Page 38 of A Holly Jilly Christmas

And one more.

Marcy: You should really hurry home. Your girl misses you …

Your girl.

That’s all I can see. Didn’t Case say he was single? No—he said unattached. Now I’m wondering if that was a fancy way of saying he’s dating around. Your girl sure sounds like commitment to me.

And a text like that paired with the ones from David do not paint a very good picture of the man I thought I was getting to know. My stomach is incredibly unhappy with my decision to eat so much breakfast.

“Hey—what’s wrong?” Case slides into the other side of the booth. He puts his credit card back in his wallet, but his eyes don’t leave my face. “Jillian?”

Concern colors his voice. Fake concern or real? Is all of this fake? Was this part of some mission David sent him on? I just don’t understand.

Everything in me wants to run. To call Tank and give him a flimsy explanation why I need him to take me ALONE to pick up Tina, leaving Case right here, where he can figure out his own ride back to Austin.

Where he asked you to spend Christmas with him and his family, a voice sounding suspiciously like reason says. Would he do that if he were involved in something shady with David? Or dating someone else? No. He would not.

But the texts! The secret watching of the phone! Maybe it’s not even about stealing the credit for this idea but lay-offs, like I suspected Friday night. Case said no but …

Ask him, clarity chimes in. You know what they say about assumptions.

And you know what trope you hate above all the tropes? another voice adds. MISCOMMUNICATION.

ASK HIM. They’ve all ganged up now, all the voices in my head, shouting at least as loud as the cacophony of worry.

Case says my name again, and it’s like I’m hearing him from the bottom of a tunnel. My finger is hovering over the red button again, but I remember what Case said about letting me huff and puff.

“I saw your texts,” I blurt out, and it’s like all the noise in my head clears instantly. Case holds my gaze, and the lack of fear in it reassures me. “I didn’t mean to, but they kept coming in, and I’m nosy. I know it was a violation of your privacy but … I have questions. Maybe you should look at them first.”

I nod to his phone, and Case touches the screen so he sees what I saw. His features smooth into understanding and he reaches for my hand. But not before I tuck it under the table.

“Let me explain,” he says.

An ugly laugh bubbles up out of me. “That is the quintessential start to every bad conversation ever.”

“Jillian.” Case’s voice is careful. “Remember what I said? I’m not going anywhere. Ask me the questions. Okay? Ask.”

“Are you and David planning some kind of work sabotage or firing me or—”

“No.” His lip curls a little as he says it. “I cannot stand David, and I’ve been building case to present to HR and the board about his behavior, especially the way he treats the younger women in the office.”

This news practically makes me jerk back. “Really?”

“Really. I’ve seen a pattern with him, and I had a feeling he was going to try to use this trip as an excuse to fire you. I’m here to protect you, to make sure he can’t do that.”

It takes me a minute to process and to let out the breath I’ve been holding. So, David is as much of a jerk as I suspected. And Case is …not the jerk I originally thought he was.

“I’m sorry I assumed.”

He shakes his head and holds out his hand closer to me, palm up, an invitation. But I still have questions.

“And the text about”—I swallow around a knot in my throat—“your girl?”

At this, Case flashes me a grin and, still leaving his hand open on the table, he uses the other to turn on his phone and navigate to an app. He looks set to show me, but then clutches the phone to his chest.

“You have to promise not to make fun of me.”

“Why would I make fun of you?”

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