Page 19 of The Wrong One

“You don’t look fine,” I said. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just my own personal garbage. It’s not work appropriate.”

Basically, she didn’t want to talk to me. Or a male. I understood. “Do you want me to get Ramsey?”

“No.” She sighed. “I’m fine. It was just a moment.”

“I know you’ve got some shit going on,” I said. “Do you have someone you can talk to? What about Emmy?”

“Yes,” she said and tried to smile. “I’m really okay.”

Even as she said the words, more tears slid down her cheeks. I felt bad. I didn’t know what to do to make it better. Obviously, this was brought on by her ex. Instead of trying to pry it out of her or to fix the problem, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her against me. Her head rested on my shoulder.

I felt bad for her. I hated that she was feeling so sad. She was all alone in the world. She had Ramsey and Emmy, and I wanted to be there for her as well, but I understood she probably felt alone. Izzy was a tough chick. She rarely cried, which told me she was in a really bad way. I held her and listened to her softly crying. She was breathing fast, which couldn’t be good for her. I wished I could fix her problems. I would take away her pain in a nanosecond if I could.

Izzy was a good person. She was sweet and kind and there was an innocence about her that I was pretty sure her ex capitalized on. He saw a malleable woman and used her. He took advantage of her kindness and moved in on her.

“Just take a deep breath,” I said. “Slow down. You are completely safe. Take as long as you need.”

My heart hurt for her.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured again.

“Stop being sorry,” I said firmly. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“It’s not very professional,” she said with a hiccup.

“Who cares,” I said. “I’ve seen worse. That’s the benefit of being one of the owners’ sisters. You don’t have to be professional all the time.”

“I should be.” She sighed. “I’ll be okay.”

She pulled away without looking directly at me. I jumped to my feet and reached down to help her up. “Thanks,” she murmured.

She walked out of the lab, leaving with a wet spot on my shoulder. I debated calling Ramsey. Did he know how bad his sister was doing? He probably did, which was why he pushed to bring her onto the job. He was trying to protect her. He was keeping an eye on her. I got it. I felt like an asshole for not supporting him from the very beginning. Truthfully, I had no idea it was as bad as it was.

ChapterNine

Izzy

Ilooked at my reflection in the mirror and was absolutely horrified. I couldn’t believe I had lost my shit. Patrick got to me. I leaned down and splashed cold water on my face. The breakdown took me by surprise. I had been keeping it together pretty well for the most part. It just hit me out of nowhere. One second, I was starting to sequence and the next I was a blubbering idiot on the verge of a panic attack.

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. I couldn’t let Patrick do this to me. He was the one who caused this whole mess in the first place. I hated how he always seemed to get under my skin. I hated that he could affect me. He was nearly three thousand miles away and he still had a way of getting to me.

I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts aside. I had work to do, and I couldn’t let my emotions get the best of me. I dried my face and took another deep breath, focusing on the task at hand.

I patted my face dry and reached into my purse to try and put on a little makeup. My phone was vibrating in my purse. I knew it was him. He knew he got to me. I showed him my underbelly and he was attacking. I put on a little makeup and gave myself an internal pep talk.

I had to go back in there and face Cam. I resolved myself to be more professional. I wasn’t going to be a burden. They hired me to help him get his tech ready to go to market. The man didn’t have the time to console me. Thank God it was Cam who found me. Anyone else would have probably thought I was a basket case. I supposed I was a little bit of a basket case.

I walked back into the lab. Cam was sitting at his desk. He looked up. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” I smiled. “Thank you. I’m sorry. That was horribly embarrassing. I don’t know what happened. I just lost it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied with a shrug. “You’ve got a lot going on. You’re going through a lot of changes in your life and that’s not easy. Hell, moving across town upended my life. I can’t imagine moving across the country and dealing with all the shit you’ve been dealing with. I know you. At least, I did know you. You’re not the type to get shaken up over just anything.”

I smirked. “Not usually.”

“I know you’re also a planner,” he continued. “You were planning your future from the time you were old enough to talk I imagine. You knew where you were going to college and what you were going to do with your life. I imagine you mapped out your life with Patrick as well.”

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