“Paul, I’m not feeling so ... hot. Excuse me,” I said, and I ran.
Drew
Christ! What just happened?
Who the hell is Claire? What the ever-loving fuck is going on?
And what happened to my Jules?
My mind raced as I stood stock-still, watching the redheaded waitress run away from me.
Move.
My body finally complied and started making its way to the side door I’d seen Claire escape through.
“Claire!” I called after the slender figure about to dodge into some sort of break room.
“Hey,” another dude called after me. The maître d’, or whoever the fuck he thought he was. “You can’t go back there.”
“Sorry, I really needed to catch up with Claire. She’s an old friend.” I turned and put on a smile.
“Holy shit. You—” He said it on a whisper and was about to say something else when Claire interrupted him.
“Bryce, don’t. Leave it,” she warned from the doorway.
Don’t what? Leave what? What the hell did all that mean?
“Claire, you want to clue me in?” This came from Bryce, the tall, buff asshole now standing between Jules and me.
“Bryce, it’s okay. I’m just going to clear up some confusion, and then I need to go home. I’m sorry. I feel like crap. I’ll make it up to you and work lunches.”
“Stop it, Claire. You’re not working lunches. You know that, but I need you to tell me you’re okay.”
“She’s fine, buddy.” I couldn’t watch the conversation volleying between these two anymore. It was my turn.
“I didn’t ask you,” he spit out. “I asked her. Claire?”
Her name’s Juliette, you ass. Jules to me.
“I’m good, Bryce,” she said, and held up a hand. “Thank you.”
Frowning, Bryce said, “I’ll be right down the hall.”
“You do that, Bryce,” I said snidely, unable to help myself.
“Drew,” she said, my name rolling off her lips sending shock waves down my spine. She shook her head at me. “Don’t. He’s my boss.”
“Sorry, dude.”
Bryce didn’t even acknowledge my apology. “Why don’t you go in there?” He nodded toward the break room.
She nodded, and I moved forward faster than a lob during a match point. I shut the door behind us, the click of the lock loud in the awkward silence.
“Jules, what are you doing here?”
She leaned against the far wall and released her bun, allowing her hair to cascade over her shoulders. “Working. What does it look like?”
“What’s with the Claire thing?” I kept my distance, sensing my nearness was not welcome.
