Page 83 of Serving the CEO

“Don’t worry.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out an envelope. “You’ll never have anything to do with my bed again.”

I scowled but didn’t take the bait. “You made your choice. If you don’t like the consequences, that’s just too fucking bad–”

“I have one more decision to make.” She cut me off. Placing the envelope on the surface of my desk, she used her index finger to slide it closer. “And I’m making it now. I don’t need until the end of the year, Mr. Thomas. I quit. Effective right now.”

She straightened, gave me a cool look of derision and turned on her heel. As she strode out of the office, she threw one last comment over her shoulder.

“And I look damn good today. Asshole.”

The door closed behind her with a quietsnickand she was gone. Out of my office and out of my company.

Out of my life.

The pain that twisted through me made me want to scream. I grabbed the empty coffee cup from its place next to my monitor and hurled it at the wall.

“Son of a bitch!”

THIRTY-TWO

JESSICA

After collectingmy personal belongings from my office, I made a pit stop by the apartment to drop everything off. Jami was on the couch in her comfiest pajamas, looking for jobs. I’d asked her if she wanted to get her belongings from the office, but she’d said there was nothing there she needed. She hadn’t bothered settling in when she’d become my assistant. She hadn’t needed to tell me that it was because, in her gut, she’d always known this wasn’t going to work.

I really appreciated her not rubbing it in.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“About how you’d expect. He was a surly bastard. I called him a prick and he told me I had to deal with the consequences of my choices.” I shrugged and kept my voice nonchalant.

I couldn’t tell her how hurt I was by the encounter, how it had twisted my insides to hear him talk that way, as if there’d never been anything more than paper between us. She’d never understand how much I’d come to care for him. Hell, I didn’t understand it myself.

“You could’ve stayed,” Jami said. “He had you reporting to Drew for the rest of your original contract. I wouldn’t have thought less of you for it.”

“Yeah, well, I would’ve thought less of myself.” I took my little potted plant from my box of things and set it on the table. Everything else could wait.

“Are you going to join me?” Jami asked. “I can show you what I’ve already found. There’s not much, but it’s something.”

“No, but thanks. I’m going to go. I need to go talk to my parents.” Sighing, I looked around the apartment. “We’ve got to figure out something, fast, or we’ll both end up homeless.”

“Nah. I can always go back home to my folks.” She made a face and added, “It might drive me crazy, but I can do it if I have to.”

After a quick hug, I picked up my purse again and left. Hopefully, the subway ride to my parents’ store would give me time to figure out how to explain this whole mess to them. They’d been so understanding of everything already and now I had to go tell them that I’d completely fucked up the only chance to save the store.

Of course, Mom and Dad weren’t going to be the hardest people to talk to.

No.

That would be Bristol and her agent, Imani. And that was a conversation I had no idea how to approach. I honestly was still wrapping my head around that part of Derrick’s revenge. It wasn’t just stupid on a professional level, but petty in a way I’d never imagined he could be. He was willing to hurt Bristol’s career just to get back at me.

“One step at a time,” I told myself as I headed back out onto the street. “Just take it one step at a time.”

* * *

“Hi, honey!”

My mom wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. The warmth of her embrace and the familiar scent of her—books and lavender—was so soothing, the knot in my chest eased and I held on a few seconds longer than normal, reveling in the safety and warmth of a mother’s love. She didn’t say anything, just hugged me back and when I stepped away, she smiled and smoothed a hand down my hair.

“How are you?”

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