Page 26 of The Revenge Agenda

I’m about to turn the corner to my office when I glance toward the elevator that’s dinged. The doors open, and Rush runs out. The wavy, sun-bleached curls that normally sit on top of his head are a windblown mess, his tan cheeks are pink, and his backpack is hanging off one shoulder. He’s also clutching a pot of what looks like colorful rocks.

I try to smile, but it feels stiff. “Rush.”

“You’re here!” He throws his hands up like he’s actually … happy to see me? And somehow, the pot stays hovering in midair.

“What in the?—”

“Oh.” Rush laughs, the kind of easy laugh that makes his chin thinner and a tiny dimple appear in his right cheek. “I fastened my belt around it so I wouldn’t put it down on the bus and forget.” Then from what seems like nowhere, he pulls out a large coffee. “Just have to drop this off. I’ll meet you in your office. Sound good? Okay, bye.”

And without so much as a sorry for being late, Rush hurries across the office, sidestepping people and throwing out hellos in the most chaotic way I’ve ever seen someone exist. I can’t pull my eyes away until he disappears from sight.

I have no idea what that was, but I guess I’m going to find out.

The rest of my team are on calls when I get back, diligently doing their job, and I remember my time in those cubicles. It was … tedious. Answering the same questions, helping fill out the same applications, the same claims, talking insurance all day long.

If I still want to quit, I’ll be going back to that existence.

If I stay … I have the opportunity to make it better. For them and for me.

But staying means having to face Rush. Having to face the reminder of all that hurt.

Can I really go through that every day?

Chapter 8

Rush

After dropping off Ted’s coffee like I do every day, I hurry over to Hunter’s office. I know I’m late. I know he’s going to ream me for it. Hopefully we can get that part over and done with so I can get on with my day. It’s one of the things I hate most about this constant turnover, always having to have the same conversations, like Groundhog Day.

The movie. Not the date in February.

So far as I know, that doesn’t repeat on itself, though I suppose if it did, we wouldn’t actually know about it.

I’m still sweaty and frantic when I reach Hunter’s door. It’s open, so I head inside, unstrap my belt, and drop the pot onto his desk.

“Ta-da!”

Hunter stares at my gift. “What … what is it?”

“A plant. I know my list was a lot and maybe didn’t help, so I asked myself what sorts of things help people feel settled. Pets were a good idea, but I didn’t think you’d be too happy about me bringing a puppy into the office, so I got you a plant instead. If you have something to look after, you’ll have to keep coming back.” Though I probably should have taken Madden up on his offer to grab something from work instead of panicking and buying?—

“These are plants? They look like … like …”

“Asses?”

His wide, dark eyes shoot up my way. “Yes. Are these things real?”

“The lady at the shop told me they are. Google supported her story. They’re li … lithops. I think. But they all look that way, and there are a bunch of different colors, and apparently, when they’re ready, the two segments spread apart, and a flower grows from the middle.”

Hunter chokes on a laugh, and I think it’s the first time I’ve seen anything other than a scowl on his face. It gives me hope that maybe this plan isn’t completely doomed. “You’re telling me that I’m going to have a pot of rock-looking, ass-shaped plants on my desk that are going to sprout their own floral butt plug?”

“Technically, just a flower. Did you want a floral butt plug?”

He ignores the question. Too personal? “What in the hell made you buy these? Is this your subtle way of calling me an ass?”

My face falls. “What? No. Never. I mentioned the puppy to Madden, who suggested a plant, and when I dropped your coat off at the dry cleaner’s this morning—which I shocked even myself by remembering to do—I spotted a little plant shop and thought I’d grab a succulent. But she didn’t have any of those little flower-looking succulents. And actually, I don’t think she was a very good plant lady because there were a whole lot of huge trees and flower bouquets but no succulents? Does she not want to make money? I’ve seen enough social media pages to know that those things are where people are at for aesthetic reasons. So she showed me those, and I thought they were kinda weird and fun, and I was already running so late that I panicked and bought them. Not because they’re mini asses.”

Hunter sighs, but it’s through a smile. “Can you sit?”

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