Even now that I was deep in the process, it didn’t quite feel real. Maybe because I wasn’t entirely sure Iwantedit to be real. Opening my own office had always been the goal, but right now, I wasn’t so sure. I was nervous, but I was alsomelancholy. I’d been embraced by the Ashford team, and I loved my workthere. I was proud of what we’d accomplished. I felt accepted. Appreciated.
Would I still have wanted to open my own agency if I’d worked at Ashford all along instead of the McPherson hellscape? Maybe opening my own agency was a trauma response to working for shitbags? On the other hand, Harrison hadn’t even hinted at extending my stay, which meant I needed to focus on my future. He’d been distant and moody since the adoption event three days prior. I tried not to obsess about it.
“Just get back to me about which space works for you,” the leasing agent was saying. “This building is filling up quickly. The one with the corner office has only been on the market for a week, and we already have interest, so the sooner you can make the call, the better chance of you getting exactly what you want.”
I thought I’d known what I wanted, but now nothing felt certain.
In a perfect world, I’d talk to Harrison about my options and maybe even bring him to check out both spaces, but it felt…wrong.
Striking out on my own would be a kind of stopping point for us, and I wasn’t sure how we’d weather the change. Would there evenbean “us” anymore once the crisis was fully put to bed and he no longer needed my help?
“Sounds good,” I replied as we shook hands. “I’ll get back to you before the end of the week.”
I examined every little aspect of the building on my way out, trying to find a flaw that would turn me off to the place. But no, it was frickin’ perfect, from the elegant main lobby to the super speedy elevator. And the offices themselves? A dream. There was no wrong choice.
So why was I hesitating?
I slid into my car and pulled out my phone to check what I’d missed during the meeting. A heads-up about the adoption day coverage in the press along with a text from my old colleague Becca from Hildy’s agency.
We hadn’t connected in forever, other than likes on social media. I opened her message and immediately saw Ian’s name.
Shit.
She sent me a few screenshots of him ranting about me on his various social media accounts. I had to hand it to him for tailoring his message to each platform. His marketing acumen was on point, even when he was using it to say terrible things about me.
His Instagram account featured a photo of me from an event, taken when I wasn’t looking so my eyes were closed and my mouth was open. He’d stamped the word “canceled” across the image and used the caption to talk about how I was a jealous wannabe who’d gotten him fired without reason. There were other posts on X that implied I was a slut.
On the bright side, this meant I’d been right about Scarlet firing him. On the downside…ugh, why did he have to be such a whiny little pest?
I thanked Becca for letting me know then eased into traffic. The office was a little farther away from my place than I would’ve liked, which meant I had time to call Harrison to vent about the latest bullshit in my life.
“Hey,” he answered.
My heart sank. The single syllable was enough to clue me in to his state of mind.
Grumpy.
“Hi,” I said as brightly as I could. “Have I got some drama for you.”
“Like I need more.”
I ignored the sarcasm in his voice.
“Yeah, same. It sucks. So here I was thinking that Ian was in my rearview mirror, but he’s stirring up trouble again. My friend Becca from Hildy’s just texted me screenshots of him ranting about me online, blaming me for him getting fired and calling me an opportunist who slept my way to the top.”
“Are youserious?”
“Oh yeah. Wait until I show you the screenshots. They’re classic.”
“Is it possible you have a defamation case?” Harrison asked.
I slowed down as I approached a stoplight and pulled my phone out again. “Not worth it, really. He’s got all of four hundred followers on Instagram; I don’t think he’s going to get any traction.”
“Good.”
I didn’t like Harrison reverting back to Mr. Monosyllable, but it seemed his old personality was reemerging. It made me a little queasy because what I’d chalked up to processing the bombshell of his father’s health scare was starting to feel like something else entirely.
I searched for a way to put the conversation on a more positive note.
