"You had a responsibility to your employer."Brenda crossed her arms, seeming to grow a few inches as she looked down her nose at me.Her brunette pompadour towered over me, as though daring me to keep talking back."Look, honey, I get that you're desperate.But you burned this bridge when you decided your personal drama was more important than doing your job."
Heat flushed my cheeks."Personal drama?Do you have kids?Or even a family?"
"It’s irrelevant.We needed you to finish your shift.You made your choice."
I wanted to argue, to explain that it hadn't really been a choice at all.But I could see in Brenda's expression that it wouldn't matter.She'd already made up her mind about me, and I’d learned all I needed from today’s visit.Elite Catering wasn’t just a no-go, it was a fortress wall.
But I needed to make my rent next month.I could force myself to swallow my pride.
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.
"Actually, yes."Brenda's smile became the worst type of snide smirk."You can leave and never come back."
Just leave.Bite your tongue and leave.
I bit my tongue, but not for long.“Gladly.Thank you for the reminder of how absolutely miserable you are.”
Brenda scoffed at me as I turned to leave, just as a nearby door swung open.
And then I heard a voice that stopped me in my tracks.“Ah.There she is.”
Goosebumps flared along my forearms.I turned, not because I thought I was the “she,” but because the whiskey-smooth baritone begged for attention.
There weren’t many times in life that made me wonder if I was hallucinating, but here in the middle of Elite Events and Catering, I wondered if I’d somehow dropped acid and forgotten about it.
Nash Nightingale was here.In front of me.Looking devastatingly handsome in a charcoal gray suit that, if pawned, could probably pay three months’ rent for Mia and me.
His ice-blue eyes were locked onto mine.WasI “she”?
"Clara," he said.Hearing my name on his lips made a small, strange noise erupt from the back of my throat.I swallowed hard, straightening, trying to get my bearings.
"Mr.Nightingale," Brenda gushed, suddenly all smiles and professionalism.She rushed forward, inserting herself between me and Nash."What can I help you with?"
Nash's gaze never left my face, even as Brenda attempted to block our connection."Absolutely nothing.I’m here for Clara."
Now I really wondered if I was tripping.What onearthcould he want with me, especially after our embarrassing meet-up last week inside his freshly minted headquarters?
Brenda's smile faltered."Oh.Well, she was just leaving—"
Nash still hadn’t broken eye contact with me, and I felt like my feet had left the ground.Did this qualify as meditation?Possibly some form of chaste tantric sex?Every inch of my body vibrated with awareness.A voice in my head piped up.
This feels just like it did four years ago.
Nothing else existed but us for that one night.And the way his gaze consumed me right now told me that I could fall into him a second time just as easily.
"Clara, could I have a word with you?Outside?"Nash tipped his head toward the front door, and I immediately began moving toward it, nodding.
I pushed open the front door on unsteady legs, hyperaware of his presence behind me.I couldn’t even force myself to make a note of Brenda or Mr.Castellanos or anything about Elite Events.As far as I was concerned, none of those things existed anymore.All that mattered right now was Nash, what he wanted with me, and when I could get another glimpse of his bewitching eyes.
The front door clanged shut behind him.On the sidewalk, Nash walked away from the building's entrance toward an alcove in the façade of the next building over, creating a bubble of privacy in the chaos of Manhattan foot traffic.
I smoothed my hair and fiddled with my blouse as Nash buried his hands in his pockets, drinking me in.
"What the hell are you doing here?"I finally managed.
"I could ask you the same thing."His voice was gentler than I'd expected."Are you trying to get your job back?"
I lifted my chin, trying to salvage what was left of my dignity.“I was.Until Brenda reminded me what a bad idea that is."
