“I just…” I threw my arms out. “What am I supposed to do with all of this? He did this big, horrible, nice thing, and I’m just sitting with it. It’s going to eat away at me as much as the dumb bill was.”
She grew sympathetic, leaning against the doorway. “I get that. Your thoughts are valid, but I honestly think he doesn’t want you to sit with it. He wants you to forget the whole thing. He wants to date you, and he can’t do that if you’re working until midnight every night.” When I didn’t say anything, she added, “I wouldn’t have given him the bill if I didn’t completely adore what he was trying to do. Sometimes you need to let people help you.”
“He’s not…family, though. He’s…my boss.”
She shot me a look. “No. Stop lying to yourself. First of all, who in your family is going to help you? And second, that guy is your best friend.” When I raised my eyebrows at her, she smiled. “After me, of course. He’s crazy about you, and you’re crazy about him. So just shut up and let him love you.”
“You shut up,” I spat, like an indignant child.
We faced off against each other for a long moment until we were both fighting off smiles.
“I’m right and you know it!” She jabbed an arrogant finger toward me before she left the room. A few minutes later I heard the sound of the TV on. She generally tried to keep to her night-shift schedule even on her days off. I stayed in my room, lying on my bed in the dark.
I didn’t want her words to make sense or make me feel better. My anger was justified. He had completely overstepped. But her wordsdidmake sense. Duke was a good guy. The best. I’d never had anyone care for me like he seemed to. It was as disconcerting as it was undeniably flattering. It scratched at the same time it caressed. I didn’t know what to do with all my feelings. My head was readying for battle while my heart skipped a beat.
A perfect mix of hope and fear.
25
The morningof our final reveal, and what could be my last day of work, I stepped out of the elevator, my nerves inside rubbing me raw. There was so much riding on today. It felt ridiculous to boil my entire future down to something that was now completely out of my hands. I had emailed in my project late last night, just before the midnight deadline.
Duke and I had given each other a wide berth yesterday, our argument from the day before weighing heavy on my mind at least, and I assumed on Duke’s as well. He hardly walked by my desk. There were no notes either, and what was worse, I found myself craving Dr. Pepper all day long.
If I didn’t get this job, I’d be back to square one. Last night, in order to rest my chaotic mind, I made plans to pay Duke back. I didn’t want to completely negate his kindness, so I planned to pay him back over three years instead of one. That way, I could still save up for tuition. If, by some miracle, I did get this job, then I could pay him off much quicker because my education would be taken care of.
“Hey, Nora.” Tenisha interrupted my thoughts, smiling at me from her desk as I made my way toward my cubicle. “You look nice.”
I looked down at my floral top and black pants. I had planned to go thrifting for a new outfit before today, but with all the late nights, I hadn’t had any time. I wore the same outfit I wore on my first day at RDM.
“Thanks.”
She nodded toward my briefcase. “You ready?”
“I think so. I’ve done the best I could do, so there’s that.”
Her eyes scanned my face as though she didn’t believe me, before she waved me away. “Better get to work. I left a few assignments on your desk, mostly to keep you busy so you don’t drive yourself crazy. The meeting is at three o’clock.”
“Thanks. That’s so nice of them to squeeze one last day of work from us all before they sack two of us.”
She laughed and waved me on.
From Tenisha’s desk, there was no route to my desk that didn’t take me past Anita. Like any great predator, she had seen me coming from a mile away. She plastered on a smile and raised her hand in greeting.
“Good luck today, Nora.”
“Thanks.”
Her eyes trailed me as I made to step past her desk before she spoke again. “Oh. Guess who I saw at the gym yesterday?”
Her sickeningly sweet voice made her question feel like a trap, but I couldn’t think of anybody we’d both know.
“Who?”
“Rachel.” She motioned toward Duke’s office. “We chatted for a while and she was asking about Duke. It’s pretty clear she’s still in love with him. The break up must have really tore her up.”
I blinked. My mouth opened to say something before closing again. “Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugged, brushing a dark strand of hair off of her shoulder. “Oh, no reason. I would just hate to see somebody become some sort of rebound to him. Three years is a long time for feelings to just…disappear.”
