“You haven’t heard?” Devin says. His lips tug as he tries to contain his smirk, adding gasoline to my already red-hot fire. “She quit. Said she couldn’t do it anymore. I guess the pressure of it all was just too much for her.”
“That’s not what she said at all,” Danielle hisses. She turns to me with sad, pitying eyes. “She wouldn’t tell us why she had to leave so suddenly, but I got the impression that she thought she was doing the right thing.”
“Yeah, apparently, someone”—Trent casts his eyes at Devin meaningfully—“made it impossible for her to stay.”
Fucking Devin. He’s been a pain in my ass for too long. His work is subpar, he’s always trying to offload his workload onto others, and he has no concept of being a team player.
“Devin, I want to make this very clear. You are consistently underperforming, you don’t work well with others, you lack a sense of pride in your work, and you’ve been nothing but a drain on this department and this company. You’re fired.”
“What? You can’t fire me. I’ll sue. That’s wrongful termination.”
“Everything I said is accurate and has been documented in your personnel file, along with your reviews. But if you want to sue, be my guest. My lawyers are better than yours, I promise you that.”
I don’t have time to waste on him right now.
I swing by my office to grab my keys, popping my head into HR to let her know about Devin, and rush out the door.
Anger builds as I navigate the city streets to get to her. At Brielle for not telling me she just quit her job. At Rachel for inserting herself into affairs that are none of her business. At fucking Devin for opening his mouth at all when he knows damn well that Brielle deserved every opportunity given to her.
A white sedan cuts me off when his lane is blocked by double-parked cars. I have to stomp on the brake to let him in, and he proceeds to give me the finger out his driver’s-side window. I fight the urge to take my aggression out on him.
In an unexpected twist, there is an open parking space just outside of Brielle’s apartment building. I have my car in park and am out the door in three seconds flat, then stomp up the three flights of stairs to get to her.
Bang, bang, bang.
I pound on her apartment door. “Brielle, open the door.”
I can hear the TV through the thin walls. I know she’s in there. After a few seconds, I bang on her door again.
“Open the fucking door, Brielle,” I thunder.
The door opens, and I feel a hit of relief as soon as I see her. But it’s not enough to overcome my fury.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, stalking toward her. She backs up to let me in and closes the door behind me. “You’re supposed to be at work.”
“Yeah, about that…” She looks at me with those cerulean eyes, uncertainty whirling in her gaze. “I quit.”
“So I heard,” I growl, giving her a fierce stare. “Now, unquit and get back to work.”
“No.” She crosses her arms.
“What do you mean,no? Yes. If it’s about Devin, it’s taken care of.”
“I mean, I don’t feel bad about that. But no, I’m not going back there.”
“Why the fuck not?” I yell.
Brielle’s eyes turn to fire as she readies herself for a fight. She drops her arms and steps toward me, small, petite, and menacing.
“I do not want to work somewhere where people think I’ve slept my way into my position,” she says, poking my chest with her delicate finger. “Everyone is going to know now. There’s no going back to keeping this thing between us a secret. Not to mention, according to your board of directors, it’s against the policy for any boss/employee relationships. So it was either stop this—” She gestures wildly between the two of us. “—or find another job. And since I have no intention to stop sleeping with you, it was a pretty obvious choice. If I have to pick between my job and you, I pick you. I can find a new job,” she yells.
My heart sends a kick to my ribs, need surging through me. I wrap my hand around the back of her head, crashing my lips into hers with a fierce desperation. Our tongues tangle, each battling it out for control. Every sense heightens, my limbs tingling as endorphins spread through me.
I can’t hold back the tidal wave of feelings I have for her. She’s burrowed her way into my heart, my soul, and I never want her to leave. She’s a part of me, the best part of me. She’s taken my cold heart and, with tender care, made it beat again.
“I love you, Brielle. I’m deeply in love with you,” I tell her through our kiss, whispering the words into her mouth that I’ve never told anyone else.
She moans, sending a jolt of electricity down my spine.
