Page 67 of Down to One

"I’lltakecareofthecar,"Katieinsisted.

"You sure?" Ellis asked. "You’ve had a long day and I know ass-kissing isn’t your favorite task. I don’t mind, girl."

"No, no, I don’t mind either."

She fled before Ellis could argue. Dealing with Mayumi, sweet talking security guards, and asking people to move their vehicles—none of those tasks ranked high on her list of fun work activities, but Katie sure as hell didn’t feel like cheering anymore.

LR

Landon Ryan>

Today9:33 PM

U ok? Did you leave the game early?

Today10:01 PM

What's up baby? Call me

Today10:54 PM

Are you ok? I'm getting worried...

chapter 30

Katie shut her phone off and fell back into her ball of tissues for another cry. She didn’t dare turn on the TV. Between reality dating shows and sports andSeinfeldreruns, pretty much everything reminded her of Landon. She could only hope for sleep. A deep blissful sleep that she needed so much for so many reasons

Thud, thud, thud.

Thud, thud, thud.

She knew it was Landon just by the way he knocked. By the way she could feel his presence hovering outside the door. By the way her heart soared.

"Katie, it’s me," he confirmed. "Open up."

She pulled her hair up into a quick bun, wrapped a baggy cardigan around her body, and attempted to wipe the sob fest off her face. She did a poor job of it based on Landon’s expression when she opened the door.

"Holy shit, what the hell is going on?" He crowded her into the apartment to get a better look at her in the light.

Katie ducked away and muttered, "Oh by all means, come on in."

He was right on her heels as she shuffled into the kitchen and filled up the tea kettle.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Katie didn’t even know where or how to start explaining just how un-okay she was, so she didn’t bother trying. She fussed with the stove instead.

Landon tried again. "Did you have a bad day at work or something? Is Lori giving you shit?"

Just the mention of Lori’s name did the trick. She spun to face him and the words started tumbling out through some weird plastic smile.

"No, Landon, Lori and I actually had a really nice conversation today. She finally seemed to warm up to me. Hell, she even complimented me."

"Okay, that sounds like a good thing..."

"Oh it is. She even assigned me a new project. One that could really open a lot of doors for me in my career."

"Cool. What is it?" Landon asked, but he followed the question with a weary sigh and crossed his arms across his chest, clearly irked by her faux peppiness.

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