Page 103 of Babies for the Big Shot
Someone knows. Someone’s talking.
It won’t be long before this all blows up in my face.
I feel sick.
I stumble back into Laura’s apartment, pale and shaking.
She jumps up instantly. “What happened?”
“Tina from HR.” I can hardly get the words out. “Someone’s spreading rumors. About me. And Nick.”
Laura’s expression hardens. “What the actual hell?”
“She said it’s just office gossip for now. But that it could get worse.” My chest tightens until I can barely breathe. “What if I get fired? What if he does? What if this all blows up and it’s not just us who get hurt, but everything we’ve worked for?”
Laura grabs my shoulders. “Hey. Look at me.”
I try.
“You haven’t done anything wrong. You were two consenting adults. If anyone crosses a line, it’s not you, it’s whoever’s trying to weaponize your relationship.”
But her words don’t land. The panic is already taking over.
What if this isn’t just heartbreak?
What if this is destruction?
I left my freelancing gigs for this job. For the stability. The healthcare. The routine. The future.
I thought I was finally safe. And now, I might be about to lose everything.
My career.
My reputation.
My man…
And it’s all unraveling before I’ve even gotten the chance to breathe.
Tears burn again, but I swallow them back. No more crying.
Not today.
But somewhere deep in my chest, I feel it starting again anyway.
The terrifying, spiraling thought that maybe I’ve already lost too much to fix this.
And I don’t know how to make it stop.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Nick
The secondI step into the office, I know something’s wrong.
It’s in the air, heavy, charged with the tension right before a storm breaks. Conversations cut off too quickly when I walk into earshot. A junior associate I barely know won’t look me in the eye when we pass in the hall.
It’s not paranoia.
