Instead, they shared a look. The doors opened for their floor, and all three women left without another word to me.
Hurt bubbled up. I pushed it back down where it belonged, but honestly, what the fuck was wrong with answering my question?
“I’m fat, not a leper,” I muttered under my breath.
Heat scorched my cheeks, no doubt turning them bright red. Great. I hadn’t bothered with a full face of makeup today, which meant the bit I’d used wouldn’t be enough to hide my discomfort. I’d grown up with people thinking it was okay to ignore or make fun of me because of my size. Lila used to laugh at what I called skinny privilege, but then she’d seen it for herself and came to understand what I meant.
I wrapped both hands around my coffee cup and willed the tears back as the doors opened on my floor. Several men and women I’d worked with since joining Elevate stood huddled around the main desk in the center of the room. Every head snapped up when I entered, and they all fell silent.
Were they talking about me? Why? And what were they saying? Heat crawled up the back of my neck. “Morning. Anything I should know about today?” It was my standard opening.
Usually I received a rush of information, but today a thick silence wrapped a hand around my throat and squeezed.
Theyweretalking about me. I knew what it felt like to enter a room where people were gossiping about me. I’d felt it too often in my life. The big giveaway was how everyone stopped talking when I entered a room. Then there was the shame that forced several heads to drop because they knew what they were saying was wrong or that they shouldn’t be talking at all.
Did they know what happened after the gala? How?
No. I was being paranoid. I let them get to me. No one knew. I walked past them to my office and settled in to work.
Three hours later, I’d had all the silence I could stand and headed upstairs to talk to Bethany. The quiet in the elevator changed to Bethany’s excited voice when the doors opened. “Harper, I’m so glad you came up today. I wanted to talk to you.”
The tension I’d gathered through the morning fell away, and I hugged her across the desk. “Hi, Bethany. I wanted to come up and thank you for the coffee. The hazelnut was incredible this morning.” I sat in the chair across from her as she waved off my thanks.
Bethany’s desk sat in the corner beside the elevator and directly down the hallway from Dante, Alexander, and Julian’s respective offices. The main conference room sat across from us, the doors open and the shades pushed all the way up to reveal sleek leather chairs and a glass top table.
“You brought a whole new flavor profile to the coffee corner. Everyone is thrilled that you made the suggestion to change things up.” Bethany sat and propped her elbows on her desk. It was smaller than I thought she deserved, but the one time I’d brought it up, she made a choking sound and told me she was fine.
I scanned the desk, but it remained the same as always. No personal pictures of any kind. No knickknacks or even a paperclip. Her laptop and a phone sat equidistant from the edge of the desk, and a single ink pen and yellow legal pad were within reach of her right hand. Nothing else. Even her cell phone stayed tucked away in one of the desk drawers.
“Did you enjoy the gala?” Bethany rocked forward, her face alight with curiosity.
I nodded. “Absolutely. I couldn’t believe how pretty everything was. And I didn’t know there would be dancing.” My face heated again at the memory of being guided around the dance floor in Julian’s and Alexander’s arms. I’d felt Dante watching from the bar, but he never moved any closer until we were alone.
“Right? It was completely magical.” Bethany looked left, then right before she dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did you do anything after?”
“After?” I answered without thinking, before I fully grasped how easy it would be to give away my secret.
“Yeah, after? Hello, Valentine’s Day? Did you find a hot date?” She cupped her chin in her palms and made kissing sounds.
“Uh. No. No hot dates for me.” Damn it. I should have brought coffee up for us so I’d have something to do with my hands. The need to fidget when I lied always gave me away. I had to sell this. Bethany was astute. She’d know if I was lying unless I did it right. I ducked my head and leaned closer. “I don’t really have a boyfriend or anything. So the gala was my one shot to dress fancy and dance.”
That would have to be good enough.
“What about you?” I injected a bubbly energy into my voice and wiggled my eyebrows. “Didn’t you say something about going out with Brad in accounting?”
“Ew, no way.” Bethany blushed to the roots of her hair. She tapped her nails against her cheeks and stared at the elevator. “I’m single too. Not my choice, mind you. I have my eye on a very delicious someone. Sadly, he doesn’t know I exist.”
“Girl, you have to be kidding me. You’re gorgeous and you’re sweet. There’s no better combination.” I elbowed her arm with mine. “How can he not know you exist?”
“Trust me, I’ve tried.” Bethany sighed again.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Bethany straightened so fast her spine must be made of rubber. She grabbed her pen and paper and held them poised as Dante emerged from the elevator. Dark hair hung low across his forehead, and he wore my favorite tailored suit. The black and gray pinstripe suited his broad shoulders and thick thighs, and now that I knew what he had underneath, it made mywhole body hum with sexual tension. He glanced our way, gaze skimming over Bethany to land on me.
“Good morning, ladies.” He dipped his head, the deep gravel in his voice doing all kinds of wicked things to my pulse.
“Morning, Mr. Campari, any notes for today?” Bethany leaned even further over the desk, looking almost desperate to have Dante’s gaze come back to her.
