Page 20 of Break My Heart

I turn toward the door. Her voice stops me. “Christin.”

I pause with my hand on the handle. “Yes?”

Leanne’s voice softens just slightly. “Heartbreak can compromise your work.”

“I haven’t let it yet.”

Then I saunter out.

I make it exactly twelve steps before spinning on my heel and changing direction. I’m not sitting alone with the realization that, in three weeks, I’ll be smack-dab in the middle of Leo’s world. Storming down a different corridor, I push open the door to my college roommate’s office without knocking.

Aio looks up from her screen, completely unfazed by my arrival. “What did Leanne want? You look like you just swallowed a melon whole.”

“Did you know?” I demand. Aio is Leanne’s second-in-command.

“About what?”

I close the door behind me so we can talk without being overheard. “I was assigned to a new contract.”

“That’s how it goes.”

I drop into the chair across from her desk and slide the tablet over. Unlocked. Because between Aio and me, there are no secrets.

She scrolls for approximately one second before her fingers still. “No way.”

“That’s exactly the reaction I had.”

“Apex Orion Racing?” she says. “As in your ex’s⁠—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” I cut her off sharply.

She leans back, studying me. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to work.”

“On his team.”

“On their system,” I correct.

“Which he’ll have major input on,” she reminds me.

I tilt my head before a note of bitterness creeps into my voice. “Leanne should give you another promotion. I mean, you’re a champ at identifying the obvious.”

“How long has it been since you’ve spoken with Leo?”

“Three months. Two months since he sent me that email.”

She snorts. “Are you going to pretend you’ve emotionally purged yourself before you see him again?”

“Yes. Because what choice do I have?”

Aio taps the tablet. “Leo’s one of your key stakeholders.”

“Picking his brain for data isn’t opening myself back up for season two of ‘Bad Choices, starring Christin Porter.’”

“You don’t think being in his proximity is going to cause problems?”

I dismiss her premise. “It won’t be relevant.”