That was Vic’s policy for dealing with Abigail at events—thank her once and praise her twice.
“I wanted to introduce you to two of our promising interns.” Abigail turned to the young women. “This is Victoria Woodley. She’s one of our best and brightest, and she’s about to be promoted to supervisor. The two of you will be working for her. Victoria, this is Kayla Adams and Ashley Harris.”
Vic shook their hands. She’d been an intern once, too, and had felt so out of place trying to mingle with people who had real jobs. She gave them a warm smile, hoping to put them at ease. “Welcome to Jensen West. We’re happy to have you with us.”
She asked them a few questions—where they went to school, why they were going into public relations, where they hoped to end up one day. Their answers were as bland as their facial expressions. After a few minutes of this, she excused herself and started off toward the hors d’oeuvres.
“What a stuck-up bitch,” said Kayla. “I don’t want to work for her.”
“Her boobs are probably fake,” Ashley said.
Stunned, Vic turned back to face them. “Excuse me?”
She was used to a little backstabbing. That was just part of corporate life. But what had she done to provoke this?
They stared at her wide-eyed, their faces going white.
She opened her mouth to tell them off but was interrupted by a single thought.
You don’t belong here anymore.
The words blazed across her mind, bright and crystal clear.
And suddenly it all seemed so obvious.
How could she have been so stupid?
She should be in Scarlet Springs with her best friend and the man she loved. She shouldn’t be here, where no one truly cared about her. She’d rather risk everything for a chance at happiness with him than waste another moment of her life here. If that was a mistake, so be it.
She realized the two interns were now babbling excuses and apologies. She cut across them. “You’re not going to get anywhere in the business world with that kind of attitude. And, by the way, my boobs are real.”
People were staring now.
Vic didn’t care.
She made her way over to Abigail, cutting her off mid-conversation. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Abigail, but I needed to let you know that I’m resigning, effective right now. I’ll email a letter of resignation as soon as I get home. Jeff worked as hard as I did on the Merced campaign. He deserves the promotion.”
Abigail gaped at her. “What? Has something happened?”
“Yes.” Vic couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I just realized I don’t want to be here any longer. I want tolivemy life, not work it away. I don’t care if it’s a big mistake; I’m moving to Colorado to be with the man who loves me.”
Ignoring Abigail’s stunned expression, she turned and hurried away. She had some calls to make—and, hopefully, a plane to catch.
* * *
Eric satat the bar in Knockers working on his second whiskey. The place was almost empty apart from Joe and his staff—and, well, Hank, who’d just gotten out of jail a few days ago.
“You’re in a fix.” Hank looked over at Eric, sipped his soda. He was on probation, so Joe refused to sell him anything harder. “I never seen you drink like this, Hawke—sitting at the bar by yourself.”
“Yeah?” Well, he’d never been in love before either.
Being in love sucked.
“You got woman troubles. I can tell. That’s the worst kind of trouble for man—not counting being arrested, of course.”
“I suppose it is.”
Hank sipped his Coke. “You want to talk about it? You sure helped me out. If you need a shoulder, I’m here.”