“What’s his story?” Lucie demanded.
“He might have fucked me over, but he deserved the job. He’s talented,” I said carefully. He had talented lips that had kissed me breathless. Talented fingers that had touched me gently, then teased me to orgasm again and again. Worst of all, a talented tongue that had talked me out of my rational mind and into bed with my enemy.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Lucie asked. “No judgment, but were you screwing him? Is that why you need reputation rehab?”
“Ugh.” I buried my face in my hands and rubbed my burning eyes. “Soon everyone will know. It’s going to be a stain on my reputation forever.”
My friends were silent as they processed that.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Lucie asked. “Were you fucking him the whole time?”
“Since Costa Rica,” I mumbled between my fingers.
Another beat of silence. “It’s been a month,” Tessa said, “and you didn’t tell your best friends?”
Sitting up straighter, I peeled my hands from my face, praying my eyes weren’t red. “I’m sorry. I needed to keep it secret, so I didn’t tell anyone. Not even my sisters or mybesties.” I glanced around the room. “Though everyone found out yesterday.”
“What?” Carly gasped.
“He told them. He announced to everyone on the floor, including two board members, that he l-loved me. Right before security walked me out.”
“Wait. You weren’t just fucking asshole-Cole-Campion. Helovesyou?” Lucie widened her eyes.
“Of course not. It was that…that euphoria that comes with sex.” The sex had been top-tier, but I refused to think about that. “Or it could’ve been a lie. He was stringing me along while he worked behind my back.”
“Hang on,” Tessa said. “He said he loved youafterthey fired you? Why would he do that? Admitting a relationship didn’t make him look great either.”
I snorted. “Like he’d face the same consequences I would.”
“Maybe not,” Justine said, “but Tessa’s right. It makes him look bad too. Why would he do that after he’s won?”
I picked up another cookie and stuffed it into my mouth. Who knew the machinations that went on inside Cole’s brain? He was always three steps ahead. “Don’t make me think about him,” I mumbled around the cookie. “It makes my stomach hurt.”
“Did he hurt you, Bridget?” Danny asked. “Do my brothers and I need to have words with him?”
I swallowed the cookie. “I…I’m not sure. I mean, no, definitely don’t go beat him up.” As angry as I was, I didn’t want anything to happen to him.
“Do you have feelings for him?” Carly asked gently. “Despite what happened?”
Everything from that day was a whirl, but in the middle of the tempest, Cole had told me he loved me. Again. For no apparent benefit. I’d proved I wasn’t the type of person whoneeded to have feelings for someone before I slept with him. And after he stole my job, there was no way I’d sleep with him again. So, if saying he loved me wasn’t an angle…
“Do you think he meant it?” I asked.
“Why would he lie?” Tessa asked.
“I don’t know.” I reached for another cookie. “I’m getting a headache from all this sugar.”
Faster than I thought she could move, Lucie scooted the tray away from me. “Bridget, do you love Cole?”
The room went silent, every ear listening.
“Obviously, not anymore,” I said. “I’d be a fool to love a man who worked against me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Carly pressed. “Feelings can be irrational and complicated.” She exchanged a look with Andrew.
“Especially feelings for someone you work with,” Oliver said.
“Right,” I said. “We shared a job, and with all that…proximity, we got confused about what we were to each other. We crossed a line. It was a mistake.”
