Page 54 of Desire
Chapter Nineteen
The meeting in David Eastman’s office went fast. Stan Rochester said there would be no interview. David Eastman told me BCN had decided not to employ me. Rachel, who could barely look me in the eyes, agreed with them both and asked me to clean out my office.
“I have nothing in my office,” I reminded her.
“Just check so you don’t leave anything behind,” she said.
It was then that I knew she wanted some time with me alone. After we walked to my office, she gave me a play-by-play of what had happened. Apparently, Stan had received a call from someone’s lawyer refuting the stories of all the women who would be interviewed and provingthat each of them were fired from Christmas Industries for nefarious reasons.
“They’re lying,” I said.
She widened her eyes and wiggled her head. “Well, whoopee-doo, I know. But you’re the one who trusted Jasper Christmas, and he played you, Holly.”
I folded my arms defiantly, refusing to believe her. “No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did,” she adamantly claimed.
I whippedmy phone out of my purse. “I’ll call him right now.”
Rachel crossed her arms and waited as I placed the call, which rang twice before going to voice mail.
I turned away from her. “Jasper, call me. The interview fell apart.”
When I faced Rachel again, she was shaking her head. “We could’ve had a good thing here, Holls. I wanted to work with you, but you fucked it up.”
My mouth dropped. I had no idea what to say.
“Take your time. No one’s going to escort you out of here like you’re a common criminal as long as I’m your friend.” She walked over and gave me a hug.
I felt so awful, so shocked. This couldn’t be happening. “He didn’t betray me, Rach,” I said in a small voice.
Rachel sighed deeply. “Yes, he did. Let’s talk later.” She let go ofme and walked out of the office.
Never had I felt so embarrassed and possibly betrayed. I called Jasper again, and the call went immediately to voice mail. My heart took a tumble.
“Damn it, Holls,” a familiar voice said.
I looked up, and Kylie was leaning against the doorjamb with a smug look on her face. “You were never supposed to trust a Christmas.”
With that said,she stood straight and walked away.
When I madeit back down to the lobby, Jacqueline was gone.I wondered if she had been in on the farce too. As I walked back to the hotel, I called Jasper’s phone, feeling like a psychotic stalker. He answered none of my calls. I had left messages with each, though. I called him an asshole, a dark soul, and a sociopath. I told him I never wanted to see him again. I was sure he didn’t care.
Kylie had been right, and that infuriated me. I was so angrythat even in the stifling cold with aggressive snow flurries pelting my face, I was hot under the collar. I needed to unleash a good tongue-lashing on someone who was involved in this wholeRochester Reportstunt. As soon as I was in the lobby of the hotel, I called Jasper’s assistant.
“Hello,” Jacqueline answered on the first ring.
After a moment of shock that she’d answered soquickly, I asked if she knew where her boss was.
“I’m going to tell you this, and I’m going to say it fast. I was fired, and I won’t be going back to the office ever. If I were you, I would stay away from that place. Goodbye, Holly. It was nice meeting you.”
“Wait,” I called, knowing she’d already hung up.
My legs turned to jelly, and I flopped down on the sofa in the lobby.I had to regain some focus. The sad part was that I didn’t know where Jasper lived. We’d declared our love for each other and had so much sex, but I had never been to his home in New York City. I felt like a fool. I was ready to cry my eyes out but not in front of the people sitting around me, who were presumably waiting for something or someone.
I forced myself to stand, dragged myselfto the elevators, and walked into one. My limbs were heavy, and my head throbbed as if someone were clubbing me. It was time to go back home and lick my wounds. I didn’t know how I could ever recover.
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, my phone rang. I looked at the number on the screen. It was Branson. I didn’t answer. At the moment, I didn’t want anything to do with a Christmasinvestigation.
