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Three Broken Promises

Three Broken Promises (One Week Girlfriend #3)(49)
Author: Monica Murphy

“What’s up?” she asks the moment I sit. She looks agitated, nervous, her knee bouncing up and down in quick, rhythmic succession.

“I have a proposition for you.” I lean my forearms on top of my desk and study her, thinking for about the millionth time how damn beautiful she is. “And I’m hoping you’ll say yes.”

She lifts her brows. “What sort of proposition are you talking about?”

“Well, you know how I’m opening the Redding location, right?” It’s only about ninety minutes north of here, a city of about one hundred thousand residents who love their chain restaurants. I know The District will do great there.

“Right.”

“I need someone to help me run it. And I’d like that person to be you.” I pause, letting my words sink in.

Jen stares at me, her mouth dropping open, her eyes going wide. “You’re serious.”

“Absolutely. This keeps you nearby. Actually brings you closer to your parents, though I’m not sure if you care about that part or not.”

She’s quiet for a moment, her head bent, as if absorbing what I’ve asked her. Blowing out a harsh breath, she glances up, her gaze meeting mine. “Colin, I really appreciate the offer, but . . .”

“Don’t say no,” I interrupt, my heart racing at the realization that she’s going to turn me down. I know she is. I can feel it in my bones. “I know you refused my earlier offer of helping out in the office here and I get it. You want to get away from me.”

She doesn’t confirm or deny my statement, which hurts. And makes me feel like a pu**y. Instead of dwelling on my feelings, I forge on.

“You’re perfect for the position—you just need a little training, and I can do that. You’ve worked in the restaurant industry for years and you like to take charge. You’re efficient, organized, and everyone looks up to you here as a sort of peacekeeper. You manage the floor without me even asking you to and you do it so naturally.”

Her eyes widen with surprise. Did she not realize I notice everything about her? How strong she is, what a tremendous asset she is to my business? I not only care about this woman, I admire the hell out of her.

“I need you, Jen. I need you to help me run that location and it has nothing to do with our personal relationship. I swear it.”

She’s slowly shaking her head, disbelief written all over her pretty face. “I have zero experience running an entire restaurant. You know this. The idea . . . scares the crap out of me.”

I wave my hand. “Whatever you need to know, I can teach you. You learn quickly. You’re meticulous and you care. I know you won’t screw me over or let the place fail. You’re loyal to a fault, and that’s hard to find in an employee.”

“I—I don’t know how to manage people, Colin.” She’s in denial. It’s her best skill in the place. “It would be such a huge responsibility . . . and I feel like you’re offering it to me only so you can keep me close.” Her gaze goes hard, as if she just figured me all out and doesn’t like what she sees. “And Redding is even farther north—and farther away from Sacramento.”

“It’s close to here,” I point out.

“Close to you,” she corrects. “That’s it, right? You’re trying to keep me close to you? Why?”

This is my chance. I can tell her how I feel about her. I realized after she was attacked last night how much I care for her. How much I don’t want her to leave. This is the moment when I can completely change my life forever.

Nerves jump in my gut like little fish jumping in the middle of an otherwise calm lake and I open my mouth, ready to launch into the speech I’ve been preparing since late last night. “Jen, I need to tell you—”

A rapid knock sounds on my open office door and I glance up to see my goddamn dad standing in the doorway. “Hey,” I say irritably, pissed that he’s interrupted us.

“Hey, son, got a minute to talk?” He strides into the room as if he owns it, flashing a brief smile in Jen’s direction. “You understand, don’t you, honey?”

“Sure. Of course.” She stands, tugging on the hem of her dress self-consciously, her surprised, slightly irritated gaze going to mine briefly before looking away.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I tell her as she starts toward the door, but she doesn’t look back once. Her shoulders are stiff, her back ramrod straight. She looks . . . mad.

I wonder what the hell I could have done to offend her. I make her an amazing offer and she’s pissed? I don’t get it.

My dad rushes to the door the second Jen exits the room and shuts it, turning the lock with a loud click. He turns to look at me, his hands on his hips. “What the hell are you doing?”

I’m taken aback by the hostile tone of his voice. “What do you mean?”

“Offering that little floozy waitress of yours a manager position? Are you crazy? How old is she? Nineteen?”

“She’s twenty-two, not that it’s any of your business. And you gave me a f**king restaurant when I was only nineteen,” I point out. He’d done so out of guilt, and maybe I was doing the same, but damn it, I know Jen is capable. I wish she could see how amazing she is.

“That was different. You’re my son.” He settles into the very chair Jen just vacated, crossing his leg over his opposite knee. “This is just some little girl you’re messing around with. She doesn’t know the first thing about running a restaurant.”

“Don’t call her that,” I bite out. “She means something to me. I know you don’t understand that sort of thing what with your lack of a heart and all, but I care about her.”

“What do you mean, my lack of a heart? Oh, I get it.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “I’m sure your mom goes on and on about what a heartless bastard I am, right?”

I ignore what he says. This isn’t about my parents. I don’t want to talk about my mom. “How the hell do you know anything about Jen anyway? You’ve never spent any time with her, let alone worked with her.”

“I know because I’ve done a little research.” The smirk on his face is aggravating as f**k. Smug and knowing, all at once. “I found out your Jennifer Cade has a little secret.”

Dread settles over me, my gut sinking. “What are you talking about?”

“You were wrong, son. She wasn’t just a stripper at that shitty little club. A real popular one, too, not that I’m surprised.” He smiles, looking again like the very shark that he is. “She’s also a dirty little whore.”

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