Page 39 of Love is a Game

He nodded. “Yeah, it was a big deal that it happened so fast. But right before they made it official, I realized the law firm wasn’t really a good fit for me.”

“Really? How so?”

“Uh . . .” He rubbed at his chin as he thought about it. “It was a pretty prestigious firm. We dealt with very high-end clients so the partners expected a lot. Everyone there had to be the best of the best, and if you couldn’t keep up, you were out, which resulted in a pretty cutthroat environment.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I would have thought you would thrive under those conditions.”

“Oh, I did. That was the problem,” he said, and she was surprised at the seriousness of his tone. “I found out the youngest person to ever make junior partner there was thirty, so I was determined to beat that. It was the golden carrot on a stick, and I did everything I had to in order to get it, didn’t matter who I had to step on along the way. I was pretty ruthless,” he admitted shamefully.

That sounded like the Andrew she remembered.

“So what happened?” she asked. “Was the carrot not as delicious as you imagined?”

“Sort of. That was when Mom got sick. I didn’t know how serious it was at first, and I didn’t want to take time off work to come back here and see her. When I finally did come home, it was clear she wasn’t going to make it. As soon as I realized our time was limited, I started to realize how focused I had been on my job. I’d been calling her less and less, didn’t visit nearly enough. I took a leave of absence to be with her here, and the longer I was away from that environment, the clearer I saw who I had become.” He shrugged. “I knew I couldn’t go back, so I quit. I felt terrible about it, like I was really letting them down, you know? But I found out they replaced me in less than a week. Guess I wasn’t the big hotshot I thought I was.”

This last sentiment hit too close to home and Sadie squirmed. How often had she lain awake at night wondering if she was replaceable? Archer depended on her, maybe too much, but she knew deep down that the company would go on without her. The thought only made her work harder.

“So how did you end up at the library?” she asked, trying to shake free of her own fears.

Andrew chuckled. “Would you believe my own mother forced me into it? I quit my job and moved in with her, thinking I would finally be the devoted son she deserved. Apparently, it was more quality time than she needed.”

Sadie almost choked on her ice cream. “I don’t believe that,” she said, matching his cheeky smile with her own. “I mean, I couldn’t spend all day with you, but—”

He bumped her playfully with his elbow. It was a simple gesture, but his touch caught her off guard. What was more surprising was that she didn’t mind it.

“It was great at first, but I was a recovering workaholic without a job and I think my attention became a little intense. Mrs. Dobbs told their Bible study group that she needed help at the library, so Mom volunteered me. When Dobbs retired a year later, she said the job was mine if I wanted it, so”—he lifted his shoulders—“here I am.”

“And you enjoy it?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, well enough. It was really good for me after Mom passed. Gave me a reason to get out of the house everyday. It’s hard to be sad when you’re stomping around like a T. Rex.”

“I thought you were a velociraptor.”

“I can be a velociraptor, and I can be a T. Rex; I have a wide repertoire of dinosaur impressions. I’m still working on my ankylosaurus but it’s getting better.”

“Wow, I can’t wait to see that one,” she said, laughing. “So is this it for you, then? You’re going to stay here and work at the library?”

He shook his head. “Nah, my days are numbered, I’m afraid. I know the county would like to hire someone more qualified. It sounds like next year there will be money in the budget to hire a second librarian, which is great, but I think that will be my cue to leave.”

“You think they’d let you go?” she asked, surprised.

“I think they would make me the assistant, and after running the library on my own all this time, I just don’t know how I would handle that.”

Sadie snorted. “Probably with your usual grace and humility.”

“I’ll just follow the example you set as VP, shall I? Try to control every meeting and throw a tantrum when everyone else disagrees with my ideas.”

“I did not throw tantrums!” She scowled, but there was something about the twinkle in his dark eyes that made her lips twitch upward.

“Look at that,” he said. “You still have the same angry face. I’ve missed it.”

“Yeah and you have the same smug smile that you’d wear when you convinced everyone to take your side over mine, even though my ideas were always better.”

“That’s debatable.”

“I’m willing to have that debate, any day, anytime.”

“Careful, Shady, if my memory serves me, the last time we debated, I slaughtered you, even though you convinced Mr. Haverman to give me the worst positions.”