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On the screen was Holly’s résumé, dated seven days ago, with a cover letter showing her interest in a full-time writing position at a small local paper.
Heat crawled up her neck as she stared at the résumé. The idea that someone at that paper told Lyla that one of her gossip reporters was looking for a job...
"I'm friends with every magazine and newspaper editor in the city, Holly," Lyla said, her voice cold. "It's going to be hard for you to find a new position without a good recommendation for me, don't you think?"
"Everyone tests the waters to see what's out there occasionally. It's natural.”
"Mmm." Lyla narrowed her eyes and studied her intently. "Anyway, we all know about Eli's reputation when it comes to women. And our blog thrives on that reputation. But he seems fond of you, Holly. Quite fond. In fact, he demanded an excellent paycheck for you for this assignment."
Lyla leaned forward in her chair. "What I don't understand is why he'd be so nice to someone who has made a career out of reporting all of his off-ice activities. Because a lot of the things that you've written about the Las Vegas Kingsnakes haven't exactly been flattering. You were the one who gave a few of them the ‘Player's Club’ nickname."
"I don't know what to tell you. He knows I work for the blog. My best friend is dating West Keller, their starting goaltender, so we see each other around. But other than that..." Holly shrugged.
The look on Lyla's face told her she didn't believe her, and Holly made a mental note to watch her back. Lyla was dying to date a hockey player, and she was seriously pissed Eli hadn't chosen her to do the feature.
"I'm sure you'll have every chance to become good friends now. Especially with thirty days to hang out together." She leaned back in her chair and gestured toward the door. "That's all. You can go."
Holly stood up from her chair but didn't speak. She wasn't going to tell Lyla to have a great day or thank her for the opportunity to write the feature. They'd both know that was total bullshit.
As she turned to walk out of the office, Lyla tapped her desk with her long nails.
"Oh, and Holly?"
She glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Fuck this up, and you're fired."
Holly bit down on her tongue to keep herself from snapping back, then closed the door behind her. As she exited the office, she passed Landon's desk without a word. It's not like Landon had noticed her leave, anyway. She was too busy staring at her cell phone.
Once outside the office, she glanced over at the elevator that led to the parking garage. Though it was nice enough inside, it was slow as hell and the size of a small closet. That didn't play well with her claustrophobia. The stairs would have to do.
But when she tried to take the first step, she couldn't lift her foot.
Panic seized her as she stared down at her legs.
"What the fuck?" She grabbed the handrail and tried again with the other leg, but she was too weak.
Her stomach clenched with anxiety as she sank down onto the stairs. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.
Stress could do some fucked up things to the body, that much she knew. She'd just lost her home in a fire and had to deal with her miserable bitch of a boss. And moving into Eli's house was another thing altogether. Not to mention the current state of their relationship.
Holly swallowed and ran her hands down over her thighs.
Yeah. It had to be stress. It was a lot to handle, and if you added her financial situation on top of everything else, she had a lot of legitimate reasons to be stressed.
She sat in the stairwell for ten minutes, taking deep breaths and trying to think positive thoughts before standing and turning to face the stairs.
"Work, legs," she whispered. "Fucking work."
To her relief, everything seemed to be back to normal as she lifted her leg onto the first step. She climbed the stairs slowly, not wanting to push her luck.
Once she got to the car, she sank down in the driver's seat and closed her eyes.
Managing her stress was going to have to become a priority in her life, because she never wanted to go through that again.
* * *
Eli swung his SUV into his mother's driveway and stared at the front door, a knot of dread forming in his stomach.
