Page 13 of Love and Cherish

Touch Cherish, and Haylee risked feeling the full brunt of Febe’s wrath.

That was something to be avoided. At all costs.

“She doesn’t like me.” Haylee pouted. “She loves you, though.”

Cherish frowned. She played with her fork again, not answering. That cemented it. Febe hated her. Cherish was the precious golden child of the office, and no one would ever compare. That must be why they had gone through so many administrative assistants before Haylee. And even then, Haylee had only stayed because…because what? To prove a point? To pay the never-ending pile of bills? Haylee clenched her fingers together tightly, digging her nails into the tops of her hands to center herself.

She was making a fool of herself.

“Ms. Aarts doesn’t love me.” Cherish clenched her jaw, the muscles rippling as tension rose within her. The play of her fingers on the fork stopped. She opened her mouth to speak when her phone buzzed. She wrinkled her nose as she reached into her purse to grab it. “Ms. Aarts likes you, otherwise you wouldn’t have lasted this long.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.”

“I like you.” Cherish looked in her direction, her blue eyes and red hair making her gaze intense as she held her phone. “I like the work you do. I appreciate your presence every day when I come into the office. I can’t…” Cherish trailed off and frowned. “Yes, Ms. Aarts?”

Haylee’s heart fell. Cherish couldn’t what? What had she been about to say? Haylee desperately wanted to know. She wanted to hear words of praise fall from Cherish’s lips. But why?

“Yes, I’ll be right there.” Cherish locked her gaze on Haylee. “Yes, Ms. Aarts.”

Cherish hung up and shook her head. Haylee already knew what was going to happen before the words were uttered.

“She’s firing me.”

“What? No.” Cherish rolled her eyes. Finally, the blessed look Haylee had been wishing for from her, and her own worry was too much for her to even appreciate it. “She needs me to remove Precious’s access to all our systems.”

“Right,” Haylee mumbled. “I’ll bring your lunch up, I guess.”

Cherish frowned. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” It was the story of Haylee’s life. Everyone left her, one way or another. Usually not like this though. Not willingly walking away. That old familiar pain ached inside her chest and her fingers itched to rub at her sternum.

Standing up, Cherish straightened her shoulders, again looking down her nose at Haylee. “I was going to say that I appreciate what you bring to the office.”

Without another word, Cherish walked away, her pumps clacking on the floor. Haylee stared at her, jaw dropped. Her stomach swirled with confusion and misunderstanding, with the upset from thirty minutes ago to now. She wanted to chase after Cherish, to dig deeper and ask more questions.

Because what the hell did that even mean?

But running after her would be useless. She was off to be Febe’s bitch, again. Now and forever.

So why did that thought suddenly fill Haylee with such deep sadness?

five

“Cherish?” Haylee’s voice cut through the pain in her head, and Cherish looked up to see those deep eyes staring over at her again.

“Yes?” Cherish’s cheeks heated as she fought through the sharp ache above her eyebrow and squinted through the bright lights to see Haylee’s beautiful face. Beautiful? She shouldn’t be thinking that. It wasn’t like her to be distracted.

“Have you seen a doctor about the headaches?” Haylee’s full lower lip was pulled between her teeth, and her dark eyes were so direct, so warm and inviting. Cherish could just fall into—no. She had to stop those intrusive thoughts that had no place in the office.

“They’re just headaches.” Cherish smiled wanly, warmth in her chest at Haylee’s obvious concern. Yes, she could enjoy the camaraderie of colleagues, and that’s all this was. It didn’t mean anything else. It didn’t mean they were friends.

“I know, but maybe they can prescribe you something a bit stronger, to help prevent them from happening so often.” Haylee was certainly persistent, despite the curious rise in her tone as though she were uncertain about being able to show concern.

Cherish adored how insecure Haylee was, and how she tried to brush it under the rug most days. It reminded Cherish of who she used to be, back before she’d started working for the one and only Febe Aarts.

“I don’t have time to waste sitting in a waiting room.” Cherish knew her words could come off as angry, but she truly meant them. With as busy as Febe kept her, she didn’t have time to sit for hours and wait for doctors and their tests.

“Maybe that’s part of the problem.” Haylee’s voice held the hint of an edge of worry.

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