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Hannah slips through the revolving doors and into the marble building. Bridget prods me in the side with one of her sharp nails the second she’s out of sight.

“Way to take credit for everything, Mr. Show Off.”

“Hey, the ballet was my idea.”

“And using Hannah was mine, as was the handbag, and all the internet stalking I did of Verity’s life.”

She pouts, and I reach out to ruffle her hair.

“And I thank you dearly for all your hard work.”

“You better. None of this comes for free, you know.”

“Oh really? Here I thought you were helping me out of the goodness of your heart.”

“A Vaughn always collects.”

I roll my eyes at my pseudo sister.

“Fine. When Verity and I are back together, I’ll owe you.”

Because we will get back together. This isn’t an “if” situation.

I meant what I’d said to Hannah.

I’ll win her back, at any cost.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

VERITY

I’ve been staring at different fonts for three hours, and I think I’m starting to go a little cross-eyed. The words on the screen just look wrong at this point even though I know they are spelled correctly.

I think.

I pull up the design brief for the twentieth time and check again that, yup, it’s correct.

Sahara Sunsetreally does have that many A’s.

Since I am currently in a state of project limbo, Jenna assigned me to work on the labels for a new set of candles from one of our longtime clients. It is one of the easier projects, something I am comfortable with, and with the way my week is going, I need an easy win.

Things are going well at work, but after chatting with Hannah about my meeting with Celine, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that her pretty words were actually an ultimatum. She wasn’t giving me a reward, telling me that I could lead the next big project because I am proving my worth. She was spelling out a warning, threatening to stall my career if I do anything to sully her reputation. It was just as Jenna had said.

Hannah thought the whole thing was bogus. After talking everything through with her, she’s shifting over to Team Cullen,saying that sometimes love takes risk and I should just embrace it.

I always play it safe. I don’t like to rock the boat.

If I lose my job, I don’t have any money to fall back on. Saving in the city is impossible and I send what little I can back to my parents. The job market is a nightmare right now, and the last thing I want is to put Hannah out on our rent or be forced to move back home because I can’t cut it in the big city.

I need to stick it out and hope that Celine stays true to her word. If she makes me the lead for the next high-profile client, it would give me the validation I need as a junior designer to get a leg up in this industry.

The Frankie Jones merch collab seems to be moving forward, and Anne has been buzzing like a queen bee all around the office. As much as I hate the idea of having to work with her, I know Celine has her eye on the project, and staying in her good graces is a priority for me.

The politics of it all is a headache.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds, trying to combat the stinging feeling in them.

It’s only twenty past five, but I’m not going to figure out this font in the next ten minutes. After working overtime the last few weeks for the Kelton project, I’m not spending an extra second in the office until I need to. All I want right now is to collapse on the couch with my leftover takeout and numb my mind with some television.