Page 113 of Misfortune and Mr. Right

“I have to run. Now. I can’t be late. Thank you.”

Suze’s face contorts with concern.

I can’t even look her in the eye.

I turn and practically run to the elevators.

Charlie stops me. “Where are you headed in such a rush, missy? Got a hot lunch date?”

“Something like that.” I swerve around him. “I’ll explain later.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Charlie’s stunned expression is the last thing I see before I push through the door leading into the hallway and head straight to the elevators. I push the down button repeatedly, as if that will bring the car up any faster.

I hear voices in the hallway. It’s Logan. And Darwin.

The elevator taunts me with its shut doors, my frantic reflection a mirror of my reality.

The doors slide open as Logan and Darwin’s chuckles grow louder. I hit the Close Door button and step to the side of the doors, hiding myself as efficiently as any well-meaning ostrich.

The doors slide shut. I push the button for the ground floor, and the elevator mercifully descends, away from Barnes and the scene that will invariably repeat itself in my mind for years to come: the moment I declared out loud that I was falling for Logan Alexander, followed by the moment Darwin exposed Logan’s attempt to steal the manager position right out of my hands.

I don’t even remember the walk to my car, turning the key, or exiting the parking garage next to our offices. I’m driving in an emotional daze, my face wet with fresh tears.

Betrayal stings.

Betrayal from someone you allowed yourself to feel vulnerable and safe with stings like treading through a field of nettle. Each pinprick incites a riot of pain, unrelenting and piercing.

I did this to myself.

I trusted him.

He betrayed me.

He always betrays me.

And he doesn’t even regret it.

A miniscule voice tries to remind me of his kindness to Lynette. That same little piece of me throws up a slide show of him bringing me coffee, making me ice cream, playing with Rhett, dancing with me in his apartment … and our kisses.

I cannot reconcile those images with the reality I just experienced for the hundredth time in my life. Logan Alexander will always be a conundrum. He may be kind and funny at times. But at his core, he will always be a competitor, and he will invariably slay me and everything I work for in the process.

I am officially the greatest fool in the world.

Not only was I falling for Logan.

I officially fell.

And unlike Charlie predicted, I might not survive this fall.

I tell Bluetooth to call Megan on her cell.

She answers the call. “Hey, Liv, what’s up?”

I sob at the sound of her voice, pulling my car alongside a curb because I can’t see well enough to drive.

“Hey. Hey. Are you okay?”

---