Page 16 of (Un)Planned

I second that

And before you ask: yes, I will go with you. Case wrapped up today, so I’ll be out at a normal time.

CALLA

Holy shit, this does call for a celebration!

DEVYN

Ha. ha. Ha. Just meet me after work

Once the clock struck five,I gathered my things and adjusted my lipstick in my compact mirror. Icould feel Theo watching me through the walls of his office, but I didn’t bother to turn around. He’d been brooding for hours, declaring that the whole day was shit. Between Natalie’s relentless phone calls and the low-ball offer his client received, Theo was in a foul mood. It was tempting to try to break him out of it, but nothing seemed to help. I was quickly learning that on days like this, it was better to let him sulk and work out his problems on his own. Interfering only resulted in him snapping at me. Not because he was annoyed with me, but because sometimes, he acted like an overgrown toddler who had trouble handling his emotions.

As soon as I slung my purse over my shoulder, Theo called out for me.Shit. Maybe I wasn’t in the clear like I thought.

“Yes, Theo?” I walked inside his office, propping a hip against the open door. His eyes scanned my face, snagging on my lips a little longer than usual.

His dark eyes narrowed on me. “Did you get those copies of the Peterson contract sent over?”

“Of course…” I drawled. He’d already asked me twice about this. “I sent a copy of the fax receipt to your inbox.”

Theo nodded but didn’t take his eyes off me, stuck on my lips. His darkened eyes made me want to squirm, but I stood still, refusing to admit he had any effect on me.

“Anything else you need?” I asked.

Theo just continued staring at me, as if waiting for something to happen. When he didn’t speak for a few more seconds, I rolled my eyes and started to walk out of the office, but I didn’t get far. A large hand gripped my elbow—tight enough to make me stop, but not enough to leave a mark.

I glanced down where Theo held me then back up to meet his eyes. They were alight with a new fire, onethat made my thighs clench together. It was heady seeing this man stare at me like he wanted to consume me. It was terrifying,exhilarating. I never wanted this moment to end. But as quickly as it had started, it did. Theo dropped his arm and took a significant step back. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wanted to say…thank you.”

I arched my brow at him. He had never said those words before. Usually, when I made changes, he’d mutter something about needing to fire me, but he never followed through on his threat. I was beginning to think threats were his love language.

“You’ve done a lot around here in a short time, and I… appreciate it.” Theo steeled his gaze, staring at me with an intensity I’d never seen from him before. “I appreciateyou, Calla.”

I just gawked at him, unsure how to respond. His sincerity knocked me off guard. It took a moment for me to realize we were staring at each other across this small space.

“You’re welcome.” I cleared my throat and took a step away from him as I hitched my thumb over my shoulder. “But I’m going to be late for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Theo only nodded, not saying another word as I headed down the hall.

EIGHT

“That’s all?”

My sister, Devyn, stared at me across the table, nursing the martini she ordered when we arrived an hour ago. Her long blonde hair was fashioned into a picture-perfect chignon, aligning all too with her neutral, tailored suit. It was still hard to wrap my head around this version of my sister compared to when we were growing up. When we were younger, Devyn spent most of her days running wild through the woods or covered in paint in her makeshift art studio, the complete opposite of the corporate Barbie she’d transformed into. Even drinking, she was posed and perfect, as if she was in the middle of the courtroom, waiting for closing arguments.

However, I was on my third drink and starting to come apart at the seams. I’d never been very good at keeping my thoughts to myself, and with a bit of liquid courage, everything was starting to spill out.

“He saidthank you.” I waved my hands in the air for emphasis. “The manneversays thank you. Maybe something is wrong, like, you know, when people get sick andstart to appreciate things more? Or maybe it's like the calm before the storm.” I gasped, grabbing Devyn’s arm. “Do you think he’s going to fire me this time? Like, for real fire me?”

“I don’t know how to respond to that.”

I lifted my thumb, nervously chewing on the cuticle. Devyn slapped my hand away, knowing it was a nervous tick. She held up her empty glass, summoning the bartender to bring us another round of drinks.

I was about to tell her to stop, thinking that I had to drive home, but then I remembered I no longer lived in a tiny town where the cabs stopped picking up at nine o’clock. That was one of the best parts about living in the city. I held up my hand. “And one more for me too.”

As the bartender mixed our drinks, I looked around the bar. The lights were dimmed low, giving it a moody, trendy vibe. Most of the patrons were bankers and other Wall Street bros looking to network. It wasn’t quite my scene, but it was only a couple of blocks from Devyn’s office, making it less likely that she’d bail on me at the last minute.

She held up her drink to clink with mine. “To you overanalyzing and spiraling because your boss thanked you.”

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