“Oh, sure.I just need to check my phone.”
Her mother arched a brow.“Don’t forget to talk to the people around you.”
“I won’t, Mom.Go have a good time.”
And then her mother was off to talk to Justin’s mother.Felicity was certain she knew what the topic of conversation would be about—her and Justin.She resisted rolling her eyes.
Her phone chimed again.Felicity lifted it to see what Justin had to say.If it was anything like when they were sledding, it was probably something silly just to make her laugh.
But it wasn’t from Justin.Instead, it was from Melissa.Felicity was about to ignore the message until later, but then she noticed there was more than one message.In fact, there were seven messages—no, make that eight messages.That was very unlike Melissa.Usually she just sent one message and waited until Felicity got a chance to message her back.Something was definitely up.
Melissa:You can get your job back!
Melissa:Hey!Are U there?
Melissa:Seriously, where are U?
Melissa:I’m at the Frosted Glass and just heard…
Melissa:Tanner was fired!
Melissa:Rumor has it he’d been taking bribes…
Melissa:for putting manuscripts in front of sr editor
Melissa:Where R U?This is big!CALL ME!
Felicity’s mouth sagged.Could this be right?Had they finally figured out that Tanner wasn’t what he seemed?
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.She knew she shouldn’t feel glee at someone else’s misery.The smile faded.But for six months he had taunted her every time he made their boss happy.And then when he’d officially gotten the promotion, he was so sarcastic when he said he was so sorry, but the best man had won.
But she did wonder why Melissa wanted to speak to her.Maybe it was just to revel in the moment.Curiosity had Felicity making her way outside to place the call.
Melissa picked up on the first ring.There was loud music and voices in the background.“Let me head outside.Hold on.”When it grew quiet, Melissa came back on the line.“It’s about time I heard from you.I’ve been dying to talk to you.Can you believe it?”
“Is this for real?”
“Yeah.They fired him yesterday after they thought everyone had left for the weekend, but Valerie forgot her keys.You know how she can be forgetful.Anyway, she had to go back for them.And you know her desk is situated just perfectly to hear what’s going on in the boss’s office.She might have taken longer than she needed to find those keys, but you aren’t going to believe what else she learned.”
Wasn’t that enough?Felicity was still adjusting to the news.She always knew she didn’t care for the guy, but for him to take bribes from people desperate to see their dreams come true was just so wrong on so many levels.
Before Felicity could formulate words, Melissa rambled on.“He also set you up by hacking into your computer.He messed with your reports.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.And he lied about you to the boss.He’s the one who got you fired.You know what this means, right?”
Felicity felt as though her mind had just been blown.She finally had the answers.She finally knew why they let her go.How could he do something so underhanded?
But how did he get her password?She thought about it, and then she remembered how he’d begged her to help him with a report.It had only been once, and she’d logged onto her computer in front of him.He must have memorized her password.
“Felicity, are you still there?”
“Uh, yes.I just… I can’t believe this.I never would have guessed that Tanner is so underhanded.”
“He hides it all behind those tanned muscles and fake smiles.And now that they know the truth about him, they’re going to want you back.”When Felicity didn’t say anything, Melissa asked, “This is what you want, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah.”But was it really what she wanted?
