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JK pulled her baseball cap down over her eyes and slipped in past Peter and got a glimpse of Tabitha heading to the changing room, though she didn’t appear to have any lingerie with her.
JK hurried into an adjacent changing room, pulling the curtain closed to hide herself. The sound of soft crying soon reached her ears. JK realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach that Tabitha was in the exact same cubicle that she had changed in when she’d been trying to seduce JK, which felt like a lifetime ago.
She didn’t have anything to try on. It was too soon to make a judgment for sure, but JK suspected she knew what was going on here. Tabitha was coming to places they had both been to together, perhaps to immerse herself in the memories, but those memories were only upsetting her.
JK ached to comfort Tabitha. It was physically painful to sit here and listen to the woman she loved in pain. The only thing that prevented her from acting was the knowledge that if she did, she would cause Tabitha more pain in the long run.
Sure, she could comfort Tabitha now, but it would be cold comfort, knowing that JK would simply have to leave before Peter caught them and they would need to go their separate ways again.
Not for the first time, she gave brief thought to a secret affair, but she knew it wouldn’t work. Tabitha was too closely watched, and if JK followed her to the U.K. there would be a million palace spies watching Tabitha. Sooner or later, someone would find out, and it would all fall apart.
It didn’t take long to confirm JK’s theory. After the lingerie store, Tabitha went to the movie theater where they had been kicked out for getting intimate in the back row. Then she went to the food court where they eaten burgers together. After that, it was the little nook where they had kissed once.
Watching the pain on Tabitha’s face as tears tracked down her beautiful cheeks made JK feel like the world’s shittiest person, but there was nothing she could do about that. She wanted to leave—she didn’t want to have to watch this—but she couldn’t. She had to stay to protect Tabitha. Peter certainly wasn’t doing it adequately. He was more interested in spying on Tabitha than actually protecting her.
After several hours of wandering through the mall like a ghost, Tabitha finally went home and didn’t emerge for the rest of the day. JK imagined her lying in bed, crying and refusing meals, and had to wipe her own cheeks.
This was the worst feeling in the world. Why the hell did anyone want to fall in love if this was what it felt like?
On her way home, she stopped at the gym and beat up the boxing bag so badly that its leather cover split, sending sand spilling everywhere. After apologizing profusely to the gym owner, JK made a hasty retreat, her frustrations and sorrow far from eased.
When she got home, there was a message waiting on her phone. She winced as she opened it, praying it wouldn’t be from Tabitha.
It wasn’t. It was from Gray.
Hi, JK. Give me a call when you have a minute.
JK grimaced. She had written a full report for Gray, including the reason she was fired. Gray no doubt wanted to chew her out for her unprofessional behavior, and she would deserve it. Anything would be better than sitting with her current feelings of desolation, even being thoroughly reprimanded by her boss, so she made the call immediately.
“Hi, JK, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.”
“Of course.” JK waited for the blow to fall.
“How are you doing?”
“What?”
“How are you, JK?”
“Aren’t you going to yell at me for sleeping with a client?”
Gray chuckled. “Please, I’m the last one who has any right to get all high and mighty about that. Besides, with the number of my employees who have ended up marrying clients, you’d think we were a matchmaking agency.”
Well, this wasn’t the way JK had expected the conversation to go. “Uh, thanks, Gray.” Why was Gray calling if not to reprimand her? She didn’t particularly feel like talking about her feelings, so she decided to change the subject. “How is Savannah doing?”
“Oh, she’s great. The first trimester was a bit rough, but everything has settled down nicely. We’re hoping it’ll be smooth sailing from here. But that’s not why I called. I have another job for you, if you’re interested.”
JK’s heart sank. Of course, that’s why Gray would be calling her. She did work for Gray, after all. Now that her work with Tabitha was done, she’d be expected to take on another case.
“I… I can’t.”
“You’re still watching her, aren’t you?”
JK couldn’t find it in herself to deny it. “Her current bodyguard is doing a great job at spying on her, but actually protecting her? He sucks. He hasn’t even noticed I am following them. I’m worried for Tabitha’s safety. Her presence here has already been unmasked once.”
“I understand. Just make sure you don’t get caught following her, JK. That could lead to a lot of trouble on all sides.”
“I get it. I don’t want to bring bad press to your company. I’ll be careful.”
