Page 31 of Release Me

“And look how that ended up.”

“It wasn’t all bad. We had lots of fun before things imploded.”

“You really believe that don’t you?”

“I do.” She plops down in one of the arm chairs across from me and kicks her feet up on my desk. “You don’t feel the same way?”

“We had lots of fun,” I concede. “But I think we got married for all the wrong reasons.”

For me, proposing was a no-brainer. A decision born out of rationale and void of emotion. One day I woke up and realized we’d been doing everything together—living, sleeping, working—and thought the only thing we had left to do was get married. I still don’t know why Talia said yes to my proposal. I’ve made job offers that have been more romantic than when I asked her to be my wife.

Talia nods. “For sure. It was all business and no emotion. You didn’t even get down on one knee.”

“And you didn’t even want a ring.”

“I was surprised you thought to get one.”

We stare at each other. Both of us staying quiet, taking a moment of silence in observation of our failed union before we burst into collective laughter. I come up for air first.

“We were doomed from the start.”

“We really were,” Talia agrees. “But just because we couldn’t make things work, doesn’t mean we can’t get it right the second time around.”

I give her a sincere smile. “I hope that’s true for you and Blue.”

“It is,” she replies with certainty etched into her features. “Maybe it will be for you and Nadia as well.”

Refuting her genuine articulation of goodwill feels wrong, so I smile and accept it even though I know there will never be anything real between me and Nadia Hendrix because the shadows lurking in her past, the ones keeping her from seeing the good that could be her future, won’t allow it.

13

NADIA

By the end of my official first day of work, I’m tired of looking at Regina and my office. After she found me in the kitchen with Elle, enjoying a rather delicious, and conveniently free, lunch, Regina escorted me back to my cell and refused to respond when I asked her if Sebastian’s wife was the reason she’d been on my neck all day.

Ex-wife.

The voice in my head says, reminding me of Elle’s last minute correction which was promptly followed by an explanation about how everyone on staff still refers to Talia West as Sebastian’s wife because it’s common knowledge that they still fuck whenever she’s in town and he hasn’t dated anyone since the dissolution of their marriage three years ago. Despite the weird energy that laced our initial interaction, Elle actually turned out to be quite nice and extremely gossipy. She told me everything I wanted to know about Sebastian and Talia, and some things I didn’t, while I ate, and she didn’t look the least bit remorseful when Regina scolded both of us for talking about the boss behind his back.

I wasn’t remorseful either, but Regina definitely made me regret my trip to the kitchen when she rewarded my little field trip by attaching herself to my hip for the rest of the day. From twelve thirty to five, my office became her office too. A shared space for my anxiety about the email I sent to the entire staff requiring their attendance at a meeting tomorrow, and her disapproval, which was so strong it’s still scenting the air even though she left thirty minutes ago.

I would already be gone too, but I made a last minute decision to print out employee files, so I could take them home and review them. Since I don’t have a laptop and therefore no way to access any Cerros systems at home, printing everything out had felt like a smart decision. But right now, when I’m trying to stuff a stack of papers the size of my head into my cheap faux leather bag, I’m second guessing myself.

“How was your first day?”

The only good thing about spending my nights replaying every conversation I’ve had with Sebastian over in my head is that I know his voice by heart now. If that wasn’t the case, I would probably be jumping out of my skin right now because there were no footsteps or anything else to announce his impending arrival.

“Great,” I respond without even looking at him. I tell myself it’s because all of my attention needs to be on the stack of papers and the bag that refuses to hold them, but deep down I know it’s because I’m not ready to look at him yet. “I especially loved the part where my office became a maximum security facility where Regina was the warden.”

The papers are finally inside the bag, so I pull the zipper shut and breathe a sigh of relief that becomes a huff of frustration when the seam pops and the metal mechanisms holding everything together clatter onto the floor.

I glance heavenward, shooting a glare to the ceiling and directly at God because apparently He still has it out for me. “Perfect, that’s just perfect.”

“Do you need help?”

Sebastian has gone from lingering inside the door to standing just on the other side of my desk, so when I turn my withering gaze on him, I get to see him flinch. “No, I don’t need help, and I also don’t need a baby sitter, so I hope you and Talia have concluded whatever business you needed to attend to today because tomorrow I’ll need to actually leave this office to do my job.”

Dark eyes rush over my features, documenting my anger with vivid interest. “Regina told you about Talia?”

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