Page 54

FIFTY-FOUR

Kinsley

For the fifth time in as many minutes, I flit around the bed in June’s guestroom, adjusting the sheets around Colin, running a hand across his forehead, and making sure his phone is within reach when he wakes up.

He’s snoring softly, the white bandage wrapped around his head a stark contrast to the dark gray pillowcase beneath him. Surgery was a success, but with the anesthesia still in his system, his doctor said he could sleep the rest of the day.

Of course he asked about Brantley and the other guys before they wheeled him back. I lied and said there was an emergency with one of their clients. Just like I lied when I said we had to leave our gifted apartment because June wanted to be there for us.

I feel terrible about keeping the truth from him, but he’s already going through so much and I don’t want to add more to his plate.

It’s bad enough they’ve disappointed me. I should have known better. I should have fought harder to keep my distance from them. I should have done a lot of things differently, yet here we are. Because apparently I’m a walking cliche.

I’m a woman who fell for her bosses, the first ones she slept with. It should have been casual sex. That’s it. But I got all tangled up in them, and then I lost my heart. And if I’m done lying, a piece of myself.

My eyes burn, and the breath stutters from my lungs.

All the good memories I have of the three of them are tarnished. The easy smiles, the compliments. They made me feel special, like I was the only woman that mattered.

I take a deep breath and then another, forcing myself to breathe, to put one foot in front of the other.

Colin shifts, and I check his bandage which hasn’t moved and his breathing which still seems good.

I’m hovering, I know I’m hovering, but being busy keeps the inevitable wave of emotion at bay. Once it hits, I’m worried it’s going to swallow me whole.

“He’s fine, Kins. We’ll check on him in thirty minutes.” June is leaning against the door frame, watching me. Waiting.

I sigh and close my eyes for several beats.

We all knew this was coming. There’s no way June was going to let me mope all day without forcing me to have a conversation. One I do not want to have. Denial and ignorance are my new friends, and I’d like to hang out with them a little bit longer.

But no, the serious, no-nonsense look she’s giving me tells me my time is up.

Very reluctantly, I walk toward her, hanging my head or maybe my entire body. Either way, I’m making it as clear as I can that yes, I am following her, but it is under distress.

June leads me to her couch and pushes me down with little effort. She vanishes for a minute but comes back quickly armed with two bottles of water, a bag of chocolates, and tissues. “Talk. And then I’ll get us some wine. If you’re good, maybe the whole bottle.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” I snatch the chocolates, unwrap two, and shove them in my mouth. “We could watch a movie. Read in total silence. Stare at the ceiling. Basically anything that doesn’t involve talking.”

Her eyes narrow, staying on me as she lowers herself on the other side of the couch and tosses me a water. “Did I ask any questions yesterday when you said you needed a temporary place to stay? Nope, I sure as hell didn’t. Instead, I got half the football team to quickly move you and Colin out of that gorgeous apartment and ignored your silent tears.” She pauses, and before I can open my mouth to give my denial, she points her water at me. “Yes, I saw them when you were trying to hide in the bathroom.”

“I wasn’t hiding in the bathroom,” I grumble, eating another chocolate. “I had to pee.”

She rolls her eyes, stealing the bag from my hand. “For twenty minutes. Please.”

“Maybe I had a lot of water.”

June doesn’t respond, only stares at me. When I don’t respond, her pointed glare hardens, and she quirks her brow.

“Fine,” I grind out, stealing the chocolate back. “There’s been some shit going on at the firm. Someone has been giving confidential client information to the press and taking pictures of me and the bosses to undermine them. They weren’t terribly incriminating photos, but it was enough to arouse suspicion and question their professionalism. It seems like someone wants them to lose clients.”

Although, if that were the case, shouldn’t they have sold more information? They have several celebrity clients at the moments, yet they only leaked information on two of them. Unless, it was a vendetta against me, that someone did just enough to make sure my fate was sealed. If the three of them hadn’t fired me, the senior partners would have demanded it.

“And they asked you to move out because of it? They’re the ones who wanted the relationship.” Her tone is sharp, and there’s no doubt in my mind she’d march right up to the office and kick all three of their asses.

Heck, I have half a mind to let her.

“They probably don’t know I left.” After everything was said and done, they have no reason to drop into “my” apartment to check on me. When and if they do, they’ll find the keys by the front door and nothing else. I clutch the chocolate to my chest and look down at the ground, my heart squeezing. “Everything looks like it came from my computer, but I never did any of those things.”

She scoffs and crosses her arms. “Of course you didn’t. I’m sure there are other people who have access to your office, right?”

“Of course, not that any of them asked.” My reply is quick, but then I pause, staying silent for several seconds as my mouth dries and my throat clogs. Those damn emotions, the ones I’ve fought so hard to bury, wash over me, threatening to pull me under.

I try to think of anything, anyone else, but I can’t get the image of them accosting me in Maverick’s office out of my head. Mav looked so betrayed. Wyatt acted like I was a complete stranger. Brantley was hard, cold, detached.

They had zero faith in me.

We may not have known each other for long, but I thought I knew them. I thought they were good guys.

My chest is heavy, like my heart is pushing against my ribs, trying to free itself from me, from the pain. My eyes sting, and I feel like I’m about to crack open.

I’m so stupid. So naive.

I was wrong about so many things.

I grab a tissue as the first tear falls and then the next. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop them from rolling down my cheeks, one right after another. “They didn’t even come to me and freaking ask if I did it. They…they just assumed it was me. Acted like they didn’t know me at all.”

“But you would never do something like that. Holy shit, Kins. I’m so sorry.” She scoots closer and pulls me in for a hug. “You’re not still working for them, are you?”

I shake my head, bury it against her shoulder, and take a deep breath, swallowing down the sob threatening to break free. “No, I quit. They were probably going to fire me, but there was no way I was going to step a single foot back in that office ever again.”

“I don’t blame you. Not at all. Have they tried to contact you?”

“No. And I have no idea what to tell Colin.” I pull back, snatch several tissues, and wipe my nose. “They were supposed to be here today. They were supposed to…”

The sob breaks free, and I’m a snotty, blubbery mess. None of this makes any sense. Not the short amount of time it took me to fall for these men. Not the blatant distrust. And certainly not this hollow spot in my chest, this aching hole of nothingness.

I feel like a part of me is missing, like without them I’ll never be whole, but I have to figure out a way to move on. I can’t let them destroy me.