Page 27 of Unwrapping Romance

“Where did you hear that?” I noted the nervousness in her voice.

“Office gossip travels fast. I can’t believe you did that. I thought I made myself very clear about things.”

“You did, Jack. And that was not the reason. I wanted to see the play, but everyone else was busy. People use dating apps all the time to go out with someone.”

“You did it on purpose.” I pointed at her. “Wendy told you where we were going when she called and left that message, didn’t she?”

She looked down and fiddled with her hands.

“Answer me!” I shouted.

“No. You’re wrong, Jack. But I will tell you this. There will be no more sex, and I mean it. I’m on the dating app again and want to meet someone. I’m ready again. And I cannot date someone in good conscience if we keep sleeping together.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. We won’t be having sex again.” I placed my hand inside my pants pocket.

“Good.” She stood up. “Can I get back to my desk now?”

“No. You can go out and do the errands I gave you earlier. Then, you can come back and sit at your desk.”

“Fine.” She walked out of the conference room.

“Fuck!” I slammed my fist on the table.

Chapter Eleven

Sierra

“Asshole,” I mumbled as I grabbed my purse.

I walked over to Tristan’s desk, gripping my purse strap.

“Hey, you.” He smiled.

“Don’t smile at me.” I narrowed my eyes. “Who the hell are you telling about Ken and Friday night? I just got busted and yelled at by Jack.”

“Shit.” He chewed his bottom lip. “I only said something to Grace. I swear.”

“Why would you say anything at all? That was between us.” I shook my head and headed toward the elevator.

With Jack’s list in my hand, I strolled through the grocery store, throwing the items he needed into the cart. A woman dressed in an elf outfit stood behind a small display of holiday cookies, passing out free samples.

“Holiday cookie?” She smiled as I passed by.

I stopped and stared at how ridiculous she looked. “No. And really?” My brows furrowed. “Do they pay you enough to dress like that?”

“Someone has the holiday blahs,” she said.

“The holidays suck, lady. One day, you’ll realize it.” I walked away.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but Jack put me in a mood, and dealing with all the holiday bullshit amplified it. I was done with him—over it. How dare he shout at me the way he did. If I didn’t need the money so badly, I would walk out and never look back.

Pulling out my phone, I checked my bank account because I was sure we got paid today. Looking at my check deposit from Atlas Enterprises, something wasn’t right, which fueled my anger even more. I didn’t care that I was in the grocery store. I was calling Jack to see what was going on.

“What do you need, Sierra?” he answered rudely.

“I noticed my direct deposit went through today, and I want to know why my check is so low.”

“Have you forgotten that I lent you two months’ worth of rent? I told you that it was coming out of your paycheck.”

---