My fingers snag on the threads of my comforter where I’m picking at it. “And how everyone at work calls my boss, Mr. Edgerton, Satan because he’s such a dick.”
“That took a weird turn, but okay, yeah, you told me. Is there one of those stupid rules that colleagues can’t hook up or something? I freaking hate those. Who cares if two people meet at work and start dating? Where else are people supposed to meet, other than a dating app?”
“That’s not it. There is no rule. At least as far as I know,” I say. Although there is certainly an unspoken rule involved here.
“Then what’s the problem? What’s Satan got to do with it?”
I should have been truthful with Holly from the beginning, but I think I was afraid that she’d talk me out of it. Make me see sense that this was a bad idea. She would have been right, but I didn’t want to hear it, so I kept it from her instead.
Guilt swirls in my gut as I look her in the eye. “Mr. Edgerton is Damian. Damian is Mr. Edgerton.”
“Shut up,” she yells, her jaw falling open. She’s out of my bed in a flash, pacing the floor. “You’ve been dating your evil boss, and you didn’t tell me!”
“There’s more,” I admit.
She stops pacing and stares at me, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting.
“First, I’d like to clarify that we aren’t dating.”
“Oh, no? Dates every night, weekend trips away. That’s not dating?”
“We’re fake dating.”
Holly is back to pacing the floor. She’s making me dizzy watching her go back and forth in the small room. It can’t be more than four steps in each direction before she has to turn around.
“What? What does that even mean? How?”
“The day before Valentine’s Day, he came to me and asked me to be his date to a work dinner the next night. He was in a jam and didn’t have anyone he felt comfortable asking out to a Valentine’s Day dinner.” I tell Holly the entire story. The disaster of a dinner, agreeing to go on this weekend trip, realizing that we knew nothing about each other, and spending our evenings at his place rectifying that.
“So how does all that end up with you two sucking face at the door?”
“I kissed him first. And Holly… it was the worst kiss of my entire life.”
She bursts out laughing. “Seems like he improved, at least.”
I’m laughing now, too. I feel so much lighter getting this lie I’ve been living off my chest. “Yeah, he made up for it.”
A seriousness settles over us. Holly sits on the bed next to me again, her legs crossed under her. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Getting involved with the boss? After what happened at the last place?”
“No. I’m sure it’s a terrible idea. And that’s what I told him. What you walked in on was the last time. Starting tomorrow, we are Mr. Edgerton, CEO, and Brielle Collins, accountant. Nothing more.”
I try to put on a face like it doesn’t bother me to think that I won’t be spending any more time with Damian after work. Like seeing him every day, knowing what he looks like under that suit, what he feels like under my fingers, isn’t going to haunt me.
Holly’s not buying it though. She looks at me with those sad eyes, completely in tune with me. “You like him.” It’s a statement, no question about it.
A lump forms in my throat, and I can feel my eyes welling.
“I feel so stupid, Hols,” A tear rolls down my face, and I swipe it away. It’s been a long weekend, and my emotions are getting the best of me. I know that getting involved with Damian would be a mistake. It isn’t an option, even if I wanted it to be.
“You’re not stupid. You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and kind. I’m not surprised he’s taken a liking to you, Bri. But you have to be careful.”
“I know.” I suck in a breath and collect myself. “I just feel like he’s different when it’s just him and I. Like he lets his guard down for me.”
Holly nods like she understands, but she doesn’t. She hasn’t seen Damian go from CEO to chef to adoring boyfriend. She hasn’t seen him gloriously nude and then have to pretend like it never happened.
She tucks me in with a kiss to my forehead. “You’ll feel better after you get some sleep. Build those walls back up before you go back to that office tomorrow, and walk in there with your head held high.”
“Thanks, Holly.” I force a smile for her benefit. I love Holly like a sister, but right now, I just want to be alone.
