A Fortunate Arrangement. Nancy Robards Thompson

it intact and he’d learned a lot about himself and life. Yes, he would be fine on his own, but he didn’t want to lose her.

      “If they can’t create a position for me, I’d like to stay until after graduation, and as I said in my letter, I’ll stay until we find my replacement.”

      Maybe if he didn’t find someone new, she wouldn’t go. It would be like waiting for tomorrow. Did tomorrow ever really come?

      “I’ll tell you what. I’m having dinner with Miles tonight. I’ll broach the subject with him and let you know what he says. Sound good? You won’t quit on me before you let me figure something out, right?”

      * * *

       How am I supposed to get by without you, Felicity?

      If she was a silly woman, Felicity would’ve let herself read so much into that question. But true to form, she had already overthought it, turning it round and round in her mind, examining it from every angle until it had completely lost its shape and she’d killed off any dreams that Austin Fortune felt anything for her that wasn’t strictly platonic.

      However, her heart hadn’t gotten the memo from her brain, because her heart thudded in her chest like a drum in a New Orleans funeral procession.

      He’d said get by.

      He didn’t say live without you.

      There was a world of difference between the statements. Like night and day. Love and like. Get by and live without.

      Even so, she couldn’t shake the satisfaction she felt over his reaction to her letter of resignation. Sure, she’d known he wouldn’t be happy, but she hadn’t fathomed that he would react the way he did.

      She stole a glance at Austin through the glass wall that separated his office from her workspace. He was wearing that blue button-down that she liked so much. It contrasted with his dark hair and those soulful brown eyes. Eyes that hypnotized her, that made her lose track of time and occasionally space out and miss what he was saying because she’d been totally transported.

      Her thudding heart slowed, leaving her more breathless and full of longing.

       He acted like I was breaking up with him.

       As if I’d ever break up with him.

       If I ever had him.

       But I never will.

      Why did she have to be in love with her boss?

      Why did he have to dangle the potential of a promotion in front of her? She thought she wanted a clean break, so she could get on with her life and forget about him and this ridiculous crush, but the moment he’d offered to talk to his father, all fresh starts flew out the window.

      Of course, the Fortunes had been so good to her. They were dream employers. The pay and benefits were top-notch. The working conditions were first class.

      She stole another glance at Austin and her ridiculous heart picked up the cadence right where it had left off.

      Felicity knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up. Fortune Investments was a family firm. Austin’s sister Georgia handled public relations for the investment firm. They’d never had to advertise in the true sense of the word—not the kind of advertising Felicity wanted to do. They’d built their business on solid reputation and word of mouth. But even from her position as support staff, she knew the business had grown.

      Maybe they were ready to expand.

      If she got a promotion, it was likely that she’d be in a different department with a different supervisor. Which would mean Austin wouldn’t be her boss anymore—

      Don’t even go there.

      She’d worked with him for almost five years and during that time, it had been all business all the time. What made her think anything would change if she got promoted?

       Yeah, well, a girl can dream.

      Just not on Fortune Investments’ time.

      * * *

      “Did you do it?” Maia Fredericks asked after she let herself in Felicity’s patio door. She didn’t knock. Maia never knocked. Felicity didn’t mind because her friend’s hands were never empty when she came over. This evening, she was carrying a bottle of something that looked like it could be champagne.

      “I did,” Felicity said.

      “Well, how did it go? Don’t keep me waiting.” Maia dislodged the cork on the bottle. Felicity winced at the loud popping sound.

      “You do know you’re not supposed to open champagne that way, right? Besides the possibility of damaging eardrums and putting out someone’s eye, it kills the bubbles and the taste.”

      “This way is more fun,” Maia said, helping herself to two flutes from Felicity’s china cabinet. “Besides, it’s not champagne. It’s sparkling rosé.”

      “Same principle,” Felicity said. “Haven’t you heard the saying, the ear’s gain is the palate’s loss?”

      Maia made a face and waved away her words with a flippant flick of her hand. “You gave your notice. We’re celebrating, and I wanted to start the night off with a bang. How did he take the news?”

      Felicity shrugged. “He took it about as well as you might expect.”

      Maia handed Felicity a glass of sparkling rosé.

      Felicity couldn’t suppress a smile thinking about how upset he’d been by the news.

       How am I supposed to get by without you, Felicity?

      Did she dare tell Maia what he said? One of two things would happen: her friend would either point out what Felicity already knew—it wasn’t personal. It simply meant that she was good at her job. Or she would read way too much into it and try to tempt Felicity into abandoning her common sense about where she stood with Austin Fortune.

      Either way, this little nugget was best kept bottled up. Because much like the sparkling wine Maia had brought over to help her celebrate, once the feeling was uncorked, it wouldn’t be long before the harsh reality made it flat and unpalatable.

      Actually, that was Felicity’s view on romance in general. Once romance was set in motion, it was as if a clock started ticking, counting down toward the inevitable end.

      Instead of letting the air out of her giddy feeling, she sipped her drink and closed her eyes, savoring the bubbles that tickled her nose.

      “What exactly does that mean?” Maia asked. “The guy has his good days and he has his beastly days. Which was this? Was he Mr. Wonderful or was he the Beast?”

      Maia knew way too much about Felicity’s unrequited crush on her boss. The two women were next-door neighbors, each owning half of a double shotgun-style home that had been converted into two units. They had become fast friends that cool February evening when Felicity moved in and Maia, bearing a casserole of red beans and rice and a bottle of zinfandel, had knocked on Felicity’s door and introduced herself.

      Felicity had invited her in and amid a maze of boxes, they’d bonded as they feasted on the dinner and wine.

      Four years later, they shared more than a common interior wall and communal outdoor space. Maia was so easy to talk to that Felicity constantly found herself confiding secrets that in the past she would’ve never entrusted to anyone. Secrets such as the big honking crush she’d had on Austin since the day he’d hired her.

      “Austin was...Austin.” She shrugged. “He was all business, as usual.”

      Maia didn’t just frown, she looked outraged. “What? He just said okay and was fine with letting you walk out of his life forever?”

      “I gave my notice. I didn’t ask him for a divorce.”