Page 113 of Body Shot

“Do you want me to?—”

“No!” I’m probably a little harsher than I intended, but the last thing I need is for her to get involved. “Please. This is my first adult relationship, my first real broken heart, and my first job…I need to learn to navigate all of it. Please. Let me find my way own way out of this mess I created.”

She sighs. “It’s a bestie’s job to help. That’s all.”

“I know. And I love you. But I need to do this my way. Although, I am totally down for you getting Seth fired.”

We giggle together and I’m grateful for her presence and support and friendship.

Lying to her is going to be incredibly hard and I’m going to have to think long and hard about how and when to tell her about the baby.

But not today.

She has to be at the top of her game for the next three days—she’s staying with me for Thanksgiving—so she can hopefully get the job offer she so desperately wants.

“Hana!” Seth is standing near the conference room as we walk into the office, and I barely suppress my groan.

“Seth?” Hana can be the world’s best actress when she has to. “Oh, my God, what are you doing here? I thought you were moving home to Mississippi after college?”

He’s caught off-guard and I want to laugh because he hates talking about the fact that he’s from Mississippi.

“Didn’t Claudia tell you I was working here?” he asks, frowning slightly.

“No.” She shrugs. “We had so much to catch up on, it didn’t come up. Anyway, good to see you again.” She turns as Randy and Glen approach her.

Then she’s lost in a flurry of introductions, so I head to my desk.

“Claudia, hey, wait up.” Seth is behind me, and I momentarily close my eyes, praying for strength.

“What can I do for you?” I ask politely, turning with what I hope is a neutral look on my face.

“I was wondering if I could take you to dinner or something. You know, catch up. It’s been a long time. And seriously, you look great, so I thought?—”

“I don’t know what you thought,” I interrupt him, keeping my voice low and my tone firm. “But I have no interest in being friends or anything else. We didn’t end on good terms, and the only thing we have in common is an employer. I’m not going to dinner with you or anything else. Okay?”

His eyes widen and then he has the audacity to look sad. “Hey, I mean, we were young and stupid. We?—”

“We’re not having this conversation. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” I sink down at my desk and turn onmy computer. I’m battling another wave of nausea, but I’ll be damned if I let him think he’s the cause of me not feeling well.

Asshole.

He hovers for another twenty seconds or so but then walks away.

Thank fuck.

I don’t care if he’s hurt, I just hope he doesn’t try to sabotage my job here.

I’m going to have a baby to support in about seven months, so I can’t afford to get fired. That’s the main reason why I haven’t quit. Working with Seth makes everything in my life that much harder, and I’m hanging on by a thread as it is. I need a job and the income I’m making if I’m going to support myself and a child, and that means I have to pull up my big-girl pants and make this work.

A wave of dizziness reminds me I have to eat, but everything makes me sick.

I’ve lost another two pounds, so I need to find something I can keep down, but the constant nausea is starting to get on my nerves. And I’m going to have to fake it with Hana too, because she’ll notice that I’m barely eating.

I sigh, trying to focus on the screen in front of me.

Everything sucks right now, and the only thing I want is the one thing I can’t have.

The person I can’t have.

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