Page 73 of The Lessons

“No. I don’t see how. I only keep work files on my computer. Honest. I’ve never even played solitaire on there.” I sank backward into my chair.

Cathy nodded. “Okay. Thank you. Doug is working on trying to figure out what exactly happened. And Natalie? Even though only a few people saw the photos, the rumor mill is working overtime, and well, it might be best if you took the rest of the day off. Maybe tomorrow, too.”

I blinked at her. “Seriously?”

“I think it’s best. Give Doug a chance to figure things out; then we’ll figure out what to do.”

“What about the presentation?”

“We’ll reschedule.”

My jaw tightened. “Okay. If you think that’s best.” I looked around the empty room. “I guess I’ll go get my stuff?”

Cathy nodded. “I’ll be in touch about the situation. Please don’t worry. We’ll pay you during this time.”

Pay me? I hadn’t even thought of that. I squinted at her and swallowed. “Wait. Am I being put on leave?” That was why everyone was whispering and looking at me, why Kent had been a little too eager in the hall.Oh, my God.The full force of the situation finally hit me. This wasn’t just a blip. This was a nightmare. I was the opposite of that girl in the picture.I just lost my virginity last week!I wanted to scream.I’m hardly the type who spends her free time playing naked patty-cake with half the cast of the Magic Mike!

But I couldn’t say that. So I just sat there. Silent.

Cathy looked pained, and that pained me. I hated that she was disappointed in me. “Just until we figure out what happened, Natalie. HR feels it would be best in order to control the inter-office gossip.”

“Cathy, I—”

“It’s just a formality.”

Her tone told me there was no room for argument. “Okay. Thanks,” I replied in a small voice. It was all I could manage. I wasn’t going to cry; no, that wasn’t me. I walked out of the conference room, numb.

This couldn’t be happening.

I pressed my lips together and hurried to my office as quickly as I could. As I grabbed my coat and my purse, I felt my face heat. I was turning to close the door behind me when Paulina’s voice chirped.

“Natalie, hey, what happened with Cathy—?” She stopped suddenly when she saw my face. She gasped. “Natalie, is everything okay?”

“Fine,” I gritted through my teeth. “Going home. See you later.”

I turned on my heel and bolted out of the fresh hell that was Heaven Sent.

Chapter Twenty-two

Natalie

Once home, I couldn’t relax. I tried reading. I tried a bath. I even tried eating a tube of raw cookie dough, but nothing did the trick. Having your entire company think you posed for nude photos equaled one fucking mess. I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over my head.

Maybe I should just go back to New York.

Maybe I wasn’t so West Coast Successful after all.

Loser,my subconscious whispered.

I pulled out my phone to call Josh. Maybe it was time to confess everything, tell him the truth. I mean, what good was a friend if they couldn’t support you when you were down? Maybe it was finally time for me to open up to someone, all the way. I pressed send and listened to the phone ring.

A happy voice picked up. “Hey, this is Josh! I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m out having too much fun! Leave a message!”

Voicemail.

Dammit.

I scrolled through my phone, on my way to Ryan’s entry, and my eye caught on Brad Valentine. He had to have seen the photo. That had to be why he’d been acting strange. I cringed inside at the thought, but he had to know the truth. I mean, I’d been nothing but borderline prudish with him. There’s no way he’d think— I pressed send.

---