Jackie rushes toward me and pulls me in for a hug. “What happened?”
Chip’s right behind her with a hand on my back. “Whose ass do I need to kick?”
I force a little chuckle, and I try to pull it together, but it’s like the tears just won’t stop. “Thanks for being here,” I sob, and Jackie just holds me and rubs my back.
“We wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she says.
I draw in a shaky breath and pull out of our hug, and I swipe at the tears tracking down my cheeks. “I fucked up.”
“How?” Jackie asks. Chip stands beside her, and they’re both staring at me with concern. It would be comical if I weren’t so depressed.
“The hotel manager kept pressuring me to feature Archer, and then a few of his teammates showed up, and I went live with them in the background. It went viral,and Archer was understandably angry since he asked me not to put him in my content.”
“Oh, babe,” Jackie says.
“He left early without a goodbye, and I was offered a very generous paid partnership by the hotel. I declined.”
“Youdeclined?” they say in unison.
Again…comical if I wasn’t hurting.
“It felt tainted, and I don’t want to be associated with a business that pressures their influencers to post certain content.” I tuck my hair behind my ears and sniffle.
“That’s actually very noble of you,” Chip says. “Did you tell Archer?”
I shake my head. “I don’t have a way to get in touch with him.”
“You couldcallhim, you know…” Chip offers.
“We never exchanged numbers. He’s not a big phone guy, and we were always together, so we really didn’t need to. I don’t have a way to get in touch with him.”
“Instagram?” Jackie suggests.
“He doesn’t have one.” I press my lips together.
Jackie gasps. “How is that even possible in this day and age?”
I can’t help a little laugh at that. “Right? That’s what I said!”
We head toward the baggage carousel, and I grab my bags off. Chip pulls one while I pull the other out to their truck in the parking garage.
“I just want to get home and sleep for a month, but I’m going to need those extra shifts if you can swing it,” I say once we’re in the car.
“You want back on the schedule tomorrow night?” he asks.
“Please. I already know I’ll be going stir crazy. I just need to sleep a hundred hours first.”
Chip laughs as he pulls out of his space. “You do realize if you sleep a hundred hours, you’ll miss your shift tomorrow.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I say, and I yawn.
I must fall asleep because I wake to Jackie gently shaking my arm.
“Millie? We’re home,” she says quietly.
“Huh?” I ask, disoriented for a moment. I blink a few times and squint at her, and then I realize I never properly congratulated her in person. “Congratulations on the baby, by the way,” I say.
She laughs. “Thanks. Do you need help getting out of the truck?”
