He climbed out of the truck, preparing himself for the argument they were about to have. He fumbled with his keys, pushing the front door key into the lock. He twisted it, pushing the door open.
“Where the fuck have you been Chad?”
Chad met her eyes. Lidia had never been easy to live with. He pushed the door closed before pulling his boots off his feet.
“You can go Lid. I’ve got this.”
“Bullshit,” Lidia’s voice spiked. “I covered for you all night. Now you ask for more time and then you can’t even make it home on time.”
“It’s only a half hour.”
“And what’s your point? Last night was only over night. You can’t suck all my time away like this. We agreed mom would live with you.”
Same old Lidia. Chad pushed past her, smiling at his mom.
“Hey Ma.” Chad wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She smiled up at him.
“How did your date go?” His mom peered up at him, raising an eyebrow.
He smiled back at her, “Better than I could have expected.”
“Excuse me,” Lidia interrupted them. “You’re late because of a date? Was that what last night was too? You’re such a dick. You said it was a work thing that was keeping you.”
“Not a complete lie.” Chad looked up at his sister, annoyed he had to explain himself to her and that he had to lie to get a chance for a date with Devyn without having to bring his mother along. “She’s my boss. Technically.”
A cruel expression formed on his sister’s face. “Fucking the boss Chad? What are you trying to sleep your way to the top?”
“Could you please watch your mouth around her?” He gestured to their mother sitting behind them.
“Not like you ever have,” she spat. “I’m outta here. Fuck you. I won’t cover for you again.”
Lidia picked up her bag and slammed the door behind her.
Chad ran his hand over his head, before slumping into the chair beside his mom. A sigh fell from his lips, and he rested his face in his hands.
“How is she?”
His mother's voice pulled him out of his funk. He smiled at the thought of Devyn.
“She’s good. Ma,” Chad started, unable to think of the words to finish his sentence. “I don’t know how to say this. I think she might be the one.”
His face blushed at the words after only a couple dates with her. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with her, but he couldn’t deny the way their chemistry worked off each other. They’re thoughts, actions, everything melted together almost as well as the way their bodies fit together before their almost encounters in bed.
“When you know, you know.”
Chad smiled. “I think I’m in love with her. I’ve barely spent any time with her, but I can’t get her out of my head. She is all I think about. I don’t know what to do.”
“You tell her sweetie.” His mom cupped his chin, tilting his face up toward her. “I want grandchildren before I die.”
“I know Ma.” Chad smiled.
His phone rang, the harsh noise cutting through the quiet moment he was having with his mother. He frowned at the unknown number. He racked his brain trying to figure out who would be calling him from a block number.
“Hold on, Ma, I need to take this,” he said, walking from the room. He unlocked his phone, accepting the incoming call.
“Hello?”
“Why, if it isn’t my favorite managerial candidate,” the voice on the other end purred.
“Alex?”
“The one and only.”
“Why are you calling me?” Chad asked, his anger rising as they spoke.
“To let you know I made a mistake.” She sighed on the other end of the line. “I hired the wrong candidate for manager at Maxi’s. It was silly of me. I tried to believe Ms. Kennedy could handle the job because of her management experience and her degree, but as bad as I hate to say it, I was wrong. She hasn’t been able to handle the most simple of tasks I’ve given her. On top of that, she has been very rude to me when I call for progress updates. I’ve given her until the weekend to get me product from Jamie Ray’s holiday line, but I'm afraid if she doesn't pull through, I’m cutting her. It’s a sad but harsh reality.”
So many emotions rushed through him. He didn’t believe her. There was no way that Devyn would have been rude to the woman who owned Maxi’s. She had to be lying, but why would she have a reason to target Devyn? His brain struggled to keep up, but then he remembered what Devyn said in front of his truck.
I can’t let loose when I have my job on the line.
She hadn’t meant to tell him. She was always so stressed, working more hours than anyone else at the company.
Alex was lying. He was not about to play this game with her. “What are you saying Alex?”
“I wanted to see if Devyn was as good as she made herself out to be. No one can get Jamie Ray’s, so I’m seeing what she is really made of. Truthfully, I wish I would have just hired you. It shouldn’t be long before the job opens back up.”
Chad’s throat went dry and his stomach dropped. Alex was trying to set Devyn up to fail. Of all the time he had spent wishing he had gotten that job, he had never wished Devyn would lose it so he could get it.
“Anyway dear, I have a few meetings to attend. I just thought you should be aware of what was happening. I’ll hear from you soon.”
The line went dead before he could say a word.
14
Devyn wanted to get the day over with. She had a feeling she wouldn’t get what she wanted though because as Chad pulled into the company parking lot a
