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Fuck… I didn’t even have to question it. I knew I loved them. I had slowly fallen for them, contract be damned. Hunter and Romeo haven't been what I had expected, and each nice and thoughtful thing broke down my walls, until I was completely exposed.

Would we go back to sneaking around? Would it just be casual again? I didn’t know if I could go back to being casual. Ididn’t want to be that way, but they were both pulling away when all this drama surfaced. What if they were just feeling guilty and that's why they were saying what they said this morning?

Fuck, I should have stayed and talked to them. I was scared and worried. I felt so raw after this entire ordeal. I took a deep breath, desperate to go home or go downstairs to look for them. So, instead of wallowing in my anxiety, I got to work, checking on my scheduled content and filling in gaps that needed to be filled for the next two weeks.

I took a moment to play with my camera as I ate the soup and a delicious small loaf of bread they had left me. Then, I headed downstairs, taking practice shots of the rink as the cleaning crew was doing last minute rounds. It wasn’t just getting used to the camera but taking pictures with my hurt hand too. The camera took amazing pictures as I walked the concourse, taking more photos and messing with the settings until I found what I was looking for.

“Hello, Valencia.” I stilled at the deep baritone.

“Hello, Mr. Barros,” I said nervously, pulling my camera down from my face.

“You know when I first met Hunter, he was an annoying brat,” he chuckled, staring out at the arena. “Cocky, ego twice as big as his head and mouthy. I enjoyed him getting a taste of his own medicine with Romeo.”

That piece of information put me at ease.

“What I never expected was him falling for Romeo,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I was surprised when I found out it wasn’t just them, but you at their center. It made sense; I think you round them out perfectly and you make them work well together.”

“Mr.—”

“I was upset at first, because well… because this is our first year and I didn’t need any negativity, but as my lovely wife hastold me time and time again, love doesn’t come when you want it to or when we plan for it,” he said with a fond smile. “I know that’s presumptuous of me to claim, but I can see the way they look at you. They always search for you and when they finally see you, I see the way you calm them.”

“I didn’t expect this to happen,” I said, looking at my camera. “It was just supposed to be…”

“Just a contract?”

“How?” My eyes grew wide.

“Hunter has been in the community for a while; I've seen him at the Atelier a few times.” He smirked at me.

“Oh, god.” I covered my face in embarrassment.

“It always starts with a contract or at least some form of agreement,” he chuckled. “I took some precautions when I found out what was happening, and you’ll be happy to know that you are a contract worker, not an employee, and our employee manual doesn’t apply to our contract employees.”

I thought I had heard him wrong.

“Did you say… Wait, since when?” I was flabbergasted.

“Since I knew this might not be a fling back in January, when Hunter was following you around like a puppy at the fundraiser.” He turned to me.

“Th-Thank you, I don’t—” My lip trembled as I tried to hold back tears. “I’m sorry we caused you trouble.”

“I put the blame on the boys,” he smirked. “I do have one request, though.”

“Anything,” I said immediately, and when he raised his brow, “Anything within reason.”

“You’re brilliant with social media and I have a few businesses that I think could benefit from your expertise,” he said, pulling out an envelope. “I would pay you, of course, and I would also appreciate it if you could still work with Easton.So, maybe having you be a contract worker would be for selfish reasons too.”

“Of course! I loved working with Easton and the organization.” This felt like it was too good to be true.

“He has sung your praises and anything that makes Easton and Noemi happy, well, that makes me happy too,” he said with a smile. “So, I’ll let you get back to work and please, no more surprises.”

“Well, there might?—”

“Oh, I know that secret, I just didn’t think it was appropriate to discuss that here,” he chuckled. “I also hear it has been taken care of.”

“What do you mean?” I squeaked, embarrassed.

“My contact at the magazine said statements have been pulled and the story is dying,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. “Have a good evening, Valencia, and work your magic.”

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