Page 93 of Whispered Sins

“You’ve ruined everything,” I whispered, anger making my voice wobble.

“Let me fix it.”

“You can’t. I know you think you can get away with everything in life, but you can’t.”

“Let me just talk to your boss again.”

I shook my head and looked down at the ground. I couldn’t believe Daniel thought he could just sweep this under the rug, as if it wasn’t his life that had been turned upside down. There was no way Brian would let this go, and even if he did, I wouldn’t feel right about working here knowing what he thought of me.

While his assumptions about Daniel’s and my relationship, if that’s what you could call it, were off-base, I knew how it looked. It looked like I wasn’t good enough at my job, so I took other measures to secure a deal. The thought made me sick.

I felt a wave of nausea roll through me, causing me to double over.

“Are you okay?” asked Daniel, putting his hand on my back.

“I’m fine,” I said, pushing his hand away.

“We can figure this out.”

“We?” I snapped.

He gave me a sad look, which just further pissed me off.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve just lost one of the things that mattered most to you. Like you’ve just lost your future. Like you have no idea how you’re going to afford your rent.”

He thought for a moment. I could see on his face that he had never had to worry about anything like that. It wasn’t his fault that it made him so out of touch with the reality of most people.

My reality was I had hit rock bottom. I had nowhere to turn to. My parents had already made it clear they wouldn’t help me.

“You can find another job. I can help you,” said Daniel.

I laughed loudly, a smile never reaching my eyes. “Yes, please, help me find a job where people will speculate on how I got it.”

“You have to let me help somehow,” he said.

“How?”

“I know you haven’t cashed the check I gave you…”

“You thinkthat’sthe solution?”

“It will help, until you can find another job.”

“I don’t need your money.”

That was a bald-faced lie.

He sighed frustratedly before getting to his feet and walking toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

He could be leaving, which deep down I didn’t want, or he was going to make a further mess of the situation.

“I’m talking to your boss,” he said with certainty before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

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