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Maybe she had a case. For wrongful termination or retaliatory dismissal or something.
I didn’t know.
I wasn’t a lawyer.
And whose fault is that?
“Just come in,” Alba said, stepping aside to make room. “It’s cold out here.”
I hesitated, shifting on my feet until she tugged at my sleeve. “Come on. My feet are getting tired.”
I walked in and slipped the box of donuts and treats onto the coffee table. “Where’s Olive?”
“My parents took her for the weekend,” Ben said. “We needed time to… we have some things to figure out.”
My fault.
Alba lowered herself onto the couch with a deep sigh and leaned her head back, her throat working like she was trying not to cry.
I stood in the corner awkwardly, waiting for the tongue lashing to start.
Except it never did.
“Albs—”
“The pass,” she answered before I could even ask. “You used my pass to get into the hotel and they traced it back to me. Adrien pulled me into a meeting as soon as I got to my desk. I was fired before he even saw you. It’s a security thing. I’d signed a document when I first started agreeing it would only be used by me apparently.”
My stomach sank.Thatwas the business he’d needed to take care of? He’d been late because he was firing Alba?
“Why didn’t you tell him I stole the card or something?” I was going to be in trouble either way. It wouldn’t have mattered.
I was the one who’d begged her for the pass. “You’re not using the gym anymore anyway!” I’d argued when she said no. “I’m paying a hundred and fifty dollars a month for equipment that’s basically held together by duct tape.”
The one at the flagship hotel, though? It was a gym rat’s award-winning wet dream, complete with a free smoothie bar, complimentary massages, a pool, and private sauna pods.
After two months of begging and pleading, Alba had finally caved and given me the card for my birthday. Allof this was my fault.
“You could still do it. You could still tell him I took it,” I said, grasping at the thinnest straw of hope that maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe we could somehow salvage the situation and she’d get her job back. “You could tell him you didn’t know, and, and…”
“Why don’t you tell her the rest?” Ben interjected bitterly, talking to his wife.
“Ben—”
“She should know, Alba.”
I looked between them, my heart crawling up to the base of my throat. “What? What aren’t you telling me?”
“He was going to press charges,” Ben said. “He was pissed as all hell and was going to press charges and sue for damages. Alba spent two hours begging him to let it go instead of asking to keep her job and keep us afloat—”
“Ben!”
He shut up. He wasn’t happy about it, but he shut up. Right before he stormed off. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
“What the hell?” I said.
“He’s just stressed,” Alba responded. “It wasn’t a good time for us to lose my income with… well, you know.” She gestured to her stomach. “And it’s not like I can get another job right away, so things are going to be tight for a little while. He’s worried about the mortgage.”
I was having a bit of a hard time catching hold of my breath. “No, Alba,what the hell?”
