“What did you expect?”
“Someone who works at a law firm.”
“That tells me nothing.” I bit back, and he laughed again.
*****
My cheeks still burned from the server’s comment as I pushed back the door. That lingering warmth—a man who listens with his eyes—clung to me like a scarf I wasn’t ready to unwind.
“Look who’s here.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Derek. Leaning against the wall by the restrooms. My stomach knotted just seeing him. Of course, he just had to ruin my morning.
Yesterday I thought I was in love. What a joke.
He stood with his arms crossed, that smug half-smirk playing on his lips. The cozy, wood-paneled warmth that had felt so welcoming moments ago now felt stifling, like the room had shrunk around me.
“Derek,” I said, my voice sounding robotic.
His eyes flicked toward my table, where Dom sat. We were hidden from view here—Dom couldn’t see us from this angle, but we could see him. That fact seemed to fuel the slow, humorless smile that tugged at his lips as his gaze returned to mine.
“Wow. You moved on fast.”
His words slashed like barbed wire. My face burned again, but this time it was not embarrassment. Not from feeling inadequate, but from anger.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know there was a waiting period for moving on from nothing.”
Derek blinked, clearly not expecting that tone from me. For a second, his confident mask slipped, but he recovered quickly.
“Dominic. Dominic Rutherford, seriously?” he said, pushing off the wall to close the distance between us. “I have to hand it to you. I didn’t realize you were so strategic. Is that where this new attitude is coming from? Feeling bigger because you’re leaning on someone powerful?”
The wooden floor felt like it dropped an inch under my feet, and I almost reached for the wall to steady myself.Rutherford. As in Rutherford & Blake. As in our firm. As in—
He stopped in front of me, and I could smell his cologne—expensive, sickening. “How did you even… I’ve been busting my ass just to get Jack to notice me. But you? You’re here for two days, and you’re having breakfast with his son? What’s your secret, Eunice? Because I’m clearly missing something.”
The server’s words echoed in my head.He actually looks at you when you talk.
“Though I have to say, you’re punching way above your weight class here,” he added, his voice dropping to what he probably thought was concern. “You’re making a fool of yourself. Look at him. Just look at him. Guys like him don’t end up with girls like you.”
Each word landed like a punch. No, not a punch, more like a stab. Girls like me… admin assistants. Nobodies. He already made that very clear last time.
“They use girls like you—head always in the clouds, available.” Derek pressed on. “He’s slumming it. And when he’s done, you’ll be the one left explaining to HR why you threw yourself at the boss’s son on a work trip. Trust me. I’ve had a front-row seat to how this family operates.”
My throat tightened. The cheerful Christmas melody faded.
“I—” I started, but the words wouldn’t come.
Derek straightened his tie. “Just looking out for you. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt when reality comes crashing again.”
Then he walked away, leaving me standing there as the world crumbled. My hands were shaking as Derek’s words replayed in my mind.
Guys like him don’t end up with girls like you.
Dominic Rutherford. The boss’s son.
Well, of course they don’t.
My steps felt like I was dragging boulders.
