Page 110 of Mr. Hook-up

“What if they can’t prove my innocence and everything explodes, and I never return to the office?” When I tried to inhale, my lungs ached. I stabbed the spoon into the ice cream, my stomach reaching the breaking point from all these sweets. “What if my time at Hooked is over?”

She lifted the bottle off the coffee table and poured some wine into my glass. “You need more. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into you, because what you’re saying is far too wild to be true.”

I set my hand on hers. “Saara, it’s not.”

She returned the bottle and faced me. “You’re not going to work tomorrow and maybe for a few days—”

“More like a few weeks. It’s going to suck. And while I’m up at the crack of dawn every morning, pacing my apartment, watching the sun rise, all I’m going to think about is how I should be at work. How Ishould be getting prepped to motivate my team so we can accomplish the day’s tasks that will get us one step closer to the rollout.”

“And that’s going to happen. I bet my life on it.” When I tried to interrupt, she continued, “You won’t even have to explain to your team what went down since the guys were nice enough to tell everyone you had to go on medical leave.” I attempted again and she lifted her hand, stopping me to say, “And while I know medical leave isn’t something to lie about, the last thing any of us wants is to have rumors and gossip floating around the office when not a single word of it would be true.”

I leaned forward, freeing my hands of the glass, holding my palms over my head. “This is too much.”

“Drake—”

“I can’t.” I got up and walked to the kitchen. There wasn’t anything I wanted there, so I headed for the bedroom, turning at the doorway to move back across the living room. “I feel like I’m being caged. Like I can’t breathe. Like I’m losing it. Maybe I need to get out of here. Maybe I need to go for a walk and clear my head.”

She glanced down at her watch. “You can’t leave just yet.”

“Why?” I halted in front of the couch.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Don’t do that to me. The thought of another surprise makes my skin crawl.”

“Bad choice of words—I take those back.” She took a drink of her own wine. “In thirty minutes, some massage therapists are coming over. One for each of us. Easton thought it would help you relax and make you feel better.” She got up and went to my pantry, opening the door. When she returned to the living room, she had a giant basket in her hands. “He also had this delivered while you were in the bath.” She set the basket on the couch and began to unwrap the clear plastic wrapped around it. “Look at all this stuff.”

I went over to it, seeing the bottles of bubble bath and candles and aromatherapy and sweets and—I had to look away.

Breathe.

Except I couldn’t.

I lifted my wine off the table and downed what was left.

The moment I finished swallowing, I headed for the dish where I kept my keys, tucked them into my hand, and turned to face her. “I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just need to get out.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

The knot was pushing so hard against my throat, I felt like it was making my heart stop.

“No. I need just a second to be alone. I need air and space from these walls and silence and—”

“Babe, I get it.” She gave me the most understanding nod. “I really do. Go out and take all the time you need. I’ll be here when you get back.”

I tried my hardest, I gave it everything I had to make the smile slowly creep across my face.

She acknowledged the expression with a grin and said, “Take your phone so I can reach out.” She lifted it off the couch and handed it to me.

I tucked it into my back pocket and rushed out the door and down the hallway, into the elevator, and then out the lobby door of my building.

I had no destination in my mind.

My feet just wandered.

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