I let my eyes snake up the intricate details of his tattoo, up his forearm and past his bicep that disappears behind his T-shirt. I keep traveling up his neck. The neck I’ve dragged my mouth over. Past his lips and into his eyes.
His gaze flicks to my mouth before looking at the folder as he flips it open.
Inside are sheets of paper. But in the corner is his business card withFriday, 4PMstamped on it.
He points to it. “Don’t be late.” I watch as that same hand reaches back for his jaw and he scratches it.
We lock eyes a moment longer. “You’re really going to get my job back, aren’t you?”
He gives me a barely there smile. “Yes.”
It’s all business. No feelings.
Exactly the way Iusedto like things.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“There is no way in hell that man is getting my job back,” I say to Em, flinging the paperwork in her face. “Have you seen this?”
“Relax,” Em says, chilled like she’s had enough orgasms to tranquilize a horse. I blame Cody for that. Because of course the one time I bring the theatrics to our friendship she doesn’t even react.
I thrust the papers I’ve been waving around into her face and she finally takes them, and begins reading.
“Name, address, occupation,” she says, unbothered. Yeah, so was I when I read over the initial introductory questions.
“Keep reading,” I say, pacing.
“Are there any details of the case you find unclear?” she says, as she reads down past the deposition preparation questions. “Uh, yeah. Why the fuck you got fired in the first place? Please explain.” The sarcasm dripping from her comment eases the stress that’s been building since Xander arrived all cold-blooded, but it’s momentary when I hear the “oh” drop out of her mouth.
She’s arrived atTips for Preparing. Number six.
Watch out for conclusions disguised as yes/no questions.
Her eyes widen as she reads from the paper. “ ‘So you don’t do romantic relationships beyond one night, but you couldn’t wait until you got home, off school property, to attempt to satisfy your needs?’ What the fuck is this?”
“That is the kind of question I can expect when they try to paint me like a fucking perve who shouldn’t be allowed around children,” I say, shaking my head. “I can’t do it. I’d rather move than have them take my fucking dignity.”
“You’re not moving,” Em says, stating facts.
“I’ll try a different school,” I say, agreeing that me threatening to move was a little unbelievable.
“As if Principal Holland didn’t handle that the moment the paperwork was filed. He’s a fucking asshole.”
“It says here that you can answer the question in sections. No, you don’t do relationships. Yes, of course you waited until you were home. Just tell the truth,” Em says.
“I can’t even answer the first part of that truthfully, under oath. Do I do relationships beyond a one-night stand? Well, Your Honor, I want to. Just the person I want to do it with, who is sitting opposite me right now—for the record—I rejected not once, but twice, so I’m torn. Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t,” I say, trailing off. I do not have the capacity to deal with this deposition after discovering that my rule was based on a bunch of bullshit and that the last eleven years of my life were built on a lie.
“Ash, I know you’re freaking out,” Em says, reaching out to me with her hand, but I don’t take it.
“I’m sorry, you’ve had a lifetime of love to get used to. But this is new and awkward and weird for me, and my heart is beating wildly out of my chest,” I say, my words tumbling out.
“Oh, Bambi,” Em says, getting up and refusing to take no for an answer as she goes in to hug me.
“I don’t understand how anyone is supposed to feel like this,” I say, sagging into her. I can literally feel the confidence leeching from my body.
“You can do this,” Em says, holding me.
I don’t bother arguing with her. Before Xander came back into my life like a fucking hurricane, I was a confident woman who knew exactly what she wanted. And now I’m cowering to the idea of having to speak my truth, under oath, that will be kept on record, in a court of law.
