Page 58 of Rushing Into Love

I looked towards the house, but didn’t see any movement.

“Even if she was watching, she can’t see anything that’s happening down below.”

“Still. ‘Night, Ryder. Thanks for the fun day.” Bree leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on my lips, then turned to get out.

I quickly leaned forward, pulling her into me, and gave her a real kiss, hard and deep. She responded, opening her mouth for me, and stayed for a few more minutes before pulling away. Wordlessly, I got out and walked her to the door. Bending down, I kissed her again lightly on the lips, then gave her a discreet pat on the ass as I turned to walk away.

“’Night, Bree,” I said, waving to her. “Sweet dreams.”

She shook her head at me and smiled, watching me until I got to my car, then she turned and went in the door.

15

Bree

Bree: Hey Ally. Are you cool with me terminating our lease at the office?

Ally: ?

Bree: Yeah. They’re raising the rent by $500/mo in Dec

Ally: You’re coming back, though, right?

Bree: IDK

Three seconds later, my phone rang.

“What do you mean ‘I don’t know!” Ally shouted at me down the line. “We have a business together, Bree. I’m your freaking personal assistant! It never crossed your mind to call me and discuss this? Like, should I be looking for another job?!?”

“Whoa, slow down, Ally. I’m not shuttering the business. But it doesn’t make sense to be paying for office space that we’re not even using,” I said, gnawing on my lip.

“Says you!” Ally cried. “I’m actually using it, you know. Just because you’re not, doesn’t mean no one is.”

I crossed my legs, pulling my finance spreadsheet up on my laptop. “Ally, what are you using the office for?” I asked, squinting at the numbers on the screen.If I cut the rent column down to zero, I would be making a lot more money.

“You know, office stuff,” she said, her voice rising an octave.

“Like what?” I pressed, cutting the rent column to see what that would do to my income.

“I pay the bills there, make coffee, go through the mail. That kind of stuff,” she grumbled defensively.

“You could do all of that from your apartment,” I said. “And you can take the espresso machine with you.” I threw that bit in for good measure.

I could practically hear her thinking over the line. There was a long pause, then she said in a quiet voice, “You’re not coming back, are you?”

I stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know, Ally. But I do know I don’t want to pay rent on a space I’m not using.”

“Do I need to look for another job?” she asked again, her voice trembling.

“No. I still need your help, even more so since I’m not in LA right now.”

“This just seems really—I don’t know—final.”

“Things are too crazy right now to come back to LA,” I said, my stomach tensing at this half-truth. Because I probablycouldgo back to LA, the Pax fiasco was pretty much over—he was on girlfriend number three by now.

“I can really take the espresso machine?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yes, Ally, you can really have the espresso machine. I’ll write the landlord now and tell them we’re terminating as of November 1. So could you please box my files up for me? There are a few books and photos, the printer, but that’s pretty much it.”

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