Page 54 of Worth the Fall

Hey. Quick question… Does Celine know about me? Like, about us?

The three dots appear almost immediately.

Miguel

Yeah.

My stomach drops.

Miguel

I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it. I think it’s time you two met. Now that we’re official and you’re spending time with Felicity, it just makes sense.

Official. Spending time with Felicity. Meeting his ex-wife.The words hit me like a freight train, and my mind spirals further into panic.

Official? Is that what we are now? He’s introducing me to his daughter’s mother like we’re the Brady Bunch 2.0, and I’m over here trying to figure out if my entire career is about to go up in flames.

Speaking of flames…

The faint smell of smoke wafts through the air, and I pause, sniffing the air. "What the?—"

I turn and freeze, my eyes widening in horror when I see what I must have knocked into the garbage. The sage bundle that Cameron so thoughtfully left behind is smoldering in the trash can, a small flame licking up the edge of a paper file.

"Oh my God!" I shout, rushing over. I grab the closest thing I can find—a water bottle—and dump it into the trash can.

For a second, I think it works. The flames sputter, but then the smoke thickens, and the fire flares back to life, licking at the edges of my perfectly organized trash bin.

"Oh no, no, no!" I grab a file folder and start swatting at the flames, but it only seems to make them worse.

Before I can figure out what else to do, the sprinkler system kicks in with a deafening click.

Water pours from the ceiling, soaking everything—the trash can, my desk, my files, my hair. I let out a frustrated scream, holding my arms over my head as the fire alarm blares through the building.

The door to my office flies open, and Linda bursts in, her hair already damp from the sprinklers. "What the hell is going on in here?" she yells over the noise.

I point helplessly at the trash can. "It was the sage! Cameron left the sage!"

She stares at me for a moment, her mouth open, and then bursts out laughing. "Oh my God, Mia. Only you."

"This is not funny, Linda!" I snap, though the absurdity of the situation makes it hard to keep a straight face.

Before I can say anything else, two of the firm’s security guards appear in the doorway, followed closely by none other than Mr. Whitman and Celine. As if Cameron's sage ceremony wasn't enough of a professional nightmare, I catchCeline watching from the end of the hallway, her expression unreadable. Perfect. Just perfect.

You have got be kidding me. Does this woman have a hot line for my meltdowns!

"Miss Mason," Whitman says, his tone sharp, his expression a mix of confusion and exasperation. "Care to explain why the entire building is being evacuated?"

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out. I’m soaked, standing in a puddle of water next to a smoldering trash can, while Celine stands there the image of perfection.

Celine’s perfectly arched brow lifts as she surveys the chaos. "Eventful day, I see," she says, her voice dripping with fake concern.

I take a deep breath, forcing a smile that feels more like a grimace. "Just a little office mishap."

Whitman pinches the bridge of his nose. "Mason, get this cleaned up. And when you’re done, meet me in my office. We need to talk about the Ramirez case."

I nod mutely as they turn and walk away, leaving Linda and me standing in the drenched remains of what was once my office.

She snorts, shaking her head as she surveys the damage. "You’re a walking sitcom, you know that?"

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