Page 11 of Forever, Never, Always (Forever #2)

Sofia

The rapid banging on the door has me jumping to answer it before whoever it is wakes Harry.

Zoe is pacing, and my heart stops. Fuck. She knows.

“I need to talk to you,” she says firmly.

I give a slight nod, opening the door wide enough for her to enter. “You’ve spoken to Ric,” I mutter, bracing myself for her harsh words.

“Yeah, and he told me you were feeling down.” I pause, glancing up in surprise. “But that‘s not why I’m here.”

“Okay.”

“It’s best I just show you, right? Because I don’t think I can put it into words. But once you’ve seen it, please don’t overreact. We can get it taken down, or maybe you know who posted—”

“Zoe, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”

She takes a breath and gives a stiff nod. “Okay.” Then she thrusts her mobile phone at me. I take it warily, half amused by her crazy ranting and half relieved she doesn’t know about the kiss . . . yet. “Press play,” she adds.

The second Dexter and I come into view, my chest tightens and I feel sick. I slowly lower onto the sofa and watch as my earlier humiliation plays out. “Oh god,” I whisper, bringing my hand to my mouth as I watch myself fall from my chair. “No, no, no, no.”

“It’s not bad,” says Zoe.

I glance up. “It’s not bloody good, Zo.”

“Do you know who the poster is?”

I look at the name on the account and shake my head. “But I know who recorded the video.”

“So, you can get it taken down?”

I open the comments, and Zoe tries to snatch the phone away. I manage to avoid her and begin to read. The caption is blaring. HUMILIATED WHEN SHE MAKES A PLAY FOR HER BOSS! “This is bad . . . so, so bad.”

“Reading the comments will only make it worse,” says Zoe gently.

“It’s been viewed by half a million people,” I cry.

“Yeah, it’s really gaining views.”

“There’s so many laughing emojis,” I whisper, my voice breaking.

“Look,” says Zoe, taking the phone from me, “it’s all going to be okay.”

“How?” I cry. “And how did you see this?”

She bites on her lower lip. “My friend, Teddy, sent it. He recognised you.”

I bury my face in my hands. “Oh god, everyone’s going to see it.”

“Half the people I know hate this app. I never go on here,” she says, tucking her phone away.

“Have you shown anyone?” She hesitates, and I glare at her until she relents. “Ric saw it.”

I jump up. “Noooooo.”

“He was there when I opened it and heard your voice. I’m sorry.”

“I can never show my face in public again.” The thought of Ric seeing it out of everyone makes it feel so much worse.

“What happened?” she asks.

I groan louder. “Stupid Amelia happened.”

“She’s your colleague?”

“She’s a bully. She practically talked me into asking Dexter out. I got carried away in the moment and fucked it up, and then she recorded the entire ordeal. I told her to delete it, and she said she had. Clearly, she’s a liar too.”

“Call her, tell her to take it down.”

“I don’t have her number. Besides, it’s only going to draw attention to it, and she’d love that.” I sigh. “The best thing to do is ignore it. Ignore her. She’ll get bored.”

The following day, I force myself to go into work despite wanting to stay home and hide. Doing that would only give Amelia more ammunition, so acting like it never happened is the best thing to do.

I hold my head up as I stroll through the office, despite feeling like everyone is whispering about me. I take my seat and stare at my computer as it fires up.

“Morning, Sof,” Amelia calls from her desk.

“Morning,” I mutter.

“Are you okay?” She approaches my desk, a stupid smug smile on her face.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

She arches her perfectly plucked brow. “No hard feelings about yesterday. I was trying to help.”

“By helping me to make a twat of myself?”

She sniggers. “You did that all by yourself.”

“I think it’s best if we just stay out each other’s way,” I say firmly.

She gives a shrug. “Whatever.” She saunters back to her desk, where Lula and Noah giggle like children.

I throw myself into work, and by lunch, I’ve finished my article.

I press print and head over to the main office printer, where a stack of printouts is spilling from the machine.

I pick one up and stare at last night’s social media post, the comments printed in black and white.

I slam the sheet back down and wait for my article, snatching it and heading for Dexter’s office.

I knock and enter, glancing up just in time to see Amelia kissing Dexter like a cat in heat.

She turns, smirking as she wipes her smudged lipstick from around her mouth.

“Sorry,” I utter, trying to back out. Christ, it all makes sense now.

She wanted to humiliate me because she’s clearly banging him.

“Come in, we’re done,” she says, winking as she passes me.

Dexter adjusts his trousers and sits behind his desk, clearing his throat. “I just wanted you to run your eyes over my article,” I mutter, placing it on the desk.

“Of course.” He takes it, but I don’t think he’s reading a word as he stares at the document blankly.

“So, you and Amelia are . . .”

“This is great,” he tells me, sliding it back across the desk. “I’ll have it in the next edition.”

“Are you dating her?” It’s none of my business, but I need to know if she was planning my downfall all along or if this is just a coincidence.

“Sofia, I—”

“Because she told me you were into me.”

“She can be . . . difficult.”

“She set me up.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because she thought I liked you and wanted to make me look an idiot.”

He presses his lips together in a thin line, like he’s choosing his next words carefully. “We’ve been together for a while.”

“So, why would she do that to me? And why are you both hiding your relationship?”

He shrugs. “HR would be a nightmare. I’m her boss. It’s complicated.”

“She posted the video online,” I tell him angrily, and he winces. “Thousands have seen it.”

“Those things are soon forgotten.”

“Have her take it down or I will personally go to HR and tell then everything,” I snap, snatching the article and stomping from his office.

I pause outside, staring in disbelief because the social media comments have been stuck up on every surface in the office.

Everyone is staring at me. Waiting. Looking for a reaction.

The air is alive with excitement at the possibility that I might lose my head.

Instead, I calmly walk back to my desk and take my seat.

Seconds later, Dexter walks out his office and groans. “Jesus,” he mutters. “Amelia, my office. Now.”

She grins as she passes me. “He can’t get enough,” she whispers.

Eric

Hugo enters the classroom and stares at the chaos before clearing his throat in that authoritative way he’s got, which in turn has all the kids diving into an empty chair and sitting up straight.

The bell rings, and then the chaos ensues again as the kids rush to the door, almost knocking Hugo out the way.

He steps in farther, closing the door and approaching my desk. “What the fuck was that?”

I glance up. “Huh?”

“Out of every classroom in this school, yours is the one I can rely on to be in order. Yet today, it was like a zoo.”

“Oh, yeah, that. They were a nightmare all lesson.”

“Could that be because you’re staring into space like a lost astronaut?”

I sigh heavily. “It’s been a long day.”

“Is this about Zoe? If things are tough, I can give you a couple days off.”

I shake my head. “I haven’t had a chance to speak to her yet.”

“Get it over and done with then so you can teach again.”

“I kissed Sofia,” I blurt out, and he freezes. For a good minute, he just stares. “It’s a shit move, I know. But she was sad, and I was comforting her, and . . . fuck .”

“She’s the woman,” he mutters. “The one you were talking about?” I nod. “She’s Zoe’s best friend. She’s Meg’s best friend.”

I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling. “You don’t need to tell me that.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t. It was in the moment and—”

“Bullshit,” he hisses, pulling up a chair. “You said yourself you liked her. And now, you’ve taken it a step further because now she knows you like her.”

“She likes me too.”

“No,” he snaps. “No, no. It can’t happen, Ric. Never.”

I rest my head on the desk. “I can’t get her out of my mind.”

“She’s got Harry to think of,” he mutters.

“I know that,” I snap, lifting my head to stare at him.

“So, you can’t get involved and then just walk away, Ric. This isn’t just anyone. This is your girlfriend’s best mate, and she’s got a child to think about, and if you go there, you can’t just leave when you’re bored or when you want a fresh bit of ass.”

“I’d never do that.”

“You’re doing it to Zoe.”

“Me and Zoe were never gonna work.”

“You seemed pretty sure about her when we were saying that,” he snaps. “Just think about what it’ll do to their friendship.”

I narrow my eyes in frustration. Out of all my brothers, I thought Hugo would back me on this. “All you’re worried about is Meg.”

He pushes to stand. “Of course, I am. This will affect all three of them, and they’ve been friends for such a long time.”

“What if Sofia wants this too?”

He shakes his head. “She won’t. Not when she really thinks about what it’ll do to Zoe.”

“I think you’re blowing this out of proportion. Zoe won’t shed a single tear over me. She’s not like that.”

“Look, slow down and think about it. First of all, break things off with Zoe. Then let the dust settle before you even think about doing anything else with Sofia.”

I take a deep breath before answering the door. Zoe looks stunning, dressed in summer shorts and a vest with her hair flowing freely. “Thanks for coming,” I mutter, leading her to the kitchen.

“I haven’t got long.”

“It’s about us,” I say, turning to face her before she can make an excuse to leave for work. “It’s not working.” She stares at me for a good minute, a range of emotions passing over her face. “It’s not you—”

“Oh god, please don’t use that ridiculous line because it clearly is me,” she snaps.

“We want different things.”