Page 45 of Shot Through the Heart

He watches us carefully for a moment before smirking. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that we need to look at nulling the contract.”

My cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I force myself to shove the awkwardness down and answer him.

“Yes. I should have told you before, but Greyson and I actually know each other. We used to date in high school but then”—I huff out a breath and wave a hand in dismissal—“some stuff happened, and we hadn’t seen each other in five years.”

Garrett’s eyes widen in surprise just as Paige comes barreling through the door.

“Sorry, sorry. Eva was also getting coffee in the break room and then we got talking and well…” She plops down in the chair beside Garrett. “What did I miss?”

“It appears these two were…high school sweethearts?” Garrett’s answer comes out as more of a question, but I nod.

Briefly, I wish I’d worn my hair down, if only to give my hands something to do. I fidget with the tips of my fingers and fill Paige in.

“Yeah, we were. We, um, there was a, uh…” Shit. How do you simplify everything that’s led us here without trauma dumping?

“We got into an accident and my mom used my injuries as an opportunity to split us up. Even worse is that when Stella showed up to tell me she was pregnant with my baby, my mom lied and told her I didn’t want it. Except she never told me, and I only learned about my daughter last week,” Greyson says without hesitation.

Paige’s mug is frozen just in front of her mouth that hangs open, not hiding her shock at what he just said. Garrett is holding up better than her, but it’s clear that’s not at all what he was expecting.

“When I signed the contract,” I start, risking a quick glance at Greyson before continuing, “I thought he knew and that we both silently agreed to leave our personal lives off the table and focus on work. But then when he found out…” I shake my head and try to fight the tears that threaten to spill. There’s no way that I’ll cry in front of my bosses.

“I can’t separate personal and professional knowing what I do now,” Greyson offers, reaching over to take my hand in his, and gently squeezes.

“Nor should you have to,” Paige says, finally shaking the surprise off and sitting forward to set her coffee down on the table between us before pushing to her feet. While she crosses the office to Garrett’s desk, he finally speaks up.

“Luckily, there’s a section in the contract set up in case both parties wish to end the agreement early. We’ll just need you both to sign the form saying you agree to terminate the contract and you’ll be set to figure out everything else without that in the way.”

Paige comes back with a piece of paper and pen, holding it out to me first. While I read through it, she re-explains everything Garrett just said, only in legal terms. I sign quickly before handing it off to Greyson. As he reads through it and adds his signature below mine, I face Garrett.

“What does this mean for me? More specifically, my job.”

Garrett looks at Paige, raising a single brow in a silent question that she understands. With a gasp, she turns to me with an excited smile that almost scares me.

“Okay, hear me out,” she starts as she rushes back over to Garrett’s desk. Considering these two have been dating for a year, living together,andworking together, her familiarity with his office isn’t all that surprising.

“That makes it sound bad, Paige.” Garrett sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose even as a soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

“No, it’s not! I swear, just hold on,” Paige calls out while sifting through papers. I swear I hear her grumbling about the way he organizes things. I shoot Greyson a sideways glance, only to find him already staring at me.

Ignoring how my heart jumps, I focus back on Paige as she comes back to her seat and hands me a folder.

“If I remember your résumé correctly, you have experience as an executive assistant?” Paige asks, slipping into a more calm and professional tone that doesn’t really hide her excitement.

“Yes. I was an assistant at a law firm in New York before this and interned at a couple different places while getting my bachelor’s degree.”

Paige bobs her head enthusiastically. “Right, so this was basically meant to be.”

I finally open the folder she handed me and read the words once, and then three more times before I speak up.

“I’m sorry, you want me to beyourassistant?”

“Yup.” Paige beams.

I look at Garrett for clarification, but he’s too busy smiling at Paige. Greyson leans forward and skims over the paperwork in my hands.

“The hours are going to be more set. It’ll at least be Monday through Friday. We can talk about specific hours to accommodate taking care of a kid. I think it’s a pay increase for you too.”

The only thing I can do is blink.

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