both Nadine and Liam are patiently waiting for an answer. An answer I don’t have.
“I don’t know.” I dump an entire drawer of pens into the box, anxious to get out of here. Word has spread and people are starting to stare at me. “I’ll finish Josie and Bryce’s house and then decide what I want to do from there.”
“You could do that, Kat,” Liam presses. “Those design ideas you sent me are solid. You didn’t even need me to look at them.”
The idea has been tugging at the back of my mind since I made up my mind to quit. Now Liam’s brought it to the forefront, where I’ll be harder to shake off. I glance around my desk. The last eight years at this job fit into a box and a half. I’m not even sad to walk away.
“I’m going to take some time, figure things out,” I explain, hoisting the heavier box into my arms. “I’ll figure it out after the Olympics. Nadine, are you walking me to my car?”
She nods, grabbing the last box. I give Liam another quick hug before I walk away from my now-empty desk. The only proof that I was ever there is an overly posed photo of me, my mother, Thomas, and Will. It’s all fake smiles and picture-perfect family. I hated that picture with every fiber of my being, but it felt like something that needed to be there. Like I should have a personal memento. I’m happy to leave it behind.