Page 122 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

Finding my way to one side of the room so I could survey my surroundings, I took in the scene—fresh flowers and candles on every available surface, cascading chandeliers giving everything a soft glow.

The charity was for animals of course, Venus' biggest passion, but I couldn't tell you what organization was putting this on or who benefited. Considering Venus was my one and only client at the moment, I probably should have put more effort into tonight.

But I hadn't, which was highly unusual for me.

The truth was... I was fucking depressed and down, farther down than I'd ever been in my entire life. And not only about being fired, but also because I was so damn lonely.

Not the loneliness I'd had before him. That had been different, just a vague sense on occasion that I was missing something, a person to share all my thoughts and worries with at the end of the day, someone to cuddle and whisper with in the night.

This loneliness was far more specific. It was a constant ache in my chest. For a certain flash of a smile. For a twinkle of lightness in a pair of dark eyes. For a deep, loud laugh that reverberated through me.

Damn it. I was so sick of my life and the shitshow it'd become these last few weeks. I'd been a shadow of myself, not exactly dead, but certainly not living.

While working on Venus' book was great and all, if I was being honest with myself, which was remarkably difficult, the only real thing I'd looked forward to was getting Max's daily notes. They'd become a beacon of light in my darkness.

I kept them in my nightstand drawer, pulling them out in the middle of the night when restless insomnia hit me, which was unhealthily often. I read them, studying the bold, confident strokes of Max's pen, wishing I knew something about handwriting analysis and the meaning behind his sharp angles and flowing lines.

Quite a few times, I'd woken in the morning, still clutching a note to my chest, as if I'd sought to relieve the endless dull pain in my heart.

A server drifted by with a tray of champagne, and I gratefully took a glass, coming back to the present. Scattered around the room, clusters of people chatted away, some beginning to take their seats. I let my gaze wander, remembering my mission to find a friendly face.

Of course, I looked at every single tall male in the room, but none werehim. And no sign of Veronica either.

Venus would make a late arrival obviously, and even once she made her grand entrance, she'd hardly hang out with me for any significant amount of time. Too many people would be clamoring for her attention and understandably so.

Seated across the room at a table, I spotted an old friend that I hadn't seen in ages, so I headed that way, although my heart really wasn't in it. But it was better than literally being a wallflower.

Leona greeted me warmly, giving me a hug and asking me to sit down beside her. After catching up for a bit and dancing around some difficult questions, I was utterly exhausted. Trying to keep up the illusion that my life was perfect and everything was just fine was unbearable.

When the emcee's voice boomed over the speakers, relief flashed through me. Hopefully there would be a lot of talking tonight.

He welcomed everyone, promising an unforgettable evening, then went over the schedule, peppering in jokes and amusing stories. Thank goodness for talkative people. Sometimes, they really saved the day.

"Whew, he's chatty," Leona said to me under her breath.

I nodded in agreement. Chatty and loquacious.

Loquacious. One of my favorite words. I wondered if Max knew what it meant.

Servers appeared and started bringing out the food, as well as topping up drinks. I wasn't very hungry, nerves still filling my stomach unfortunately, so I ended up only eating a few bites. But the wine and champagne were going down great.

My mind wandered back to the gala I'd gone to with Max, the one where he'd made me say the word meowgarita repeatedly. I smiled, but my smile quickly turned to melancholy when Iremembered the way we'd danced later in the night, how close he'd held me, how strong and safe and warm he'd felt.

Longing swept through me, a longing so powerful my chest squeezed. I couldn't be here anymore. I needed... I needed something.

Air. Fresh air.

I needed to shake off my frozen expression, stop pretending like I cared about whatever the emcee was saying, and get the hell out of here.

Shoving my chair back, I drew Leona's attention, her brows raising as she looked at me.

"Sorry. I don't feel well," I said. "I need some air."

"Do you need my help?"

"No, no, no," I insisted. "I'll be fine. But thank you. And good seeing you again."

Unable to wait for her reply, I took off, ignoring any looks that came my way. Thankfully, most people were too preoccupied with themselves to even notice me.

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