Page 63 of Heated
“Okay, yep, I get it.” I twirl my fingers. “Carry on.”
Wow. Is everyone getting sex but me?
By choice.
Shut up, bitch.
I smother a sigh. I hate know-it-all, smug self-consciousness.
“Right.” Deanna flicks her ponytail over her shoulder and, after casting a furtive glance at the closed break room door, inches closer to me. “Uh, did Valerie Summers have an appointment you forgot to add to the calendar or tell me about so I could add it to the calendar?”
I slowly straighten, ice crackling along my veins. Alarm bells clang in my head, and I can barely hear myself speak to Deanna. Guilt streams through me like a swollen spring flood.
“What? No, I didn’t schedule an appointment.”
Relief flashes across Deanna’s face, followed by confusion.
“That’s what I thought. And I would’ve remembered if you’d told me. I mean, Ms.I’d Never Dare Step Foot in Five Points is pretty unforgettable,” she mutters. “But she’s here in the lobby and is insisting on seeing you. Appointment or no appointment.”
I turn on the pretense of tending to my coffee when I really don’t want Deanna to see my trembling hands. Dread clenches my belly in its taloned grip and squeezes, digging its claws in until bile whips and burns a path for the back of my throat.
Valerie Summers. Here in my office. Without an appointment. After I’ve been spending time with her ex, and some of it not in private.
There can be only one reason for her sudden appearance.
To rip me a new asshole. And I deserve it.
Miriam had warned me, hadn’t she? This couldn’t end well. And the time had come to pay the piper. I couldn’t hide from this. No matter how much I hated conflict, this situation I created. Hubris. This is the result of hubris. Not only have I continued to see the woman’s ex behind her back, but not just in secret. Hell, only two evenings ago, I’d been at a rock concert with him. In public.
And you’ve had your tongue down his throat and his hand down your panties. Let’s not forget that.
Shut. Up. Bitch.
Lobotomy. Do they still perform lobotomies?
Pivoting back around, I face Deanna again, pinning my polite, professional smile on my face. My only armor at this point.
“That’s okay. I think my schedule is clear at the moment. Let me finish up in here, and I’ll be right out.”
Deanna frowns, and I read her mind without her speaking a word. She doesn’t like making an exception for Val since she views the other woman as entitled. And under ordinary circumstances, I would agree with her. But these are far, far from ordinary circumstances.
“I’ll let her know.” Deanna turns but halts before she leaves, studying me over her shoulder. “Zora, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” To emphasize my fine-ness, I dial up the wattage on my smile.
But that’s the thing with friends. They don’t easily buy your brand of bullshit.
Her lips part, probably to argue with me, but I pop up a hand to ward her off.
“Seriously, Deanna. I’m good. Thank you for worrying, though.”
One last long look, and then she nods. “You’re welcome. I’ll go let Queen Val know you’ll be with her in a few minutes.”
As soon as Deanna exits, leaving me alone, I heave a deep, low breath and clutch the edge of the counter, my head bent low.
I can do this. I can do this.
But Ican’tdo this with coffee sloshing around in my stomach. It might end up on Val’s shoes.
