I knew that. Lou knew that. But anyone else who’d spent the night or been at Titus and Noel’s the next morning would’ve seen us coming out of that room together.
After I’d been caught with my hand up Harper’s shirt the night before.
Fuck my life.
Chapter 5
Harper
At some pointin my life, I was going to make good choices. I was going to eat vegetables and floss my teeth twice a day, and I wasn’t going to maul Bas no matter how he looked at me.
I was on my way in my newly borrowed car to meet up with Nova. Now that I had a ride, I figured it was easier to meet her at the bookstore than to have her drive all the way to pick me up. A new book was just what I needed after the past two days.
I’d been so flustered after my encounter with Bas that I’d immediately gone home and turned my phone on for no other reason than to take my mind off him. I’d been prepared for a slew of emails and voicemails, but the sheer number of them had been a surprise. Paige had called me fourteen times and left twelve voicemails. She’d emailed me five times. HR had also called. A colleague from work that I thought was almost a friend had sent a couple of emails. Refordable had left three messages on my phone and two emails.
Bas had called four times and left a voicemail.
It was a lot.
I’d gone through the voicemails first. Paige’s messages had gone from cajoling me to calling her back so we could work things out to eventually threatening to sue me for breach of contract if I didn’t contact her right away. HR was trying to get in touch about my separation paperwork.
Refordable’s attorneys had reached out to verify that I hadn’t taken any internal files with me when I’d left—which was ridiculous but easily answered. I never took any work home withme, including theirs. I’d always worked on their computers using their encryption software.
I called Refordable back first, assuring them that I never took any files out of the office. Then I called human resources and told the woman I talked to that direct deposit worked just fine for my last check and asked her to email me any paperwork they needed, and I’d send it back to them.
I didn’t bother calling Paige back. I’d read my employee handbook cover to cover. She had no grounds to sue, and if she wanted to go that route, I’d see her in court. I was pretty sure they were empty threats, though. If she sued, discovery would bring all of Refordable’s shady business practices to light. That was the last thing any of them wanted.
I briefly considered going over her head and speaking to Paige’s boss but ultimately decided against it. I wasn’t interested in jumping back into that drama. If they didn’t realize what Paige had asked me to do—that was on them. If they did know, they were just as complicit, and calling them wouldn’t do shit but piss Paige off. I just wanted a clean break.
I blocked Paige’s number but kept the voicemails in case I needed them later.
The emails were easier to deal with, but they still took me a couple of hours to go through. My colleague had written because she was being sent to Refordable and was understandably nervous after I’d walked out on the project. I didn’t write her back. She’d have to deal with the situation on her own and decide for herself whether she wanted to be a part of it. I wasn’t responsible for that, and telling her why I’d left would open me up to all kinds of lawsuits after signing an NDA.
I’d spent the last two days reaching out to old friends and contacts to let them know that I was looking for a new place to work. I hadn’t gotten any leads yet, but I told myself to be patient.
Now I was going to hang out with a friend and get some dinner and try not to think about any of it for at least two hours.
I found Nova standing outside the cute little bookstore and waved as I crossed the street.
“Hey,” she said as I got closer. “How’s it going?”
“It’s a stormy day, and I’m on my way to get some books,” I replied with a smile. “Not so bad.”
“I was glad to see you turned your phone back on,” she teased as she led me inside the shop.
“It was time, and I needed a distraction.”
“Been there,” she said understandingly. “Sometimes, I play games on my phone and tune everything out. It drives Rum crazy.”
“That’s because he needs your attention at all times.”
“I’d laugh, but you’re not far off,” she replied. “Plus, he doesn’t like to see me overwhelmed, and that’s a sure sign of it.”
“Aw. He wuvs you.”
“Got him wrapped around my finger,” she confirmed with a grin.
We wandered through the store and ended up separating when she stopped in the mystery/thriller section and I made my way to romance. The books were a mix of new and consignment, and I practically squealed with glee as I noticed a whole line of bodice rippers older than I was along the bottom shelf.
