Chasing Forever (The Forever Series #1)(16)

“I’ll call Martha tomorrow to see if she still has a position at her firm. You can quit today or give notice. It’s your choice. I'll support you.”

She lifted her head from the desk. “No, I’m not going back to Texas. I can’t walk out on this position. I’d ruin my career before it even started.”

“So what? Martha would hire you in a second after you graduate. You don’t need to torture yourself.”

Regan tapped her fingers on her desk. As tempting as running home to her mom sounded, she wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t run away again. If she had any self-respect, she would stick with this until the end, even if it meant seeing him five or more days a week. “No. It’s not bad. Seeing him shocked me, but I’m over it. I should have researched the firm better. I didn’t. Now, I have to deal with it. ”

Her mom sighed. “Don’t be silly. You don’t have to deal with it. You have options.”

“I realize that, but right now I want to stick it out.” She lowered her voice. “I don’t want him to know how bad he hurt me. I can’t run again.”

“Okay.” Her mom relented after a few moments. “From what you told me, Martin and Black is a big firm. You probably won’t see him much and it’s only a couple months,” her mother stated with forced cheer, and she could tell she didn’t believe what she was saying. “You’re strong. You can do this. I believe in you.”

Regan groaned. “That’s the tricky part. He’s my mentor.”

“Oh, Regan,” her mom said, drawing out her name, and she could almost see her mother shaking her head in disapproval. “I know you think you have to make this work, but you’re smart, beautiful, and you’ll have a great career with or without Martin and Black. You don’t need to work with him. You don’t have anything to prove.”

“Mom, it was a long time ago,” she said, trying to convince her mom and give herself a little pep talk at the same time because the words sounded false even to her own ears. “I can’t hide anymore. If I stay in San Francisco, I need to get over my past and I’d rather do it now than in five years in a courtroom in front of a judge and jury.”

Her mom sighed. “I don’t like this, but it’s your life. As much as I’d like to, I can’t make your decisions for you.”

Regan rolled her eyes and then noticed the time. “Can I call you later? I need to be at the restaurant in forty-five minutes.”

“All right. Talk to you soon…and Regan?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe you should smudge your office with some sage to clear out the negative energy and replenish it with some positive healing energy. I think it would really help.”

Regan burst out laughing. Her mother embraced every alternative healing and spiritual practice she could get her hands on. She could imagine what the partners would think if she waved a burning hunk of pot-like smelling sage in her office, possibly setting off the smoke alarms in the process. “I think I’ll take my chances.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, I’ll send you some information on performing a smudging ceremony.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“If you need me, you can call anytime. I’ll always be there for you.”

She knew it. “Bye,” she said, smiling as she disconnected her phone.





Chapter Eight




“Table eight asked for the desert menu,” Parker said.

Regan barely looked up from her phone. She’d been responding to random emails all night. She hadn’t seen Lucas in person in over two weeks, which didn’t bother her in the least. Well, that wasn’t totally true. She saw him from a distance in the hallway twice and once when she walked by his office. Lucas’s preferred method of communication, via email, suited her just fine. It saved her from falling victim to his perfectly dimpled smile, not that that would happen again…ever. She’d been bitten by Lucas’s charm once and she considered herself impervious to all of his machinations.

“I’m on it,” Regan responded distractedly, barely looking up from her phone as she grabbed two dessert menus.

“You know, if you keep staring at your phone and ignoring your tables, you’ll barely have any tips to show for your time, and you promised to buy me a drink after our shift ends.” Parker grinned at her.

She liked Parker. They went to law school together and most of her female classmates admired his golden blond hair and friendly blue eyes. She did too. It was hard not to, but she didn’t have time for a relationship now. She was focused on building her career.

“Oh shit. I forgot about that,” she said over her shoulder as she hurried to table eight.

“The answer’s no,” Parker shot back.

She handed the menus to the couple at table eight and walked back to Parker. “What do you mean the answer’s no?”

Parker tapped her on her nose. “No, you’re not pushing it off until next week again.” He snatched her phone from her front pocket and opened her email. “You can tell,” he scrolled through her phone, “Lucas Evanston of Martin and Black that you have other things to do than respond to his emails all night.” He handed her phone back to her.

She laughed. “Hey, I think you just invaded my right to privacy.”