Page 81 of Never the Best

Rhett:Good work! How’s your day been so far?

Me:Eh. Nothing special.

Rhett:My father came by—I think I may have wrecked that relationship irredeemably.

I called him then. He answered on the first ring.

“What happened?”

“The usual, only this time I told him that I didn’t give a damn,” he replied, amused. “You worried about me, baby?”

“Yes.”

“You know what would make me feel better?”

“What?”

“If you could close your door, and maybe we can have some phone sex?”

I giggled. “My office has glass walls. You’ll just have to wait to get me off in person.”

“My favorite thing to do,” he drawled huskily.

By the time I hung up, joy swirled inside of me. I had a boyfriend—an honest-to-God, delicious, wonderful, and caring boyfriend. I still couldn’t believe it, but I was immensely grateful.

It was almost the end of the day, and Rhett was going to pick me up in a bit, when a message popped up in my inbox from Nina Davenport.

Come by my office when you have a minute. – Nina

I ruminated over my first day back at work as I walked to Nina’s office. It had been good. I’d had just enough work to keep me busy but not overwhelm me. Colleagues said hello and checked in on me without making it awkward. My boss told me that if I needed more time, I should take it, and then moved on to talking about work.

Apparently, people finding out I have an eating disorderhad not turned me into someone to pity—no one was looking at me differently now that they knew.

Diego Perez was coming out of Nina’s office as I got there.

“Hey, Pearl, how’s it goin’?” he asked casually.

“Good, and you?”

Diego grinned and winked at me. “Fabulous.”

As he walked away, I wondered if I’d seen a lipstick mark on his cheek. When I stepped into Nina’s office after she asked me to come in, I saw her redo her lipstick—the same pink color as was on Diego’s face.

Well, well, there’s an office romance blooming.That thought, for some reason, delighted me.

Nina had her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose as she studied her face on her iPhone camera to check her lipstick. She set it down when she saw me, her face breaking into a warm smile.

She came from around the desk and hugged me. “So good to have you back, Pearl.”

Nina had always disarmed me. She was one of the toughest and most demanding professionals I knew, and yet she was ready with a hug, a tissue, or a joke when it was needed.

And she had game since she’d snagged the sexiest man in the building, I thought with a giggle.

I couldn’t wait to tell Rhett about having caught Nina Davenport making out with Diego Perez inheroffice. He was the only one I could tell because there was no way I was going to spread gossip in theoffice.

Nina led me to a chair and then took her seat across from me.

“How are you?” she asked, resting her elbows on her desk.

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