Page 102 of Cava with My Colleague

We’re keeping YOU. There’s a difference.

I set my phone down and pad barefoot into the kitchen. Carlos is at the counter, pouring coffee into two mugs. Izan is sprawled by his feet, hoping for breakfast scraps that won’t come.

“Good morning,” Carlos says without turning around.

“Morning.” I wrap my arms around him from behind, press my face between his shoulder blades. “You’re up early.”

“Izan needed to go out.” He turns in my arms, hands me a mug. “And I couldn’t sleep.”

“Nervous about us?”

He turns and kisses me on the lips. “No. Excited. I tried to distract myself with that podcast you recommended but then I got too invested and had to stay up to see if they arrested the stepbrother.”

“Carlos!” I cover my ears. “I wasn’t finished!”

I pretend to be angry with him, but it’s easier to match his excitement instead.

Even on a Sunday, Rebecca responded to my email request for a meeting.

“Rebecca likes you. She’ll find something.”

I stand on my toes and kiss him. “I hope so.”

“I know so.” He smiles. “What time is your meeting with Rebecca?”

“Four. She doesn’t know if she’ll have an answer yet, but we’ll see.”

“Nervous?”

“A little.”

“It will be fine.” He kisses my forehead. “And tonight, we celebrate.”

“Deal.”

Rebecca greets me warmly in her office, her hair done up in a chignon and her emerald-green dress hugging every curve.

“Jade!” She stands, gesturing to the seat in front of her desk. “Come in, sit. How was Monaco?”

“It was amazing.” I grin. “Kind of glad to be home though.”

“So I heard.” She grins. “If you’d told me earlier this year that the two of you would have ended up together, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m glad. You’re good for him.” She settles back into her chair, her smile dimming a little. “Which makes what I’m about to tell you harder.”

My stomach drops. “What?”

“I don’t have a permanent position for you in Madrid.”

The words hit like a physical blow. “What? But you said⁠—”

“I know. And I tried, Jade. I really did.” Rebecca spreads her hands. “But the Madrid office is actually contracting, not expanding. Budget cuts from corporate. We’re losing two research positions, not gaining them. I’m sorry.”

I can’t breathe. “Then what happens?”

“Austin needs you back. Your position there is still open. They’ve been holding it, expecting you to return.” She slides a folder across the desk. “I have transfer paperwork. You’d go back to your old team, same salary, same role. It’s a good position, Jade.”

“In Austin.”

“In Austin.”