Page 30 of The Grump's Assistant

My phone rings, jarring me out of my disheveled state. Cutter’s name flashes across the screen and I’m quick to answer it. Two calls in the same week? It must be something serious.

“Everything okay?” I answer. It comes out jagged, my voice somewhere between a growl and whisper.

“Woah, should I be asking you that?”

“You first.”

“I’m okay,” he assures me. “More than okay, actually. I’m great. I… I called to update you on my girl.”

“Your girl? The trespasser?” This is a turn of events I didn’t see coming.

“Sadie,” he corrects. “I didn’t send her home the day I called you. I’m not sure how it happened, but she stayed the night again. And then another night. And then I couldn’t imagine life without her, ya know?”

I grunt in acknowledgment. I’m happy for my friend. Really, I am. Just because my epic love story turned sour doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Cutter finding his other half.

“Anyway,” he continues. “I would love for you to meet Sadie some time. I also wanted to check on your situation with your assistant. Were you more diligent in ignoring your feelings than I was?”

I sigh heavily and press my free hand over my heart, trying and failing to relieve the hollow ache there. “No,” I finally answer.

“Ah, so things… didn’t turn into a happily ever after?” my friend guesses. “Honestly, Sadie and I had a rough spot, too. I was an idiot and had to grovel but it was worth it. She was worth it.”

“Grovel? You?”

Cutter chuckles. “Yeah, never thought I’d be the type. But I would have done anything to prove myself worthy.”

“Shit,” I mutter. His words hit closer to home than he knows.

“So, tell me what’s going on. I’m a relationship expert now,” he jokes. Sadie must have done a number on him. The man Italked to last week was a grouchy loner with a guilty conscience and a head full of darkness.

“I… I don’t even know. Juniper said… and I snapped and then she left, and… goddamnit,” I sigh defeatedly, running a hand through my hair. “I made her cry. I literally just fired her and sent her away in tears less than five minutes ago and my head is all over the place.”

“Oh, shit. So this just happened? I have great timing then, huh?”

“I think I messed up,” I say slowly, the words tasting foreign on my lips. I don’t make mistakes, but if I did, it would be someone else’s fault. Not this, though. I made Juniper cry. I fired her without giving her a chance to explain. I hurt her. Me.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know where to even start,” I tell him truthfully. I replay the entire scene in my head. “I didn’t want to like her,” I say, my lip twitching into the hint of a smile. “But she actually cared, you know? She asked how my day was and brought me meals. Even though her attitude was unprofessional, she had a certain charm.”

“Sounds like she’s exactly what you need to balance you out. I get that feeling. So, why did you send her away crying?”

“She lied.”

“About what?”

“Everything.” Even as I say it, I know it’s not true.

“Really?Everything?” Of course Cutter would call me out on my shit. “Whatever happened, the emotions are real. I can tell you’re wrecked just from your voice. You must look like shit in person.”

I stare at my balled-up fists, squeezing hard and then letting go. I’m shaking as I inhale shallow breaths. It hurts. Every part of me aches. How did one woman destroy me so completely?

My father’s words come back to me, as they often do. Family was the only thing that kept him from achieving wealth and status. In that regard, maybe Juniper did me a favor. It might hurt like a motherfucker right now, but with Juniper out of my life, I can focus on my career again.

What we have is real.

Juniper’s whispered confession drowns out my father’s voice. Real. What is real? Money. Numbers. Things I can count and plan. Things I can control.

The image of Juniper’s soft smile in the morning fills my mind. The way the sun kissed her cheek and hip as she lay on her side, her curvy figure silhouetted in the morning light. Her sparkling green eyes lock onto mine, telling me without words that she’s real, too. She’s flesh and blood, smiles and sass, strong and so damn beautiful.

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