Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [32]
Without giving him a chance to say anything else, Sage went to her car and got in and turned on the ignition. As she pulled out of the driveway, she struggled to get her breathing to normalize. Her gaze darted back to her father. He was standing in the same spot with a look of total shame on his face.
“And you’re sure that I won’t be putting you out?” Sage asked Rose as she followed her down the hallway carrying another box.
Rose looked over her shoulder at her and frowned. “Didn’t we have this same conversation yesterday?”
Sage smiled weakly. “Yes, but I was making sure you hadn’t changed your mind.”
Rose grinned. “I haven’t changed my mind, but I have ordered new springs for my bed so the next time Mr. Poole comes over the noise won’t disturb you.”
Sage raised her eyes to the ceiling and returned her friend’s grin. “You aren’t going to let me forget that, are you?”
Rose shook her head. “No time soon and it serves you right. But you don’t have to worry about Mr. Poole anymore. He announced to everyone today that he’s leaving.”
Sage nearly dropped the box she was holding. “He’s leaving?”
Rose laughed at her reaction. “Yes, he’s leaving Charlotte but not the Denmark Group. He got this big promotion at the corporate office in California and will be leaving in a few weeks.”
Sage nodded as she set the box down on the bed. Mr. Poole, even with his philandering ways, had been a good boss. Glancing over at Rose and seeing the satisfied smirk on her face, Sage could only assume that Rose felt the same way and probably had an entirely different definition of the word good when it came to Mr. Poole. “I hate to admit it, but I’m going to miss him.”
“Umm, so am I,” Rose said, smiling broadly and daring her to comment.
Sage had learned her lesson and had nothing to say on that subject, but did ask, “Was it also announced who would be taking his place?”
Rose shrugged. “No, but I figured it will be someone who can keep his pants zipped. Although Mr. Poole got a promotion out of this, I think transferring him to the corporate office was a way to keep him in line.”
Sage thought what Rose said was probably true. “I’ll be staying at the hotel again for the next two nights,” she suddenly thought to remind Rose.
Rose nodded. “Did your parents lay a guilt trip on you for breaking your engagement to Erol?”
Sage shook her head. “No, not exactly, but although they admitted he acted irresponsibly, it’s obvious that they feel it’s something we can work out. However, I assured them it’s not.” She sighed, having no desire to go there with her parents, and Erol’s parents had been just as bad. They had called her earlier at the apartment when she’d gone back to get some more of her things. She was glad Erol hadn’t been there that time, but a part of her had resented him for getting his parents involved. And she knew they had spoken to her parents as well.
Sage couldn’t understand why everyone felt she should forgive and forget. Evidently no one they’d ever trusted had wiped them clean of over fifty thousand dollars.
“So, what do you plan to do for dinner,” Rose asked, breaking into her thoughts.
Sage remembered what she’d discovered yesterday while dining at the hotel restaurant and quickly decided she didn’t want to eat there again tonight. “Why? What do you have in mind?”
Rose smiled. “I thought that maybe the two of us could go somewhere and enjoy a really nice meal.”
Sage nodded and agreed. “That sounds nice, and I’d really like that.”
“Sage?”
Sage turned before stepping onto the elevator that would take her up to her hotel room. She watched as her father crossed the lobby to her. She hadn’t seen him when she had entered the hotel, and coincidentally, he had been sitting on the same sofa she had occupied for over three hours the night before.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” she asked when he came to stand in front of her. She tried not to notice just how tired and worn out he looked. She quickly dismissed the tired and worn look for one of