Roll Against Regret (3d20) Read Free

turned to head back to my desk, I almost collided with a coworker. “Sorry about that,” I said.
    Ryan didn’t return my smile. His narrowed his eyes, pursed his lips, and stepped around me.
    The fact the interaction was status quo these days didn’t stop my mood from sinking a notch. “See you around,” I called over my shoulder, trying to keep the cheer in my voice.
    I sank into my desk chair with a sigh. A few months ago, before I met Jackson, I’d made a big mistake—or a string of them—and I was still paying the price. I brought it on myself, and karma was exacting its fee. Which was the entire reason I needed to make things right. Ryan wasn’t making it easy. Not that I blamed him.
    I’d dated one of the managers. It had been a stupid decision for a lot of reasons, but Mark Kitner was all the suave, seductive things I thought I wanted to sweep me off my feet. Mark had used our relationship to convince me to do a little bit of after-hours work for him. I hadn’t thought it was a big deal at the time, until I realized he had me sabotaging Ryan’s job. I was furious, told Mark we were through, and cut him out of my personal life.
    Too bad doing the same at work wasn’t an option, unless I found a new job.
    I’d tried to apologize to Ryan, but he’d blown me off and said the damage was done. I didn’t blame him for being pissed, so I tried not to push the issue.
    “Got a minute?” Tasha stood on the other side of my chest-high cubicle, a manila folder in her hand. “It’s about Zedophap.”
    The account I’d unwittingly stolen from Ryan. It’s not that we made more based on the clients we worked with or anything, but the work I’d done had made him look bad. Tasha was the project manager, and knew the truth of the entire debacle. She’d brought it all to light. Fortunately, she’d forgiven me. It surprised me, since I was pretty sure she and Ryan were an item—or the closest friends ever—but I wasn’t complaining.
    I pressed the lingering unpleasantness of Monday to the back of my mind. “Sure. What’s up?”
    She handed me the folder. “I don’t know why I can’t do this over email, but Kitner…” She blew a red curl off her forehead. I envied her hair. My straight blond locks were so blah in comparison. “Anyway. These are all the data documents the records say you’ve got going for Zedophap. Can you give them a look, and fill in any missing or out-of-date information with printouts?”
    I frowned and grabbed the paperwork from her. “I’m sure it’s right. I’ve put everything in the document system. Won’t this throw the versioning out of sync?”
    She twisted her mouth and rolled her eyes. “It won’t, once you go back into the system and update everything. Don’t hate me. This wasn’t my decision.”
    “Update from the printouts?”
    “Yes.” She met my gaze. “Welcome to the busywork side of being on Kitner’s shit list.”
    Elders, that man was a childish asshole. “Got it. Due date?”
    “It’s critical.” She drew out the word ‘critical’ and smothered it with sarcasm.
    Of course it was. Because the snide looks, silent treatment, and whispers behind my back weren’t enough. I swallowed the bitter response. I’d brought this on myself. “I’m on it.”
    “Thanks.” Tasha sounded sincere. “I’ll take the heat off you wherever I can.”
     
    ****
     
    I stepped into the familiar coffee shop, and the scent of fresh roast washed over me. Jackson already sat at a table in the back. He grinned the moment I approached, and met me halfway to the booth. He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me hard. “You look drained.”
    “I’m better now.” I dropped into the seat across from him, and pushed the day to the back of my mind. “I’m not late, am I?” Now that work was behind me, I was free to focus my thoughts on meeting Dark. The nervous anticipation sliding through me combined with memories of the fantasy I shared with Jackson last