Page 93 of Just This Once

WHIP

The next day at work,irritation still dogged me. Emily had spent the majority of the day with her mom and looking for local teaching jobs. She had returned, quiet and with sadness lurking around her edges, but we both ignored it.

I hated that I couldn’t make things right for her.

At the station, the click of the door drew my attention. My eyes whipped up to see Lee saunter into the break room. Over his shoulder, I watched as Chief entered the station and walked down the hall toward his office with our battalion chief. His expression was unreadable, the duo deep in conversation. My stomach somersaulted as I straightened. I still needed to clear the air with him about everything that had happened. HR had confirmed that the lieutenant position was mine, but the chief still hadn’t spoken to me about it.

As they walked, Chief glanced at me, offering only a small nod of acknowledgment, but relief washed over me. At least for the moment, he wasn’t throwing me out on my ass and giving me what I undoubtedly deserved.

Lee sidled up beside me, a smirk playing on his lips. “Dodged a bullet there. Chief didn’t look too happy this morning, but he’s too busy to chew your ass.”

A growing knot of worry tightened in my chest.What if Chief hadn’t been as understanding as Emily had made it seem? Would he want me to stop seeing her now that I would be stepping into the lieutenant’s role? What if my recklessness had cost me the one thing that finally felt right in my life?

I could feel myself spiraling, but Lee’s low whistle caught my attention. “Man.” He chuckled and shook his head as he grabbed a clean coffee mug from the cabinet. “The boss’s daughter... you’ve got brass balls, Bill.”

My jaw flexed. “Not today, Sullivan.”

I wanted to punch the cocky smirk off his face, but the station was one place we’d drawn the line—it was an unspoken expectation that we left the rivalry outside its walls.

Lee’s voice cut through my thoughts, sharp and mocking. “You should know, people are talking.”

I glared at him, my patience hanging by a thread. “Talking about what?”

His jaw flexed. “Word is you have a hard-on for the boss’s daughter, but that you’re only using her.”

Instinct took over and I pushed him against the counter. “The fuck did you say to me? Are you running your mouth?”

Lee shoved me hard in the chest, moving me back a few inches, and glared at me. Lee leaned in, his tone low but sincere. “I’m just trying to help you out, asshole. They’re saying you’re only with her because she’s the chief’s daughter. Rumor is that you were trying to get some special treatment in your bid for lieutenant. I thought you should know.”

The words hit me like a sucker punch. Fury surged through my veins, a red-hot rage that threatened to consume me. I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my composure. “It’s not like that. Don’t twist it.”

He laughed, a grating sound that fueled the fire within me, and raised his hands. “I’m not twisting anything. All I am tellingyou is that’s what people are saying. I was giving you a heads-up. You just better hope Chief doesn’t find out.”

A flicker of doubt mingled with my anger. “He already knows about us.”

What if Emily had heard the rumors? What if she believed them?

The need to set things straight overpowered my instinct to keep a low profile. I couldn’t let these lies poison what we had, especially when it already felt like we were on shaky ground.

Anger crept in at the edges of my vision, and Lee was the only person around to catch my wrath. I stepped forward with a finger in his face, fury blazing in my eyes. “You listen to me, Sullivan. My relationship with Emily is none of your damn business. You spread these lies, and I swear, I’ll make you regret it.”

His hands went up as he rolled his eyes, seemingly unaffected by my outburst. “I told you as afriend, dipshit. This town is well meaning, but damn if they don’t stick their noses in everyone’s business. If I hear the rumors, I’ll set it straight, but you might want to watch your back.”

With that, he grabbed his coffee and sauntered out of the break room, leaving me seething with frustration and feeling like a total dick. The station’s familiar camaraderie now felt like a facade, a thin veil covering the hostility simmering beneath the surface. Lee hadn’t deserved my anger but had taken the brunt end of its force.

As Lee walked away, I took a deep breath and tried to regain control of my temper. Chief was too busy at the moment to interrupt with my meaningless excuses and half-hearted apologies. I needed to find Emily and set things right before these rumors spread beyond repair.

The drive homefelt longer than usual, the weight of Chief’s impending conversation and Lee’s goading pressing on my shoulders. As I stepped into my house, I half expected to find Emily waiting for me, ready to talk and ease my troubled mind. But the living room was empty, the air heavy with an absence that sent annoyance running down my spine.

“Prim?” I called out, my voice echoing through the quiet house. No response. Anxiety churned in my gut as I checked the kitchen, the bedroom, each room a reminder of her absence.

I reached for my phone, fingers fumbling like a teenager as I dialed her number. The call went straight to voicemail, and frustration simmered beneath my skin.Where was she? Why hadn’t she come home?

The feeble excuse she gave through a text only added to my unease.

Emily

Hey, sorry. Something came up at home. Can’t make it tonight. Rain check?

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