Chapter 12 #2
They fed each other strawberries and talked until they finally fell asleep, but early in the pre-dawn morning, she woke up suddenly from a dream that left her feeling anxious.
It was a work dream. They were caused by stress and usually ruined her sleep.
It was the first she’d had since they left the city.
It took a while for the anxiety to die down, and it was impossible to sleep after. Once it had been brought to mind, she couldn’t help thinking about her situation. So much work wasted if she left, but… was Edward ever going to follow through? Carter had probably been right about him.
She lay there in the dark, turning over options until finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Taking care not to wake her husband, she slid out of bed and tiptoed across the room to grab her laptop out of her bag. She took it into the bathroom and closed the door.
Logging in with the ranch’s Wi-Fi was easy enough.
She scrolled through her email out of habit more than anything.
It had been over a week, and the messages had piled up.
As always, there were plenty from work that she should probably deal with—but she was on vacation, and she knew Carter would be annoyed if she did.
But she couldn’t help looking, especially when she noticed the subject lines getting more and more agitated as she scrolled down the list. If the aggressive punctuation was any indication, her office had been desperately trying to reach her.
Info Needed!!!!!
Please reply immediately!!!!
DO YOU WANT TO BE FIRED?!?!
On Carter’s orders, she’d set her phone to DND for everyone except for him. Without the notifications popping up, it had been easy to ignore work calls and texts. She didn’t even want to know how many would be waiting by now, but at some point, they’d switched to emailing her.
She hesitated and opened the first email, scanning it quickly, then the second, and on down the list. She didn’t reply to any of them, but her hands were shaking long before she got to the bottom. The urge to slam her laptop shut and throw it out the window was strong.
They weren’t all from Edward. Some had been from her team, and those she was tempted to answer. After all, it wasn’t their fault this had all been dumped on them. But then she remembered the bathroom conversation, and it left her feeling petty.
Petty enough that when she reached the last email and was confronted with a long vicious rant from Edward, she decided she was done. Entirely done with him, the team, and the company too. He’d questioned her professional behavior, her skills, and even her intelligence.
She forwarded his email to HR along with a short note, and then she shut off the computer and went back to bed. To her surprise, she did eventually sleep a little more. Maybe doing something about her situation had helped release the stress so her body could relax.
The next morning, they were still sleeping when there was a knock on the door.
Allegra rolled over to watch as Carter grabbed a robe and pulled the breakfast cart inside.
It was beautifully decorated. Fully as nice as any room service she’d seen at a fancy hotel.
There was even a bouquet of cut flowers in a crystal vase.
“It’s really hard to believe this is a working ranch, when they roll up with five-star service like this,” Carter commented. “Someone said they have a chef who went to the Cordon Bleu.”
“Seriously?” She shook her head, sitting up and scootching back against the padded headboard. “This place is such a weird mix. The amenities are amazing… but you have to break your back before you can use them.”
Carter laughed as he slid a tray in front of her. “It works though. The fees are high and most of the guests are probably rich. I think there’d be more tantrums about having to get their hands dirty if they didn’t get pampered a little too.”
She’d begun to eat before he even got back in bed with his own tray.
It was just too good to wait, and with her mouth full, she mumbled, “I guess.” She was quiet while they ate, thinking about the dream that had ruined her sleep, and the emails.
By the time her plate was empty, she’d made a decision.
“I’ve got something to tell you,” Ally said, finally.
“Oh?” Something about her tone must have alerted him, because he put his fork down and looked at her. “Everything okay?”
She shook her head silently and scooted closer to rest her head on his shoulder.
It was easier not to see his face when she explained.
“Some things happened at work that I didn’t tell you about.
” When he didn’t say anything, she made herself continue.
“I needed time to figure things out myself, and I knew you’d want to help if I told you. ”
“And have you figured it out?”
“Yes, I think I finally have. I hate my job.”
He chuckled. “Sweetheart, that’s not a secret.” One arm went around her waist snugging her close.
“Yeah, that wasn’t what I needed to tell you.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “After you talked to Edward …” It was easier than she expected to share the whole story with him. What she’d overheard in the bathroom, how her boss had been demolishing her reputation.
“He’s stepped well over the line of appropriate. This is into lawsuit territory,” Carter said when she was done. There was a tenseness in his body and a harsh note to his voice.
“Are … you mad at me?” She’d been feeling guilty about not telling him. The ranch kept them busy enough that work hadn’t entered her thoughts often, but every time they did, she thought about how she should have told him. His open honesty about his past had probably added to that.
“Mad at you?” He pushed the trays away and pulled her into his lap. “None of this is your fault, sweetheart. This is all on him.”
“I know but we were starting over with a clean slate, and we were going to communicate more and not hide stuff. And I didn’t-didn’t…” She stammered to a stop, realizing that her vision had gone blurry with tears.
“You didn’t what?”
“I-I didn’t want to keep it from you, but I felt like you would have stepped in.”
Carter barked a laugh. “Oh, you could bet on that, Ally. I would have gone down in person for that one. No one is going to spread rumors like that about my wife, just to save his own ass.”
“See!” she blurted. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.
” He was quiet, letting long seconds pass as she worried about upsetting him.
Finally, she had to say something. “I love it that you’re protective, and as my Daddy you’re supposed to be.
I know. It’s just that I would never have felt right about whatever happened next, if it wasn’t my decision. ”
“I get it.” His arms tightened around her. “We obviously still need to work on our communication; luckily we have another week here for that.”
She frowned. “Wait. I thought we had two weeks left?”
He shrugged and offered her a grin. “We do, but I booked the third week separate. It’s not part of their couple’s program. No work, just fun and rest. I figured you’d need it before going back to work.”
“Oh.” Actually, that sounded really great. They could ride and swim and enjoy the food, without having to rake stalls and shovel horse crap. Definitely a win. “You could have led with that when you were trying to convince me to do this.”
Allegra shook her head and forced herself back to the point. “Anyway, about the going back to work thing … I, um, may have quit this morning.” Of course that meant explaining about the emails and then getting out the laptop to show him.
In the end he gave her a tight hug. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You handled it perfectly and I … maybe I should have let you handle it in the first place.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and then finally shook her head. “Honestly … I probably would have just kept going along with his bullshit. It wasn’t until we got here that I was able to get my head right. So, thank you for helping me.”
“I just couldn’t stand to see you sinking.
And, I’d say I won’t step in again, but if you hadn’t already quit, I’d probably be on the phone with my lawyers right now.
Not just for you either, Ally, but for all the other people he’s going to lure into the same trap.
You have to stop people like that when you can. ”
“Is it weird that I love you being protective, but I’m also glad that I handled the final decision on my own?” It felt like there was a conflict there.
“No, not weird. But in the future, maybe you can tell me the problem, but also ask for time to handle it yourself? If I know that you’re able to actively work on an issue I think it’s going to be easier for me to sit back and wait.”
“Yes, Daddy. I can do that.” Well, she’d try.
“We really are getting better at the communication thing.” He kissed her forehead.
She laughed and tipped her head back so his next kiss could find her lips instead. After some silent communication, and a lot of squirming, they found a way to fill the rest of their free morning.