Page 123 of Just Another Silly Love Song

My body tensed and I started blinking rapidly, when everything became clear.

It was happening all over again.

Just like Zachary, Ben got what he needed from me and was tossing me aside.

Ben used me.

How could I have been so blind? How could I have been such a fool?

I swallowed hard and stood up straight, taking in a deep breath and blowing it back out.

There was no way I was going to let Ben do this without giving him a piece of my mind.

I took a step toward Dan’s office and—

My phone rang in my hand.

I checked the caller ID, surprised at who was calling.

It was Doug, the program director from my old radio station.

I stared at the phone, wondering why he was calling, of all people.

Ben stuck his head outside the office door. “Oh, hey. Do you have time to chat now?”

I stared at Ben, but it was as if I was looking right through him, because nothing was registering on his face. Not love, not compassion, not hope.

He didn’t care.

I held up my ringing phone. “I should take this call.”

What I really needed was to breathe, to get out of the building, and get some fresh air.

The walls seemed to be closing in on me.

Ben nodded. “No problem. I’ll be here when you finish.”

Yeah, but I probably won’t be.

I rushed down the hallway. “Hello?”

“Hi, Lori. It’s Doug. How are you?”

“Honestly, I’ve had better days,” I whispered. “Do you mind if I call you back later?” I walked through the lobby and forced a smile at Debbie before I walked out the door. I stopped at the edge of the stairs that went down to the parking lot. “Doug? Are you there?”

“I’m here—sorry. Just working on ten things at once, and one of them concerns you.”

“Hang on, Doug.” I pulled the phone away from my ear and glared at it. Of all the things to happen and people to call, the guy who fired me wasn’t on the list. Everything about the last fifteen minutes was a horror story.

And I still didn’t understand why Doug was on the phone.

Was he calling to gloat?

My head was spinning as I ran down the stairs like the building was on fire.

Fresh air would do me some good, I hoped.

I wanted to talk to Ben, but would it really matter now? Talking to him would just make me feel worse, and I already felt bad enough as it was.