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“You will create a 360 campaign for Boast soap in a month. Pressure." They both wave spirit fingers in front of their faces. And Rinaldi whispers loudly, mirroring Eva, "Pressure."

I lean forward. "You want a lightning-fast turnaround on a pitch with someone I've never worked with before and don't know."

"You know her!" Eva smiles like she's deranged, throwing her arms in the air as Rinaldi steeples his fingers.

My heart sinks as the two of them grin and say nothing. Fuck no, this can't be happening.

I put my hand up. “Don't say her name. this won't work. Don't do this to me, it's cruel and unusual punishment. Please don't say her name.”

"Bette Miller," Eva yells, jumping off the desk and striking a dramatic pose. Rinaldi mirrors her pose and they point to the empty chair next to me.

The door opens as her name is spoken aloud, like they summoned the beast.

"I'm here. I'm here." Her voice shoots right to my balls. This can't be happening. She's balancing too many things and drops her keys.

I pick them up and my world flips completely upside down. There's no justice in karma. I'm speechless and unmoored as I retrieve her keys with a worn pink Eiffel Tower key chain to match my own.

She's spinning around looking for them and it's charming and everything I don't want it to be. Then she sees me as I hand them back to her, our eyes as wide as possible as we realize what's happening.

Her voice is snapping into my brain as pieces come together in our fucked-up puzzle. How did we not notice for years? And if it had flickered recognition, what would I have said? Hey, are you Lizzie Fox? Did she know it was me? Her reaction and kiss last night says otherwise, but neither of us recognized each other's voices. It's wild and fucked-up what the mind can do.

Rinaldi stands and gestures to each one of us in turn. "Good. Good. Hayden Corelli, please formally meet Bette Miller."

Her voice sounds as dry and cracked as my throat feels. "Danny."

My response slips out, soft and scared. "Lizzie."

Part Three

Troisième Partie

Still the Present

BETTE

It falls out of my mouth. “Oh, my fucking God.”

I’ve never hated and loved someone with equal intensity at once. This is a lie and the cruelest prank of all. He must have known, we can’t both be clueless idiots.

Eva and Rinaldi come over and give me a hug. Danny, Danny Danson. Danny Danson is Hayden Corelli. Hayden is Danny. How? Who the hell is Danny? How did Hayden replace him? Is he a doppelgänger? No one will ever believe us because this is absurd. But what happened to him? And does he know how intensely I hate Hayden? Or how much Danny wrecked me? Or how much I loved sparing with Hayden? That I’m still in love with a version of Danny. That I compare all other almost relationships with the way I remember feeling about him. Shit. I hope he can’t read all of that on my face.

There’s a burning in my brain and fluttering in my body I’m not sure I can stop. It’s possible I’m in A-fib. I glance at my Apple Watch, relieved my heartrate is rapid, but not in a danger zone. I look back up at his eyes and halt a rush of tears from flowing down my cheeks. I blink them away, but I know he sees them.

He nods at me and his lip twitches. It’s definitely the guy from last night, the boy from Paris, and the man from all those flirty texts and calls in the last month. The man I loathe for his pranks and love for his belief in me a decade ago are the same damn person.

Eva says, “Bette, are you alright?”

It snaps my focus away from his face and say, “Excuse me for a moment?”

Hayden leans forward as I rush to leave without an answer because I must get my shit together. I instantly dial as I hustle down the hallway. I pull my shirt into place as I pass people, as if the only thing wrong in my life is a wardrobe malfunction.

Sophie picks up immediately. “Is the job ours?”

“Soph. Keep me together.”

I speed walk and try to pass it off as casual. Then I sneak into a dark office, close the door, and slink to the floor.

“I’m freaking out.”