Page 19 of Love and Cherish

“Our little bet?” Haylee’s tone dropped off at the end in disbelief. “I think it’s more than a little bet, Cherish. I mean, we bet that we could outsmart the smartest woman in the room.”

“Ah.” Cherish had to hide her grin on this one. “While I applaud you for recognizing Ms. Aarts’s brilliance. While she might be smart here—” Cherish touched her temple “—she’s not so smart he—”

“Cherish.” Febe’s voice ricocheted around the room.

Cherish’s stomach was in her throat.

When had she come into the office?

Febe pinned her with a cold look, her lips in a thin line, her cheeks pulled tight. In all Cherish’s days of protecting Febe, she had taken this one step too far and crossed a line.

Cherish couldn’t even look at Haylee. Her gaze was riveted to Febe. She had just messed up all of this, hadn’t she? The careful balance they had maintained for years. Febe crossed her arms, her eyebrows raising as she waited for some kind of response. Surely, she wanted Cherish to apologize.

“Go home, Cherish,” Febe said, her voice tender. “You deserve a weekend. Both of you.”

“I…” Cherish trailed off. Febe did this a couple times a year, but it had been at least nine months since the last time. Cherish didn’t know what to do without Febe centering her.

“Monday will be busy.” Without another word, Febe stalked back to her office in her five-inch stilettos.

Cherish collapsed into her chair. Shame filled her in an instant. She should have known better than to share anything about Febe that was considered insider knowledge. They’d known each other too long, and she understood that Febe wanted to maintain professional boundaries with everyone.

“We can go get dinner if you’d like.” Haylee’s voice was so tentative.

Cherish understood why. She hadn’t exactly been open with Haylee, but in the last week or so, they’d made strides toward that. Cherish fiddled with the papers on her desk and organized them, preparing them for Monday morning. She’d never been sent home quite like this before, and the unease about the entire situation settled into her chest.

“Cherish?” Haylee tried again. “Did you want to grab dinner?”

“I don’t know,” Cherish muttered, her tone far too telling. She bit the inside of her cheek. She wasn’t upset with Haylee. She was upset with herself, and she should probably make that clear. Haylee was a worrier, and she understood far too much about what was rolling through Cherish’s mind half the time. “I—”

“You’re a bit lost leaving early, aren’t you?”

Thank God for Haylee. She could so easily read a room but had such an inability to read herself within that room. The contradiction was amusing. Cherish clenched her jaw and dropped her shoulders with a sigh. “Yes, let’s get dinner.”

“I’m picking the place.” Haylee winked as she immediately stood up and started cleaning up her workspace.

Cherish was a little less than enthusiastic, but she mimicked Haylee’s motions. Within five minutes, they were headed out the door together and waiting on the elevator. They were silent until they got to the lobby, and Cherish started toward the front doors.

“Um…” Haylee said, stopping short. Cherish turned around to look at her, confusion fluttering all over Haylee’s face. “Can I catch a ride with you?”

“Yeah.” Cherish clenched her keys in her hand. “Did you leave your car at home today?”

Haylee’s cheeks reddened, and she wouldn’t meet Cherish’s gaze. Canting her head to the side, Cherish waited her out. This shouldn’t be that hard an answer, now should it? And yet, Haylee was balking.

“Haylee?”

“I sold my car.”

“Oh.” Cherish pressed her lips together harder. There was more to Haylee’s statement, she was sure, but something had stopped Haylee from continuing. Fear? Shame? Guilt? Cherish didn’t know what it was yet. “Were you getting a new one?”

“No.” Haylee shuffled her foot against the tiled floor.

Shame.

So much was left unsaid. Cherish dragged in a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other. “Well, come on. You promised me dinner, and I’m making good on that.”

“Right.” Haylee jogged slightly to catch up.

The car ride was mostly silent, especially when Haylee told her where they were going. It was a more upscale place than Cherish expected, especially after the sheepish look that Haylee had given about the car, but she went anyway. Haylee insisted. When they were seated, Cherish ordered a glass of wine and tried to relax the tension in her shoulders.

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