Page 69 of Gross Misconduct

“HR will be in touch with you soon about the job, and we can talk more then. Have a great day, John.”

I hung up the phone, and Whitney ran into my office nearly vibrating. “You have to come right away! Clay fired Mark. Security is about to escort him out.”

I thought about going, but shook my head. “Nah, you go watch the celebration. I don’t need to see that asshole ever again.”

“Are you sure? Think of the satisfaction.”

I smiled. “You can tell me all about it.”

Whitney ran out, and I packed up my stuff. Chloe had been sleeping in her bed and jumped up when she saw my messenger bag. She knew it was time to go home. I almost skipped home and planned to call Tangi about it later. Part of me wanted to call Jeremy too, but I was still too angry. My heart hurt, and I missed him, but not enough to call him.

We got home, and I fed Chloe. I had some leftovers and ate them for dinner. In celebration, I poured myself a glass of wine. I was going through my emails and saw the dreaded monthly email from the bank. I’d been whittling down my student loans, but I was still drowning in debt.

I clicked open the email and nearly choked on my wine. The email was to congratulate me on paying off the loan and some other crap about interest rates and qualifying for a line of credit. But I was seeing red. Only one person could have done this, and I wasn’t impressed.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Jeremy

Iwas icing my shoulder when the buzzer from downstairs went off. I called down and was surprised to hear Jill’s voice, and she didn’t sound happy. What had I done now? Her voice sounded snippy, and I groaned after buzzing her up. I met her at the door and was pleasantly surprised she’d brought Chloe with her. Chloe yipped and jumped on me when she saw me.

“Hey, girl, I’m so happy to see you too,” I said, petting her as she frantically brushed up against me. Jill waited for the reunion to end, and I let them inside. Jill’s face was ruddy, and she seemed a little out of breath.

“Did you walk here?”

“Yes. I needed the exercise.”

“It’s more than a half-hour walk.”

Her blue eyes were trained on me, and I could see the rage.

“Yes, I know how long it is,” she said, peeling off her jacket.

She had on a V-neck pink knit sweater and bootcut leggings that showed off her great body. I wanted to pull her into akiss, but I had the feeling she’d kick me in the nuts if I tried. She flung a piece of paper at me.

“What’s this?”

I took the paper from her and looked it over. I had no idea what it was. A bank statement of some kind? As I read it, I realized it had to do with Jill’s student loans, and by the looks of it, they were paid off, but the bank wanted to keep her ensnared with a line of credit or some other loan. I handed it back to her.

“Congrats?”

She bit her lip, and I thought she might slug me.

“Don’t be a smart-ass.”

I threw my hands up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about or what this is. Do you want to explain?” Now I was getting a little frustrated. “Do you need advice on lines of credit?”

She narrowed her gaze, and if I hadn’t known better, I thought she might charge me.

“You paid off my student loans!”

“I did no such thing!”

She moved in closer, pointing the paper at me. “We are going to do this? You’re going to pretend you know nothing about this?”

“No, I’m not going to pretend because I actually know nothing about this.”

She stared at me and her balled fist unfurled. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “If you didn’t pay this off, who did?”

---