Page 15 of Ruined Promises

What a day. I kept my nose buried in my work all day, avoiding Ben the best I could. When I left the office at six, I noticed his light was still on. We were the only ones left in the office. I debated walking over to say good night but thought better of it. Maybe he was just staying late to learn about his new surroundings.

When I arrive home, I find Brynn, Hadley, and Cal sitting at the island waiting for me.

“Hey, what are you all doing here?” I ask as I flip off my heels and enjoy the feel of my feet on the hardwood floor.

“Well, I live here, in case you forgot,” Hadley jokes with a smile plastered on her face. “But you texted 911, so I thought I would bring reinforcements.” She holds out her hands at Brynn and Cal in a “ta-da” fashion.

Oh shit, that’s right.I forgot that I had shoved my phone in my purse and never checked messages all day.

“Yeah, you can’t text 911 and then ignore us. I was ready to come over to your office to check on you.”

“I’m sorry. It was a long day.”

“Well, I brought plenty of wine.” Brynn holds up two bottles in front of her as Hadley walks over to the cabinet for the glasses. “And dinner to soak up the booze.”

I finally get a whiff of the delicious aroma of the local Chinese takeout place down the street. My mouth waters at the thought of the chicken and broccoli.

My eyes focus on Cal just as he looks up. “Yeah, well, I’m just here for the food, so feel free to ignore me.”

“Callum,” Brynn scolds, and he holds his hands up innocently.

“What? I’m just being honest.”

Hadley walks over and hands me a glass of red wine before taking a sip of her own. “Now come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”

The stress I had felt since this morning’s meeting rolled off my shoulders. These girls, and even Cal, have my back no matter what. That’s what these girls do. I had begun to believe that they were my soul mates and that I don’t need a man on my mind.

Yet, there’s only been one man on my mind since Friday night. And now I’ve discovered that this man is utterly untouchable.

Gathered around the coffee table, now covered with an assortment of Chinese takeout containers, fortune cookies, and opened bottles of wine, I enjoy the company of my best friend. In true tribe fashion, we get completely sidetracked from the topic at hand, aka me and my 911, as they talk about their days. I’m not necessarily looking forward to being the center of attention here, so I just go along with it.

Hadley, who is currently sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, adjusts to sitting on her knees. “Okay, so explain the 911 text. Did you meet your new boss? Did you guys hit it off, okay?” she asks before shoving another piece of orange chicken in her mouth.

So much for avoiding that subject.

I swirl the cabernet sauvignon around in my wineglass, and my shoulders sag. “Oh yeah, I met him, all right, and we hit it off great,” I mutter softly, but loud enough for my friends to hear me before bringing the glass up to my lips and downing the rest of its contents.

I savor the taste, begging for liquid courage to make it through this conversation, but if there is anyone who wouldn’t judge my epic poor life decisions, it would be these people.

I close my eyes, and memories fill my head—from the satisfaction and warmth of his touch that night versus the coldness and panic I felt this morning.

Here goes nothing.I take a deep breath as I feel their eyes burning a hole in my skin, waiting for me to explain.

“I kind of slept with my boss,” I spit out before I chicken out.

Of course, right as I confess, Cal is taking a sip of his beer, and his reaction is to spit out his drink, but he quickly recovers, reaching for the pile of napkins on the table to clean the mess he made.

Hadley’s eyes meet mine as if she’s still trying to process what I just said. Her brows furrow, and she opens and closes her mouth multiple times before she finally finds the words.

“How do you kinda sleep with your boss?”

Unfazed by what I just said, Brynn continues to eat the food on her plate but retorts, “Was it just the tip? That’s pretty hot.” The rest of us turn to face her, and she just shrugs.

“Okay, on that note, I think I’m going to slip out to get to my date and leave the girl talk to you guys.”

“Wait, you have a date, yet you ate dinner here with us,” Hadley questions.

Cal rises from his seat, taking his plate and empty bottle with him to the kitchen. “It’s only drinks with the chick from the coffee shop. Plus, when do I ever turn down food?”

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