Read Online Broken Ground: (Broken Series Book 1) by Anna Paige - Free Book Online
Authors: Anna Paige
Tags: Romance
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call from GFS this morning." She stated blandly.
My heart sank at the mention of her D.C. employer. What if they wanted her to come back? Would she go now and leave me here alone for the rest of the summer? Shit. Despite my panic, I managed a steady voice. "Oh yeah? What did they say?"
Her arms crossed again, fists balled up on either side of her torso. "They informed me that I was expected to attend the upcoming gala the company is hosting. I was the head of the committee who arranged the partnership with the charity, and I'm required to be there."
I wasn't sure I understood her distress. "I take it you don't want to go." More of a question than a statement but it was pretty obvious from her reaction.
She blew out a breath. "I don't know. Outreach Hospice, the charity being benefitted, has been a passion of mine for years. It's not that I don't believe in the cause. I do, more than I can even express, but everyone in my department will be in attendance. Including my ex, Keith." She virtually spat the name, and I got an icy cold feeling on the back of my neck that told me I wasn't going to like what she said next.
Ali blew out a big breath and met my eye. "Remember when I told you my reasons for being here weren't entirely altruistic? That I needed a break?"
I nodded and tried to understand the look of shame in her eyes. What could she have possibly done?
"My leave of absence, the one everyone thinks I took to come help my sick friend? The leave of absence came first, two weeks before Teach had his stroke. It was also involuntary and unwarranted."
"Why involuntary?" I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know.
She stood and walked over to the pier, placing her hands on the railing as if she needed the support. "Remember, you asked." I kept quiet, and she went on. "When I finished college and immediately got hired on at GFS, the biggest marketing company in the Northeast, I was ecstatic. It was a crappy low-level job, but I knew I'd earn my way to a better position. What made it the most exciting was that my college boyfriend, Keith, had been hired on as well. We had these big plans for the future, both of us ambitious and dedicated. We enjoyed working together for the first few years, even though we were technically in different departments." She paused for a moment to rub her hands over her arms as if she were chilled. "Then the CMO position was posted and everything changed. We were both recommended by our department heads and, at first, it was a joke between us. We even planned a vacation to celebrate the promotion, no matter which of us got it."
"As the date of the announcement approached, his attitude changed, became hostile and mocking. The people in the office even treated me differently. I couldn't understand it. He and I had our problems, but he hadn't ever been outright mean to me. I just couldn't figure it out."
I felt myself tensing at the thought of him mistreating her but said nothing. It wasn't as if I'd have known what to say anyway.
"When the announcement came, I was elated. I had worked my ass off from day one, sometimes seventy hours a week, and I felt I deserved it. Keith didn't see it that way. There was a huge argument, and we ended up parting ways soon after." She stopped for a minute, looking far away. "I thought it was over, that his hateful attitude wasn't my problem anymore. But I was wrong. He spread rumors about our break up, made me out to be some kind of corporate shrew, swore most of the work I'd turned in was stolen from him, told co-workers that I'd aborted his baby against his wishes because it didn't fit into my career plans. That one was my favorite. He played it off like he was devastated. There was never any baby. We barely even looked at each other the last year we were together between work and social obligations." There was something in her voice that went beyond mere anger.
"Jesus. How did you respond?"
"I didn't. I decided people were going to believe what they wanted, and
My heart sank at the mention of her D.C. employer. What if they wanted her to come back? Would she go now and leave me here alone for the rest of the summer? Shit. Despite my panic, I managed a steady voice. "Oh yeah? What did they say?"
Her arms crossed again, fists balled up on either side of her torso. "They informed me that I was expected to attend the upcoming gala the company is hosting. I was the head of the committee who arranged the partnership with the charity, and I'm required to be there."
I wasn't sure I understood her distress. "I take it you don't want to go." More of a question than a statement but it was pretty obvious from her reaction.
She blew out a breath. "I don't know. Outreach Hospice, the charity being benefitted, has been a passion of mine for years. It's not that I don't believe in the cause. I do, more than I can even express, but everyone in my department will be in attendance. Including my ex, Keith." She virtually spat the name, and I got an icy cold feeling on the back of my neck that told me I wasn't going to like what she said next.
Ali blew out a big breath and met my eye. "Remember when I told you my reasons for being here weren't entirely altruistic? That I needed a break?"
I nodded and tried to understand the look of shame in her eyes. What could she have possibly done?
"My leave of absence, the one everyone thinks I took to come help my sick friend? The leave of absence came first, two weeks before Teach had his stroke. It was also involuntary and unwarranted."
"Why involuntary?" I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know.
She stood and walked over to the pier, placing her hands on the railing as if she needed the support. "Remember, you asked." I kept quiet, and she went on. "When I finished college and immediately got hired on at GFS, the biggest marketing company in the Northeast, I was ecstatic. It was a crappy low-level job, but I knew I'd earn my way to a better position. What made it the most exciting was that my college boyfriend, Keith, had been hired on as well. We had these big plans for the future, both of us ambitious and dedicated. We enjoyed working together for the first few years, even though we were technically in different departments." She paused for a moment to rub her hands over her arms as if she were chilled. "Then the CMO position was posted and everything changed. We were both recommended by our department heads and, at first, it was a joke between us. We even planned a vacation to celebrate the promotion, no matter which of us got it."
"As the date of the announcement approached, his attitude changed, became hostile and mocking. The people in the office even treated me differently. I couldn't understand it. He and I had our problems, but he hadn't ever been outright mean to me. I just couldn't figure it out."
I felt myself tensing at the thought of him mistreating her but said nothing. It wasn't as if I'd have known what to say anyway.
"When the announcement came, I was elated. I had worked my ass off from day one, sometimes seventy hours a week, and I felt I deserved it. Keith didn't see it that way. There was a huge argument, and we ended up parting ways soon after." She stopped for a minute, looking far away. "I thought it was over, that his hateful attitude wasn't my problem anymore. But I was wrong. He spread rumors about our break up, made me out to be some kind of corporate shrew, swore most of the work I'd turned in was stolen from him, told co-workers that I'd aborted his baby against his wishes because it didn't fit into my career plans. That one was my favorite. He played it off like he was devastated. There was never any baby. We barely even looked at each other the last year we were together between work and social obligations." There was something in her voice that went beyond mere anger.
"Jesus. How did you respond?"
"I didn't. I decided people were going to believe what they wanted, and
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