Page 84 of Falling For My Ex's Brother

In fact, it was late. She was probably already asleep.

I rode the elevator up and went to my own room, prepared to call Lana first thing in the morning. Or maybe I’d show up at her door with breakfast and see if I could find a few ways to make her feel better.

37

LANA

Like a fool,I’d stayed awake far too long waiting to see if Dylan would call or come to my room after dinner. But he hadn’t even texted me.

I hadn’t left early for sympathy or attention, but after our night together, I thought maybe he’d have reached out. He’d clearly been far too busy with Vera to worry about that.

Not only that, I was worried about what Beth might do or say after finding out about me and Dylan.

But I could just deny it. She had no proof. It was her word against mine. Still, it made me anxious knowing that she could jeopardize my career at Berman.

Instead of lying in bed feeling crummy, I decided that my work was done. Anything else between Emberox Spirits and Deft Rock could be handled by Brent and Dylan directly. I really didn’t want to be on the same flight as Dylan or Beth, and be forced to sit through the awkwardness.

I changed my flight to the first one I thought I could catch. Then I sent an email to Beth and the team, letting them know I’d be in the office in the morning.

By the time the plane took off, Dylan still hadn’t called or texted. With it on airplane mood, I wouldn’t hear from anyone until we landed. I tried to watch a movie but couldn’t stop thinking about Dylan.

Had he spent the night with Vera? I couldn’t bring myself to think that. But the way he enjoyed her attention, at the very least, it was a possibility.

Get out before your heart gets broken, Lana.

I tried to focus on the stupid comedy I’d picked. But I knew my heart was already cracking and about to shatter. If I wanted to avoid heartbreak, I’d have to go back nearly four years and start over.

I didn’t turn my phone on right away after I landed. I suspected he’d at least texted, maybe wondering where I was by that point. And I just wasn’t ready to deal with it.

After I got back into my car, I went straight to the office from the airport. I figured I might as well fill Chelsea in. Maybe I could finish that, and I’d be able to think about something else for the rest of the day.

The problem was that I didn’t have other campaigns to work on at that moment. Alexander wanted all my energy on the Deft Rock account, so he’d cleared my schedule.

I needed to talk to him and let him know that I could take on more work. At least it would be a distraction.

The minute I stepped through the doors, someone shouted. “There she is! Kicking ass and taking no names!” Maddie ran up to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

“You heard already?”

“Heard you guys killed it! Brent called this morning and gave us the good news. I mean, they want to see Deft Rock before any legal documents are signed, but they made a handshake deal. It’s all but in the bag!”

I chuckled. “Yeah, they were pretty impressed.”

I stopped by Chelsea’s office to let her know it went well.

“You and Beth did a great job,” she said.

Alexander stopped by to pat me on the back.

I should have been as giddy with excitement as Maddie was. Instead, I felt miserable. As Alexander opened the door to leave, I turned in my chair.

“Now that Emberox Spirits is pretty clearly on board, can I be assigned to a different account? Maybe let Beth handle the next steps?”

Alex and Chelsea blinked slowly at me like I’d lost my mind. Then Alex shook his head.

“I’d really prefer you stay on it. You’ve done such a fine job already, Lana. And I’m sure Dylan would be disappointed to— wait, has something happened that I should know about? Something that makes you want to drop the account?”

Shit. Did Beth say something to them?

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