Page 8 of Never To Be Mine

Not because I didn’t like them. They were fine. But I had work to do. Deals to close. Partnerships to build. I couldn’t afford to take an hour in the middle of the day to sit around making small talk over pasta. So I’d declined. Again and again.

Eventually, they’d stopped asking.

I understood. It wasn’t personal. Why keep inviting someone who always says no? They probably figured I preferred to work through lunch. Which I did. So really, this arrangement worked out better for everyone.

I pushed back from my desk, grabbing the printed report. My father would want to see this in person. I wanted to see his face when he reviewed those numbers. Maybe even hear him say “good work” or “I’m proud of you.”

I was halfway to the door when Kari appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide.

“Juno, have you seen this?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just rushed over with her phone already pulled up.

“Seen what?” I set the report down on my desk.

She tapped the screen and turned it toward me. “This.”

The video started playing, and my stomach dropped. It was me. At the expo. And someone had been filming.

I watched myself arguing with the hot guy, Hollis Blackwell. In my defense, I didn’t know who he was at the time. The angle made me look aggressive, like I was attacking some poor small business owner just trying to make a living. My voice was sharp, cutting. My gestures were dramatic. Eyes wild. I was surprised my nostrils hadn’t blown smoke.

I looked like a crazy person.

“Oh no,” I whispered.

“That tastes like rat piss,” my recorded voice said clearly.

I cringed. Had I really said that? Out loud? In front of all those people?

Then the video did something that made my blood run cold. It transitioned to a polished shot of Hollis Blackwell. One of his green shakes in hand with an amused grin on his stupidly handsome face.

“Some lady says this tastes like rat piss,” he said to the camera, his eyes sparkling with humor. “Taste it yourself and see. Link in bio.”

And then he took a drink. I watched his throat work. Then he licked his lips. That was the money shot. And he fucking knew it.

He’d turned my outburst into a commercial.

“That smug son of a bitch.”

“There’s more,” Kari said quietly. She swiped up, showing me the view count. Three hundred thousand. In less than three hours.

“Three hundred thousand people have watched this?” My voice came out strangled.

“It’s going viral. Like really viral.”

I grabbed the phone from her hands.

“Juno, don’t,” Kari said. “Whatever you do, don’t look at the comments.”

But it was too late. I was already reading them.

Who is this angry lady lmao

Imagine being this neurotic about someone’s smoothie

She’s just mad because he wouldn’t give her his number

How does she know what rat piss tastes like tho???

That one had twelve thousand likes.