Page 100 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

I miss how I felt when he was around.

I misshim.

“I shouldn’t call him, right?”

They all shake their heads, eyes wide.

“No way. You’re a total lightweight, and though you’re not drunk yet, it’s obvious you have some booze in you. You do not want to call him right now.”

Maya nods. “Yeah, I agree with River. You don’t want the first time you talk to him to be when you’re buzzed. The things you two need to discuss are for sober conversations only.”

“Actually, I’m just going to take this now…” River reaches for my phone just as it begins to light up.

“Oh fuck,” I mutter, looking down at the number that fills the screen.

“What? Who is it?”

“Is it him?”

I shake my head. “It’s my boss. Or, well, my old boss.”

“Answer it!” Caroline says excitedly. “Maybe she wants you back!”

Hope blooms in my chest, and I slide my finger across the screen before I can think too much about it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Holland,” Jessa says. “I just wanted to chat with you for a moment. Is this a bad time?”

“No. Not at all.” I get up from the bed, moving away from their curious stares, and lock myself in the en-suite bathroom. “What’s up?”

What’s up? On a professional call? Really, Holland? Get it together!

“Sorry. I mean, what did you want to talk about?”

She laughs lightly. “Well, I wanted to let you know I spoke with Sutton—”

“You did?” It comes out a squeak. I clear my throat and try again. “Uh, sorry. You did?”

“Are you sure this isn’t a bad time?” Jessa asks again.

“No, no. I just thought I saw a…spider. Sorry.”

“Right.” Except she doesn’t sound the least bit convinced. “Anyway, I met with Sutton the other day and we had a discussion about the way things went down. He came to me asking me to give you your job back.”

He what?!

“And honestly, I’ve taken what he said into great consideration—how amazing of an employee you are, how hard you work, and how dedicated you were to the team. All things I already knew, of course, but really, after he explained how he fell in love with you before you two ever worked for Spectrum Marketing and how your relationship just happened to blossom outside of the office, that’s what made me pause and reconsider things.”

Fell in love?

Is Sutton…

Does Sutton…

“Now, I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past few days, Holland. I want you to know that.” She continues like she didn’t just completely shatter everything I thought I knew. “And while I would love to have you back here kicking some major ass, I can’t bend the rules for you.”

My heart plummets.

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