Two days, and I want to kill my boss already. This is not good. I need to get a handle on this and find a way to deal with his Kas-hole-ness.

He’s just a man. A man whose opinion of me doesn’t matter.

All I need from him is the paycheck at the end of every week.

I can do this. I’ve handled worse.

I open my eyes, and his smug, handsome face is there, staring back at me.

I force the brightest smile I can onto my lips. “It’s not you I’m trying to wish away. Sorry to have wasted your time. I’ll get back to work now.”

I turn for the door, but his deep voice stops me. “You haven’t told me why you needed the time off.”

Blowing out a breath, I turn my eyes his way. “I had an appointment with my brother’s social worker to discuss me getting custody of him. But it doesn’t matter now.”

I yank open the door and walk through it before he can throw another barb at me.

I run up the stairs, anger and frustration and a bunch of other emotions burning through me.

I get in the bathroom, grab a folded up towel off the shelf, press it to my face, and scream into it.

I hate him!

Hate! Him!

I’ve never had such an instant deep-seated hatred for another human being as I do with Kastor Matis.

Don’t get me wrong; I hate Jason. God, how I hate that bastard. He is the reason I went to prison.

But Kas…he’s just so fucking…mean. And heartless.

He’s…Kas-hole.

I pull the towel away from my face and take in some deep breaths.

When I feel a little calmer, I put the towel back on the shelf. Then, I perch my bum on the edge of the bathtub, curling my fingers around it, and I let my head hang.

I’ve got to call back Anne and tell her that I can’t make the appointment, thus delaying things further with Jesse.

What if she can’t see me again for ages? Or she takes me not making the appointment as a bad thing, thinking I’m unreliable?

I really need to make a good impression, and I can’t do that when I can’t even make the first appointment she’s tried to make with me.

Tears sting my eyes.

Life is so unfair. After everything I’ve been through, I just figured I was due a break.

Apparently not.

I press the heels of my hands to my eyes to curb the tears in them, and I blow out a breath.

When I feel a little more under control of my emotions, I pull my hands away from my eyes, lifting my head, and my heart nearly leaps out of my chest when I see Kas standing in the doorway.

“I’m sorry.” I jump to my feet. “I was just getting back to work.”

His voice stops me. “You can have the time off on Friday.”

Not only am I shocked by his words, but by the sound of his voice as well. It sounds gentle. I’ve never heard him speak that way before. Not even when he apologized earlier.

“Thank you,” I whisper, looking up into his face.

His eyes meet mine. There’s a flicker of something…compassion maybe? But it’s gone as quickly as it arrived.

“But I want you in at seven thirty on Friday and for you to work during your lunch to make up the time.”

“Of course.”

“And, Daisy?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t take personal calls on my time again. You do, and I will fire you.” With that, he turns and leaves.

What?

Did he know…that I took Anne’s call?

How?

I glance around the bathroom, suddenly feeling very uneasy. A shudder rolls through me.

Then, I force myself to get back to work, so as not to rock the boat.

Ten

I input the code into the keypad and wait for the gates to open.

It’s so quiet. Well, it’s always quiet around here, but it seems especially quiet. That could have something to do with it being seven thirty a.m.

It’s Friday, and I’m in early, as promised, so I can leave to make my appointment with Anne.

I haven’t seen Kas at all this week. He hasn’t been here when I have been. I asked Cooper where he was, and he said Kas would do this from time to time, disappearing during the day, which got me wondering where he might go.

Maybe he’s got a girlfriend.

I get this weird feeling in my chest at the thought.

Shaking it off, I walk through the gates and up the drive. I veer off the driveway when I reach the paddocks.

“Hey, Butterscotch.”

Butterscotch is fast becoming one of my favorite horses. She’s a palomino. No, I haven’t suddenly gotten all horsey. Cooper told me.

I’ve been hanging out at the paddocks on my lunch hour.

I met Ellie, Peter, Mack, and Tash. They were all lovely. Ellie, especially so. She seemed really friendly. She invited me to go to the pub for lunch with them the next time they go.

It was nice to be asked. To be included in something so normal as going to the pub for lunch with my work colleagues.

But, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if they would still invite me if they knew I’d just gotten out of prison.

The other thing that’s been bugging me is that, clearly, Kas hasn’t told anyone that I was in prison. If I’m being honest, I thought he would’ve.

But I’m not complaining. It’s nice not to be judged at my place of work. So, if Kas is keeping his mouth zipped about my past, then so am I.

I met Dom, the gardener, as well. He’s a really nice guy. After my little disagreement with Kas on my second day, I was outside, sitting on my favorite bench and having my lunch, when he came over to introduce himself.