THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Jalen made it a point to arrive two hours earlier than he normally did. He prepared the office for Jassie and tried to tell himself he wasn’t waiting for her to walk into the trailer. But he knew that was a lie. He had taken more care in his appearance, even though he had no off-site meetings today. Bill had called and said he was running late. Jalen insisted the older man take his time.
Jalen was concerned. Bill was always punctual, something Jalen was a stickler about. He hoped the past month’s schedule hadn’t put any unnecessary strain on him. He was always cautious about piling on too much work for him, taking extra work home rather than assigning it to him. Bill was invaluable to him, just like Lucy had been. He couldn’t afford to lose another dedicated employe
