Page 4 of Hidden Confessions

“Well, I figured I should try to say my goodbye properly after you brushed me off earlier, and I thought I might as well be last given how... preoccupied you were. The office is thankfully going to be a whole lot quieter without you here,” I said, and just like that, I was ready to hang myself. It seemed that when it came to this guy, my tongue didn’t know how to act aside from blurting snarky remarks.

Finn shrugged. He leaned against one of the desks, folding his arms. I couldn’t help but notice the bulge of his biceps fighting against the fabric of his shirt.

I forced my eyes up to see him with his head cocked to the side, staring at me with a curious gaze.

“You could’ve left after you said goodbye hours ago, Spencer. You could’ve been at home doing whatever it is you do at this hour.”

That was true.

I quickly racked my brain for an excuse as to why I was still here. I couldn’t come up with anything, and all that wine I’d consumed earlier was not helping me in the slightest. Liquid courage, my ass.

“I could have. I probably should have, but I decided to be nice for once and...” I gestured around the office awkwardly. “Help you clean this mess up,” I said, grasping onto the first thing that came to mind. Though most of my colleagues were decent enough to clean up after themselves, there was still some tidyingleft to do. Well, it was a good excuse to buy me more time with him.

He gave me one of his trademark sinister smirks. “Wow, how thoughtful of you. My saving grace.”

“Man, would it kill you to be nice for once?” I said, turning my back to him as I began to collect the remaining plastic plates, putting them all in one pile. “Consider this my goodbye gift. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

“Don’t tell me you’re already missing me now, Spencer.”

I didn’t dare turn around to face him. I didn’t want him to see me blush. I knew I was, given the way my cheeks were burning.

My mind reeled once more.Should I be the first to say it?Should I let him know?The thought of telling him how I truly felt had been nagging at the back of my mind relentlessly. I’d been debating it the entire evening. It wasn’t like I was expecting anything in return. I just wanted him to leave knowing I didn’t hate him.

“Not to sound cheesy or anything—”

“But you’re definitely going to say something cheesy,” he interrupted right away. When I stalled in my movements, not saying anything, he gave an exaggerated sigh. “All right, spill it all out.”

“Why do you have to make everything so unnecessarily difficult? Can’t you just be quiet for once and listen?” I huffed, turning to face him, now visibly frustrated.

Finn made a zipping motion over his lips. Ugh. He was such an annoying ass.

Fuck. I was really going to miss him.

“Not that you deserve any kind words right now, but since you’re leaving, I’m just going to say it...” I grumbled, trailing off for a moment. My throat suddenly felt so uncomfortably dry, but the words had to be forced past it. I didn’t want to spend the restof my life thinking about Finn Parker and regretting not taking the chance when I had it.

“We’ve had a good run, haven’t we? I mean... aside from all the bickering... all the times you’ve been so incredibly annoying... all the times you tried to sabotage me... all the times you made me miserable...”

Okay. This wasn’t what I had planned to come out of my mouth, but it seemed my nerves were getting the better of me.

“I get it,” Finn cut in. “The list goes on. I have yet to hear thosekindwords of yours that you mentioned.”

“Uh, I guess what I’m trying to say is that working with you hasn’t been a complete disaster. Even though you make it incredibly hard to say that out loud,” I stated. For a moment there, I could swear his expression softened. It was an odd sight, one I didn’t think I’d seen before. The stiffness in his shoulders loosened just a tad.

“I agree,” Finn responded.

I blinked. “Did you just agree?”

Is he saying he liked working with me too?

Finn fell silent for a moment, his dark eyes examining me. For some reason, his scrutiny made me feel oddly bare, like he could see right through me—see all the parts I tried so desperately to keep hidden from him.

The corner of his lips twitched slightly upward. “Yes, Spencer. I agreed. I mean, we’re never going to see each other again, so why lie? It hasn’t been all that bad. In fact, you made the office kind of fun. A challenge...”

A challenge.

Except I have no idea why making me miserable was a challenge, but that wasn’t the point.

I reached for the plastic plates again, eager to escape his pointed gaze. “You don’t want to flatter me too much, do you?”

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