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“Do you blame her?” asked Aaliyah. “She was gone for less than a day before she saw photos of you and Natalia out together playing happy family.”
“I never touched Natalia, but she’s the mother of my child. I owe it to Braelynn to find a way to make it work.”
“Does Natalia know the truth about Kadence?” asked Macy.
My brows furrowed. The truth about me?
“I don’t think so,” replied Caleb.
“You realize that Natalia will use that information if she had it, right? She’s a manipulative bitch.”
Aaliyah wasn’t wrong there, but what information were they talking about?
“I suggest you tell Kadence the truth,” added Macy. “Before it’s too late.”
“I can’t. I have reason to believe her father is coming tomorrow, and isn’t that why we came up with this plan in the first place?”
My eyes widened.
Had I heard that correctly?
“That was before you fell in love with her,” stated Aaliyah. “Things have changed, Caleb, and if you don’t fix it, you’re going to lose Kadence forever. Do you want that?”
It fell quiet, but I could hear my blood rushing in my eardrums.
“What you doing over there?”
I sucked in some air, and spun around. Annabelle was smiling at me.
“Uh, nothing,” I moved back towards my desk. “I wanted to give Macy her gift, but she’s busy.”
“I was also looking for Aaliyah,” said Annabelle. “We were supposed to go grab coffee.”
“She’s with Caleb, and Macy.”
“Oh,” Annebelle frowned. “That’s weird.”
I fell silent, and then Annabelle’s face lit up even brighter. If that was possible.
“Why don’t you come with me instead? Looks like you could use a friend.”
I considered it, and after hearing Caleb, Aaliyah and Macy talking about me, the office was the last place I wanted to be.
“Sure.” I grabbed my purse. “I’m buying.”
Annabelle and I walked to Starbucks a few blocks away and got seats in front of the window overlooking the street. She was easy to be around, and carried the conversation with ease. I didn’t know her all that well, even though I considered her a friend, so when she told me her fiancé, Brian, had cheated on her two years earlier I didn’t know how to respond.
After some awkward silence from my part, I asked, “Why are you telling me this?”
Annabelle sighed, and fiddled with her already crumpled napkin. “Because I know how hard it is to sift through everything you’re feeling, and I wanted you to know that I’m here if you need to talk.”
I was appreciative of her reaching out to me, but a little annoyed that my private life was not so private.
That’s what sleeping with the boss gets you.
I silenced the nasty, derisive voice in my head.
“We just weren’t meant to be,” I exhaled.
