all so big. Why are they so big? What are they all eating?” I deflate in my chair now that all my
anxieties are out on the table. I feel lighter.
“You sound pretty overwhelmed,” Bree says.
Cara snorts, “She sounds freaked the fuck out.”
“That’s the one,” I mutter, pointing limply at Cara.
“So, what are you going to do about it? I mean, you’re here. I saw your contract. You can leave
any time you choose. Are you planning to bail?”
“I didn’t come all this way to run away,” I mutter defensively.
“Ok, so you’ll have to sit in discomfort. It sucks, I know.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “What do you know about discomfort? You probably came out of
the womb ordering men around.”
Cara laughs brightly, not bothered by my snark. “Oh, honey, you have no idea. I spent nearly three
years in love with a man I worked with. When I’d get close to him, he’d bolt. Like, literally run away
from me down the hallway.” She shakes her head. “I know all about discomfort. And now, seeing how
things turned out, I wouldn’t change a fucking thing. So sit in the discomfort, Maya. Soak it in.
Because if you can find your way through it, you might just discover an incredible new life.”
7
ZACH
I grip my glass tighter, trying to convince myself that I don’t want to throw it at my brother’s head.
I’m not going to waste the precious whiskey. But it’s really fucking tempting.
“I’m just saying, you’ve got her here. I don’t know why you’re so grumpy about it.” Declan’s
smirk gives him away. He knows exactly why I’m grumpy about it. Fucker’s going to make me say it.
“She doesn’t fit in.”
“You were convinced she would revolutionize our marketing department. You spent months
chasing her. And now that she’s here, she’s not a good fit? How the fuck does that work, brother?”
Ransom’s voice is level, but there’s a hint of frustration in his tone that only the men in this room…
and maybe Cara…would catch. He’s leaning back in his desk chair, fingers loosely interwoven over
his stomach. They’re all watching me, eager to hear my answer.
“It’s going to sound fucking awful, I know it,” I admit, “but I don’t think I want her representing us
out there. She doesn’t fit the Brash image. She’s too…”
