Sage turns to look at me, and even with the sunglasses, I feel the intensity of her stare. “The fact that you have to work with Derek,every… single… day.”
My stomach clenches. “Sage—”
“No, we are talking about this.” She takes an aggressive bite of pancake. “You can’t just pretend it’s not happening. You have to see that asshole every day, act professional while he parades around as if he didn’t rip your heart out and continually body-shame you like a complete sociopath.”
Nitro goes completely still before he grumbles under his breath, “He really is a fucking cunt.”
I shoot Sage a look that clearly says, ‘Why would you bring this up?’but she just shrugs, completely unrepentant. “I like you, Uber man. And you’re right, Derek is the mother of all cunts. On this, we completely agree.”
I swallow hard. “It doesn’t matter—”
“The hell it doesn’t,” Nitro growls, his voice raised, his fists clenched on the table.
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m dealing with it.” My words tumble over each other. “I mean, yes, it sucks. Yes, it’s torture. But I need the job, and I’m not going to let him ruin my career just because he’s a—”
“Piece of stale shit on a decaying trout?” Sage states.
“Wow… what a visual. But yes,that.” I take a breath, trying to steady myself. “There’s this work gala coming up in a few weeks. A big fancy thing where everyone brings dates and pretendsto care about quarterly projections. Derek will be there with his new thin, beautiful, completely opposite-to-me-in-every-way girlfriend. It’s been less than a week, and he’s already got the bimbo Instagram model on his arm. I saw the pictures he posted.” I stare down at my coffee, feeling the familiar sting of inadequacy creeping back in. “She’s gorgeous. Tiny. Perfect.”
“Unlike you, who’s also gorgeous, exactly the right size, and utterly perfect,” Sage says flatly. “Except you’re actually interesting and have a personality, which makes you a bazillion times better.”
I want to believe her.
God, I want to believe her.
But Derek’s words keep echoing in my head.‘Maybe when you lose a few pounds, reach back out to me.’
“Anyway,” I say, forcing myself to sound lighter than I feel. “I have to go to this gala. It’s mandatory for all senior staff, even though I’m not technically senior staff, just senior-adjacent, because Derek wanted me there when we were together. So now I have to watch him show off his new girlfriend while I stand in the corner trying not to look goddamn pathetic.”
There’s a beat of silence.
Then Sage, in her infinite wisdom and her complete lack of a filter, leans forward with a wicked grin. “You should take Nitro as your date. That shit’ll make Derek’s balls shrivel up like raisins.”
I nearly spit out my coffee. “Sage!”
“What? I’m serious!” She gestures wildly with her fork, a piece of pancake flying off and landing on the floor. “Think about it. You show up with this absolute unit of a man…” she waves her hand at Nitro as if he’s a prize on a game show, “… who’s hot as hell, built like a Greek god, and clearly worships the ground you walk on. Derek would lose his fucking tiny peanut-sized mind.”
“Sage, you can’t just…” I turn to Nitro, mortified beyond belief that she even said the words, but especially‘worships the ground you walk on.’What was she thinking? There is no way he believes that. “I’m so sorry. She’s hungover and insane, and we can just ignore every single thing she says.”
But Nitro isn’t looking at Sage.
He’s looking at me.
And he’s smiling.
Not just smiling, grinning. This slow, devastating grin makes my stomach flip and my brain short-circuit.
“I mean…” he says, his voice casual but his eyes intense, “… she’s not wrong.”
I freeze like I’m caught in the damnTwilight Zone. “What?”
“If you need a date to make an ex jealous, then I’m your guy, Small Town.”
For a second, I’m convinced I’ve misheard him. That the tequila is still messing with my brain, or maybe I’m still asleep, and this is some kind of fever dream.
But he’s still looking at me with that grin, waiting for my response.
“You’re joking?” I question weakly.
