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CHAPTER 7

Julia

“Oh my God! He’s hot, hot.” Tasha exclaims once we’re back inside. My face is tomato red from blushing so hard.

“Shut up!” I throw a pillow at her, and it smacks her right in the stomach.

“Julia and Mask Guy, sitting in a tree?—”

A loud knock comes from the wall. “Shut up in there! I’m trying to sleep!”

I glare at Tasha, and she puts her hands up in surrender.

Love Actually continues to play on the TV. “Oh no, we missed the good part. Rewind it.” I say, not wanting to miss Hugh Grant dancing around like an idiot.

My phone lights up with an incoming text, and I can’t help but smile. Despite being angry at him and having been plagued with self-doubt, I can’t resist giving him another chance.

You looked beautiful tonight, Bella.

Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I read those words. I’m not wearing anything special—flannel pajamas, and my hair is thrown up in a bun. If he had come thirty minutes earlier, he would have been greeted by me in a green-colored face mask, though. I cringe at the thought.

Biting my bottom lip, I type out a reply. Erasing it and retyping several times before I settle on what to say back.

And you looked like someone I haven’t seen in a week.

“Tell him you’ve been dreaming about his dick every night,” Tasha says, grabbing a fistful of white cheddar popcorn.

I roll my eyes and hit send.

Have you been counting the days? I know I have.

Tasha crams her face next to mine and reads the message he’s sent back.

“Oh, girl. You’re in big trouble.” She cackles. I push her off me and put my phone away.

In the morning, my phone is filled with news of a missing CEO for some company as I scroll past stupid ads for several workout machines. Apparently, my algorithm is trying to tell me something. Scowling, I toss my phone onto the bed and brush my teeth. I have a shift at a bar in Midtown in a half-hour that I can’t be late for. They asked me to fill in for the lunch rush and the tips I get are too good to pass up.

Max and I have been texting most of the night and into the morning. It’s mostly nonsense stuff, but there’s an undercurrent and a promise of something more.

As the day passes, the missing CEO is all anyone can talk about. Wild theories fly, getting crazier by the second. They release grainy footage of the incident from a nearby building that only spurs on the speculation. It’s funny to me that with all the advances in technology, we still have shitty footage like this when they want to catch someone.

I’ve been too busy taking orders and fighting the ache in my feet to pay too much attention, but what I do catch of the conversations is entertaining. There’s no love lost between me and this CEO, especially after I found out what he was CEO of. Personal experience with being denied claims is why I’m in this mess in the first place—working as hard as I do at multiple jobs just to make ends meet, all because of my late mom’s medical debt.

Thankfully, Max hasn’t pressed me anymore about calling off this weekend. As much as I want to, there’s no way I can make rent if I do. He might be hot, but he’s not ‘lose my apartment’ hot. Though, I do want to see him again. It’s tempting. I’ll give him that.

I’d love just to say fuck it and see where he’d take me.

He seems like the type of guy who would plan things out meticulously.

At the end of my shift, I realize I have only fifteen minutes to dash across town to make it in time for my shift at Deja Brew.

Fuck.

It’s freezing, and I have to bypass a slew of gawking holiday shoppers who are clogging up the sidewalk. I go as fast as my legs will carry me, huffing all the way, silently cursing myself for not being in better shape. Those stupid ads my phone was showing me earlier are starting to make a lot more sense as a sharp pain stabs me in my side from running.

I’m a wheezing, sweaty mess by the time I make it to Deja Brew. Only Ned’s angry face tells me I didn’t make it on time.

“Julia, a word.” He says, gesturing to the cramped office.

The space is only big enough for two chairs, and when he closes the door, a bright overhead light fizzles loudly, shutting out the noise from the café.

I take off my beanie hat and twist it between my fingers. “Ned, I’m so?—”

He puts his hand up and sits across from me, knees knocking against mine. I recoil and don’t miss the flash of annoyance that crosses his face.

“This is the sixth time, Julia. I can’t keep making allowances if you’re not able to get to work on time.”

“I—”

“No excuses this time. I told you what would happen if you were late again.”

My heartbeat quickens, and my already sweaty body feels like it will drown itself if it sweats anymore. A sense of dread fills me as he avoids my eyes.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go.” The words hit me like he’s just carried out a death sentence.

“Please. I’m sorry. I?—”

“Get your things and go,” Ned says quickly, not even allowing me to defend myself. “You can pick up your last check by the end of the week.”

As I squeeze past him, he grabs me by the wrist. His skin feels clammy and wrong.

“But I hope this doesn’t change anything between us.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

“I had been hoping to ask you out sometime, and now that I’m no longer your manager, I can.”

My eyes go wide as I yank my wrist away. “Did you seriously just fire me so you could ask me out?”

“Well, no, but I?—”

“And you thought I would say yes?” I can hear the shrill cadence in my voice getting louder. But I’ve reached a level of rage that cannot be contained.

“Julia, we’ve been flirting for months. I thought you would be pleased.” He looks genuinely confused, and I laugh.

“What the fuck, dude? I was just being polite!” Please save me from the audacity of entitled pricks who use their position of power to get what they want.

I storm out of the office and knock over a tray of piping hot coffee on my way out, shocking my former co-workers and a slew of customers waiting in line.

I’m too pissed to care what they think. I needed this job. Once I’m back out on the sidewalk, reality hits me. I’m so fucking screwed.

My fingers tremble, and I find myself hitting call before I know what I’m doing. Instinctively, I picked Max’s name from my contacts, needing to hear his voice.

It rings in my ear as I wait for him to pick up. I just hope he’s not busy.