We finished up sooner than expected. Coming in early again tomorrow.
Great. See you then.
Exiting out of Messenger, Blake began to go through his desk in earnest, tossing out old papers, menus, and candy wrappers. He didn’t even stop for lunch, which was easy, since his appetite had vanished the moment Scott informed him he was fired. Numerous calls placed to Harvey had gone unanswered. The worst thing would be to leave without saying good-bye to his mentor. By four forty-five, he’d collected only a few personal papers in his briefcase and the picture. He’d leave the job almost the way he came.
Deciding it was foolish to wait around, he put on his coat and shut down his computer for the last time.
I will not get sentimental over a place that didn’t give a shit about me.
Blake hefted the strap of his bag on his shoulder, and with his back straight and head held high, he walked out of his office. A few people he’d worked with were hanging around Cassandra’s desk, and they crowded around him.
“This sucks, man. Sorry to see you go.”
“Oh, Blake, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” he managed to whisper. “I appreciate it.”
“Don’t forget about me.” Cassandra hugged him, and for a moment he almost lost his self-control.
“I won’t. The same for you. Call me or text. Whatever.”
“I promise. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
He let her go and watched as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Even crying, Cassandra was beautiful.
Only once his gaze flickered to Scott’s office, and he saw the man sitting back in his chair, staring at him.Bastard.No doubt he got his rocks off doing this.
A hand touched his arm. “Blake.” Harvey stood in front of him, his brown eyes mournful. “I just heard. I was at a conference and they didn’t tell me until now.”
Blake gazed down at the smaller man, and incapable of holding it back, a small sob escaped Blake before he tightened that rope around his emotions and collected himself.
“Thank you for everything.” He couldn’t raise his voice above a whisper. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Blake needed Harvey to understand. “Please believe me.”
“I know. And at the next partners’ meeting, I’ll make sure to tell them how I feel about this.”
But there was nothing Harvey could do to help his savaged pride, and Blake knew the time had arrived.
“Bye, everyone.” A final wave and Blake pushed the elevator button. Mercifully, he didn’t have to wait long, and within minutes he was walking out of the building, the chilly air hitting his overheated face as he headed down the block to the subway and home. He shivered. For the first time since he was a teenager, he had no job, no place to be.
Chapter Eleven
“Hard Core.” Jeremypicked up the phone, shoving the receiver between his neck and shoulder so he could fill the coffeepot.
“You need to get a new name for your gym. Every time I call, I feel like I’m calling a porn studio.”
A genuine laugh escaped him. “Noah. How’s my baby bro?” He flopped down on the sofa in the corner. For Noah, he’d make all the time in the world. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much. Calling to say hi and see if you can make dinner this week. Bring Blake too. I want to catch up.”
“Blake’s crazy busy with tax season shit, but yeah, definitely. How’s Wednesday?”
“Sounds good.” Noah cleared his throat. “I really like Blake, you know?”
“Me too.” He chuckled, then sobered. “But yeah. I’m kinda happy and scared at the same time.”
“Scared about what?”
Damn.He should’ve known saying something like that would get Noah’s attention.
