“No, no,” Brittany laughs nervously. “Carly was confused. It’s just a little inside joke…”
Leaning in, he asks, “Do I get to be in on it?”
He’s so close to me I can smell his aftershave, and it’s delightful. I stare up at his dreamy brown eyes.
Breaking my trance and saving me from drooling, Brittany says, “Oh it just stands for Be…Careful…This one's clumsy.” She punches my shoulder. “Be careful out there…on your…new adventure.”
“Yeah,” I widen my eyes at her, my shoulder throbbing. This is not how I want Bronson to remember me. “It’s an inside joke.”
“You mentioned that,” Bronson says with a smirk. “But I never noticed…”
I feel like we are totally blowing this, so I lean into the smoke screen. “Yep, I just drop everything.”
“Remember that one time…” Brittany cups her hand around an imaginary bouquet of writing utensils. “You were carrying a bunch of pens and just…”
“Dropped them?” Bronson guesses.
I cackle nervously. “Yep.” An awkward silence follows. My brain is malfunctioning. I am not one to think on my feet. I process best through writing. I have to get out of here.
“So, Carly…” Bronson turns toward me, graciously allowing a change of subject. “I actually came down because I was sad to hear you were leaving. I was hoping we could talk.”
No, no, no, no. I cannot talk to Bronson Campbell. Must stay strong. I’m a woman on anewmission. He had three years to talk to me about anything. Business, a marriage proposal…all could have happened and it didn’t. I refuse to let anything he’s about to say hold me back.
This must be a test from the universe. And I’m going to pass it with flying colors. Emphasis on flying, because at that moment, survival mode kicks in. I grab my personal box, beeline it through the office and straight onto the elevator. When the door closes I finally exhale.
Chapter 4
Bronson
I’mdumbfounded.“IsChloeokay?” I’m not used to girls running away from me.
Brittany’s jaw drops open, but no words come out.
I run a hand through my hair. “Areyouokay? What’s going on? Did I miss something?”
With eyes wide, Brittany stares at me. “You…know…her name?”
“Of course I know her name. Chloe Reid. She's the amazing Mountain View Press Senior Editorial Assistant and snack connoisseur.”
“Why do you always call her Carly then?”
I grin and feel my shoulders relax. “It’s an inside joke. You know, like your ‘be careful’ thing.”
Brittany narrows her eyes at me. “But who is on the insidewith you?”
“Chloe and I. I’m surprised she never told you about it.” I always enjoyed our little banter. When I first met her, I thought she said her name was Carly. As a joke, I kept it up. She would always flash her adorable smile whenever I called her Carly. Her cheeks would even turn light pink, and she’d get all quiet.
Crossing her arms, Brittany shakes her head at me. “Bronson, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you are the only one on the inside of that joke.”
“What do you mean?”
“Chloe never knew you were joking.” She looks at me with her hands outstretched, like this should be obvious.
I wave away her ludicrous comment, but when she only stares back at me, the color drains from my face. “Chloe thinks I don’t actually know her name?”
Brittany nods. Staring off toward the elevator, I run my hand through my hair while my mind races. “I feel like such a jerk.”
I hear Brittany murmur “mmmhhmmm” while I start sprinting toward the stairs. I’m not an Olympian or anything, but I’m a fairly decent runner. There’s a chance I can catch her.
