Chapter 14 #2
He smirked. "I think the better question is, where were you?"
"At home," I said casually, dropping into the guest chair.
He raised a brow. "You're never late to work."
I shrugged. "I've been helping with demo at the inn."
He rested his elbows on the desk. "Is that all this is, or are you seeing someone?"
I laughed without any humor. "You know I work too much for that. Besides, I don't allow women to stay overnight."
He nodded. "I was just hoping you'd found someone like the rest of us. We'd all be in the same stage of life."
I'd worried about this. Everyone was starting their own families, and I was still single. Would that affect our relationship? It had never bothered me before. "Someone has to hold down the fort."
"Of course. The all-important business. But you know, if you need time, we'd support you."
I shook my head. "I don't need time away from work."
"Right. But if you do—" Hudson persisted.
I stood. "I appreciate the offer. Now get out of my chair."
He chuckled and stood, moving out of my way.
I sank into my seat. "Why are you here?"
He sat across from me. "I wanted to talk about the schedule for the bathrooms."
I powered on my laptop. "Let's get to it."
We talked about the timeline. It was tight but doable, especially if we added another crew and I kept a close eye on it. "Nothing is more important than this job. A lot of people go in and out of that ballroom every year, and they'll know that we did the renovation."
Hudson looked out the window. "Anything would have been an improvement. It was shockingly out of date compared to the venue."
I blew out a breath. "We had to prioritize, and everyone agreed these restrooms were last."
"I'm glad we have you to figure out the scheduling. I get so focused on the job I'm working. I forget about the big picture."
I leaned back in my chair. " I schedule jobs and order materials. I'm a glorified secretary."
He gave me a look. "You know that's not true."
How easy would it be to replace me when he finds out about Aspen? I should be more careful.
He gestured around us. "You're the glue that holds this place together."
"You only say that because you hate paperwork," I said dryly, signing into my computer.
"That much is true. You coming out to the ballroom today?"
"Yeah, let me check emails first," I said, pulling up my account.
"You know we need to hire someone to deal with the extra work. We're so focused on Christmas Town; we're neglecting other avenues of income."
"You're probably right about that. Especially if we get the contract at Hart Inn."
"Not to put one more thing on you, but—" he said with a smirk.
"But get on that?" I asked jovially. More work meant that I was indispensable to these guys, and that's all I wanted to be. I didn't want to be a guy you could just discard even if it felt that way sometimes.
He leaned back in his chair. "Thanksgiving is next week. We're going to get trees on Wednesday. You in?"
"I don't need a tree." My mind wandered to how Aspen enjoyed the holidays. Did she prefer to celebrate it solely with her family, or did she enjoy decorating her place.
I'd toured her place when the work was inspected. We'd added on a four-season room to make the apartment more inviting. And I heard that Aspen had filled it with greenery. Would she want a tree in her space, or would she expect one at my house?
What was I thinking? We weren't dating. She didn't expect anything from me, and that's how I liked it.
Hudson stood. "If you change your mind you're welcome to join the Sterlings cutting down our trees."
It would be a bad idea to go to a family event where Aspen would be. Everyone would know that we'd been intimate. How could they not?
I hated keeping a secret from them. They were my surrogate family. The support system I never had. I couldn't stand it if Maria and Matt were disappointed in me. I'd never forgive myself.
That meant I needed to break things off soon. We were quickly entering the holiday season, and that was a time for couples.
I walked Hudson to the reception area.
"You better keep this guy in line. He's coming in late to work," he said to Shayla.
She smiled. "That's the first time he's come in later than me since I started working here."
I grinned. "See? It was a one-time thing."
He slapped my shoulder. "You'll have to tell me about this late night sometime."
Never going to happen. "There's nothing to know."
He threw us a wave. "See you later."
I sighed as he walked out.
"He's fun." Shayla’s gaze followed him.
Was I not fun? I tried to be the opposite of my father. I wanted to be taken seriously. And somewhere along the way I stopped enjoying life outside of work. Maybe that was why Aspen was okay limiting our relationship. I wasn't someone she could see herself with long-term.
That shouldn't surprise me, and it sure as hell shouldn't hurt. I wasn't supposed to want more for myself. I'd always longed for a steady job. I wanted to feel secure, and I wanted my sister to have a better life. That was my focus.
My relationship with Aspen could blow up everything I'd worked so hard for. Destroy the trust I built with the Sterling family. How far was I willing to go?