“You remember the promotion I was offered?”
He nods. “That you turned down.”
I roll my eyes, but not at the judgmental tone in my brother’s voice. This eye roll is because he’s right. I never should have said no. “Yes, the one I turned down because of Stephen.”
Stephen, my boyfriend of two years, and I were co-workers. Our company had a very strict policy about intra-office dating. You could date someone in a different department, and you could date people in your own department as long as you were at the same level. There could be no dating of subordinates.
If I’d taken the promotion, Stephen would have had to transfer to another department. Or quit. He didn’t want to do either of those things.
So I’d declined the promotion.
“Well, a week later, Stephen was offered the promotion,” I say. “And he took it.”
There’s a beat of silence as Graham processes this information. Then he smacks his hand on the breakfast bar. “He fucking tookyourpromotion? The one you turned downfor him?”
I nod and take another sip of my coffee. I’ve been through all the emotions already. I’m calm now.
Honestly, Clark Kent from last night helpeda ton.
He not only exhausted me and confirmed that I could definitely have better sex than I had been having with Stephen, but he also made me feel beautiful and sexy and like everything I wanted in bed was an absolutepleasureto provide.
I’m so glad Margot and Graham couldn’t make it to the bar last night.
“And theyfiredyou because he was suddenly your boss?” Graham demands. “No fucking way. You’re going to meet with my attorney in the morning.” He’s pulled his phone from his back pocket and is swiping across the screen.
I reach across the bar and grab it out of his hand. “No! No, it’s not like that! I got fired because I trashed his desk and punched him in the face.”
Graham stops. Stares at me. Then nods. “That makes more sense.”
I laugh and sit back on my stool. “He didn’t press charges or anything as long as I agreed to leave peacefully. I agreed to leave peacefully and not trash anything at the apartment if I got my full severance package.”
“And?”
“It’s all good.” I shrug. “I mean, I’m still pissed and now I’m living at home, but?—”
“Okay, so this is where I’m caught up to,” Margot interjects.
She’s been living here in Denver with Graham for several months and I filled her in on all of this a few days ago, but we got cut off.
“Why aren’t you in Harlow’s house?” Margot asks.
Harlow has moved in with Jefferson. Yes, our best friend is now madly in love with, dating, having sex with, and living with our brother.
It’s…weird.
But she kept her house when she moved in with him for friends to stay in, and, I think, so she has a place to go if Jefferson ever pisses her off.
Which he will from time to time, no question about it.
“Jack’s living there,” I tell them.
So, yeah, if Jefferson pisses her off, Harlow’s going to have to make Jefferson sleep…I don’t know where. Probably at Mom and Dad’s. They’ve kept all of our bedrooms as bedrooms saying they always wanted us to feel free to come home anytime, no matter how old we are or where we officially live.
“Jack Bennett?” Graham asks.
I nod. “Yep. He and the girls were living at Tucker and Delaney’s, you know? But he felt ready to move out. Harlow’s place is perfect. The girls are sharing the second bedroom. They’re not ready to be apart yet.”
The Bennetts—Delaney and Tucker, as well as all their kids—are long-term family friends of ours. Jack lost his wife about a year ago, and he and his three young daughters moved back to Sapphire Falls and in with his parents in the aftermath.
