adjusting my bra before buttoning up the jacket. I smooth my hair as I lift my gaze back to him. He's leaning against the door, his head resting in his palm.
"I've been waiting downstairs for her." She thumps her fist into the door again. "She never came down. Let me in."
I reach around him to yank the door open. He acquiesces without uttering a word.
"Jess." Mascara is running down her face. "What are you still doing here?"
"She was in the bathroom," he offers, his hand pressing against the bottom of my back.
"Let's go." She reaches for my hand and I grab it, squeezing it within my own. "I'm sorry you had to meet that asshole," she mutters as she pulls me towards the elevator.
Right now, in this moment, I'm sorry I met him too.
Chapter 3
" I need to cut back your hours, Jess." Cassandra ties a patterned scarf around her neck. "I just can't afford this anymore."
I take a deep breath. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's been four days since I followed her out of Nathan's apartment and now she's finally going to confront me. She must know that I'm the woman he was talking about. Wait. Am I the woman he was talking about? Maybe there was another woman he was fucking. He has a suite just for random sex. I can't shoulder all the blame for their broken relationship.
"Okay," I offer. What am I supposed to say when she's essentially telling me that my dream job is no more? Add to that the fact that I've been fucking her estranged boyfriend and my life couldn't get much worse.
"I'm humiliated." She turns to face me. "I can't believe I have to say this."
My stomach twists into a knot. She looks so worn-out. I heard her crying this morning when I got to her apartment. She misses him. I can't blame her. I miss him too.
"Just say it," I blurt out. I just want it over with.
"Nathan was helping me," she begins before taking a long pause. "Financially."
I look into her green eyes and I see a cast of worry over them. "I didn't know," I mutter. I couldn't have known. He didn't tell me that part.
"I was struggling when we met and he offered. No questions. I wanted it to be a loan, but he refused. He just gave it."
I can't respond. What am I supposed to say to that?
"He helped me for a few months before I asked him out. We went on a few dates." She inhales sharply. "The sex wasn't spectacular, but you can't have everything right?"
I feel a blush course over my face. The sex is spectacular. It's beyond that.
"I can't keep taking money from him after the other night."
"Yes," I mutter. Of course she can't. He dumped her royally on her ass right in front of me. How can she keep taking anything from him after that?
"I can give you two days a week." She shifts in obvious embarrassment. "If you find something better, I'll send you on your way with a great reference."
I nod. Two days a week? It was better than nothing.
***
"I s Mr. Moore in?" I quiz the gorgeous brunette sitting behind an almost bare industrial looking desk.
"Who are you?" She pushes the question at me without even the slightest hint of pleasantness.
"A friend."
"No." She taps a few buttons on a phone on her desk. "Your name? What's your name?"
"It's..." I begin before she turns her attention to the call.
"There's a girl here." Her deliberate use of the word girl isn't lost on me. "Name?"
"Jessica Roth."
"Jessica Ross," she snarls into the phone. Maybe she just has a lisp.
"Jessica." Nathan appears in the doorway of one of the many offices lining the area behind me. "What a surprise."
I walk towards him, my heart racing. Showing up unannounced at his office was bad enough. Trying to walk on this plush carpet in stilettos was making me feel not only unbalanced but awkward too.
"I just wanted to talk," I say wearily. It has taken all the courage I had to search for his office address, to get in a cab and to ride the elevator up, all without knowing how he'd react.
"Inside." He motions to the doorway of a large office with a glorious view
"I've been waiting downstairs for her." She thumps her fist into the door again. "She never came down. Let me in."
I reach around him to yank the door open. He acquiesces without uttering a word.
"Jess." Mascara is running down her face. "What are you still doing here?"
"She was in the bathroom," he offers, his hand pressing against the bottom of my back.
"Let's go." She reaches for my hand and I grab it, squeezing it within my own. "I'm sorry you had to meet that asshole," she mutters as she pulls me towards the elevator.
Right now, in this moment, I'm sorry I met him too.
Chapter 3
" I need to cut back your hours, Jess." Cassandra ties a patterned scarf around her neck. "I just can't afford this anymore."
I take a deep breath. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's been four days since I followed her out of Nathan's apartment and now she's finally going to confront me. She must know that I'm the woman he was talking about. Wait. Am I the woman he was talking about? Maybe there was another woman he was fucking. He has a suite just for random sex. I can't shoulder all the blame for their broken relationship.
"Okay," I offer. What am I supposed to say when she's essentially telling me that my dream job is no more? Add to that the fact that I've been fucking her estranged boyfriend and my life couldn't get much worse.
"I'm humiliated." She turns to face me. "I can't believe I have to say this."
My stomach twists into a knot. She looks so worn-out. I heard her crying this morning when I got to her apartment. She misses him. I can't blame her. I miss him too.
"Just say it," I blurt out. I just want it over with.
"Nathan was helping me," she begins before taking a long pause. "Financially."
I look into her green eyes and I see a cast of worry over them. "I didn't know," I mutter. I couldn't have known. He didn't tell me that part.
"I was struggling when we met and he offered. No questions. I wanted it to be a loan, but he refused. He just gave it."
I can't respond. What am I supposed to say to that?
"He helped me for a few months before I asked him out. We went on a few dates." She inhales sharply. "The sex wasn't spectacular, but you can't have everything right?"
I feel a blush course over my face. The sex is spectacular. It's beyond that.
"I can't keep taking money from him after the other night."
"Yes," I mutter. Of course she can't. He dumped her royally on her ass right in front of me. How can she keep taking anything from him after that?
"I can give you two days a week." She shifts in obvious embarrassment. "If you find something better, I'll send you on your way with a great reference."
I nod. Two days a week? It was better than nothing.
***
"I s Mr. Moore in?" I quiz the gorgeous brunette sitting behind an almost bare industrial looking desk.
"Who are you?" She pushes the question at me without even the slightest hint of pleasantness.
"A friend."
"No." She taps a few buttons on a phone on her desk. "Your name? What's your name?"
"It's..." I begin before she turns her attention to the call.
"There's a girl here." Her deliberate use of the word girl isn't lost on me. "Name?"
"Jessica Roth."
"Jessica Ross," she snarls into the phone. Maybe she just has a lisp.
"Jessica." Nathan appears in the doorway of one of the many offices lining the area behind me. "What a surprise."
I walk towards him, my heart racing. Showing up unannounced at his office was bad enough. Trying to walk on this plush carpet in stilettos was making me feel not only unbalanced but awkward too.
"I just wanted to talk," I say wearily. It has taken all the courage I had to search for his office address, to get in a cab and to ride the elevator up, all without knowing how he'd react.
"Inside." He motions to the doorway of a large office with a glorious view
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