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Frank shrugs. “Take it or leave it.”
Cash smiles. “So where should I go on vacation?”
9
I WANT YOU BACK BY NSYNC
Cat
My legs moving with precision, I hit the pavement and settle into my run. For reasons I refuse to examine, I slipped my old iPod into the pocket of my leggings before I left my apartment. I’ll blame it on nostalgia. This week is weird. First, Jay shows up as my new boss. Now my brother is actually considering my grandmother’s request that he find a wife. And Frank agreed to work for him.
In a matter of days, everything in my life has changed.
And summer is here, which means I’ll be raising Chloe here in Boston in a few short months. That reminds me—I have to look into schools and activities to keep her busy in the afternoons. And forget dating or going out. Not that I have much of a life outside of work these days. I visit Sophie and her family every weekend. Then brunch with my brothers on Sundays. I don’t exactly have a social life. And dating? Ha. What Frank and I have been doing definitely doesn’t qualify as dating.
And that’s over now anyway.
So I have a few months to live it up. I might as well make the best of them. I hit play on the iPod and roll my eyes, knowing Jay is to blame as “I Want You Back” by NSYNC plays in my ears.
* * *
Three hours later,I’m sitting at my desk, editing a post for our Instagram page, when Rose steps into my office. She plops into the seat in front of my desk without an invitation and smiles. “Jonathan Hanson is our new boss.”
I give her a bored expression.
“Didn’t the two of you—”
I hold up my hand to stop her. “Rose, we’ve been over this before. I don’t do office gossip.”
She looks down at her nails with a smile. They’re a pale yellow with a white strip across the top. Then her green eyes are on me again. “I’m not talking about you, Cat. I’m talkingtoyou.” She tilts her head toward my office door. “Theywill be talking about you, though, when they get wind that your ex-boyfriend is the one deciding who our next editor in chief will be.”
I groan, but not because I’m concerned about the gossip. I’ve earned my spot in this company. Nepotism has nothing to do with where I am today. While Cynthia and I may be close, no one would believe for a second that she would promote someone she didn’t deem worthy.
No, I groan because I’m once again being reminded that Jay is the boss now. And he decides my future.
Again.
“Anyway,” Rose drawls, “I came down to tell you he’s called an office meeting at ten.” She stands and watches me, surely waiting for a reaction she can dissect.
I’ve grown accustomed to her games over the years, and I’ve spent that time perfecting my poker face.I plaster on a fake smile and shrug. “See ya there.”
As soon as she’s gone, I hit the intercom. “Looks like it’s starting…” I say ominously when Sophie picks up.
The bitch has the nerve to laugh. “Oh, it’s like the Hunger Games—are we on team Katniss or team—”
“We’re on teamJolie,” I snap. “And my team, dammit.”
Sophie’s teasing vanishes. “I know, babe. We have to make the best of this, though. And I still believe he’s doing this to win you back, not to hurt you.”
“I don’t want to be won back,” I say, anger getting the best of me.
“So you admit that’s what he’s doing?”
I sigh as I inspect the stupid iPod that I’ve been carrying with me everywhere. What is wrong with me? I’m not ready to share details about what Jay’s been doing with the godforsaken device. Probably because Sophie would be reasonable and tell me to throw it out, or ya know, not turn it on, if I didn’t want to hear the songs Jay sends daily.
That’s what a normal person would do. He doesn’t have some special ability to force the songs into my ears. I’mdoingthis to myself.
“He’s obviously here for several reasons. And I’ll admit that maybe one of his motives is to weasel his way back into my life, okay? But it’s just a game to him, Soph. I was only ever a game to him.”My throat clogs with uncharacteristic emotion, and behind my eyes, I feel a pressure that hasn’t existed for me in years. One that used to be followed by tears. Is it possible that I could cry? After all this time?
