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“He’s got no balls. He can talk a lot of shit behind my back but not to my face.” She glared at me, eyes hard. “What about you? What do you have to say?”
Any trace of the Taylor I’d come to know these last few weeks was long gone. In her place was the Ice Queen. I’d already been feeling inside out, and standing here with her, in the little space where we so often fought and flirted, I didn’t know if I should fall to my knees or wrap my hand around her throat.
“I guess congratulations,” I said, my voice harsher than I intended.
“For what? Learning that no matter what you promised me, it wasn’t true?”
“What?” I looked around to find any hints of what was going on. “What are you talking about?”
“You promised you’d defend me. That you’d take care of me.”
I blinked my eyes wide. “Is that not what I’ve been doing?”
She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “No. I heard everything he said, and you didn’t do or say anything.”
I dropped my chin toward my chest, tired and flustered and confused. In one weekend, I’d gone from being on top of the world to being buried under it.
“Taylor, I—”
“You let my colleague belittle me. He called me names, said I didn’t deserve to be here. Insinuated that I’ve been coasting on my last name. When you, of all people, know that isn’t true.”
“I know. I know that,” I started, holding my hands up. “I’m just a little stunned, okay? My head is…” I shook it and crossed the room in four steps to lean my hands on the counter. She stayed by the door, staring daggers at me. I felt each one.
“What, Hargrove? You’re always running your mouth, but suddenly you’re caught and have nothing to say?”
“Jesus, can you let up for once?” I reflexively reached for the packet of gum in my pocket. I unwrapped a piece and tossed it in my mouth before spinning around to face her. “You don’t know everything that’s going on from standing there for five minutes.”
“Oh no? Then what else did I miss? Any big discussions of what kind of pussy you’d rather have. Maybe someone who is nicer. Someone who isn’t such a bitch.”
“Someone who doesn’t fucking ride my ass all the time,” I ground out. “Sorry I didn’t jump in to defend you to a guy who literally means nothing to either one of us theone timeyou hear him talk shit.”
“Do you know what it feels like to hear someone say those things about me and to then hear you stay silent? Not great, Dean!”
“I guess all the other times I have defended you don’t matter. Guess I’m not good enough for you, is that it?”
She wrenched her head back. “No, that’s not it.”
“I have been bending over backward for you,” I said, closing the distance between us.
She kept her chin up, eyes locked on mine. “I never asked you to.”
“No, you never did. And I suppose it counts for nothing then either. Perfect Taylor Novak, up in her high tower.”
“Don’t turn this around on me.” She stamped her foot, and I almost laughed. She could be so childish when she wanted to be. “You were the one in here with Seth while he said that shit about me, and it hurt.”
“Yeah, well, it hurts me to know nothing I ever do will ever be good enough for you. I wasted all that time, thinking we were something, but you can’t even give me the benefit of the doubt.”
“A waste?” she repeated, her eyes shifting over my shoulder. “Nice, Hargrove. Real nice.”
“He said all that bullshit, but it’s not like I care or believe it. And you don’t either, so don’t stand here and pretend to be all heartbroken about it. You’re tougher than that,” I said in defense of myself, but also to scratch the itch to poke and prod at her, like she was doing to me. After all this time, we’d retreated to our corners. Enemies once again. “He’d just told me you got the promotion, so excuse me for being a little emotional and not being able to snap right to it like you. Some of us have feelings to work through.”
She huffed and met my gaze again, her eyes watery this time, all that emotion I accused her of not having floating right at the top. “Right.” She sniffed. “Well, you’ll be happy to learn the only person who offered me a promotion was my uncle. He said I have an office and title waiting for me in the Philly branch, if I want it. So that promotion you were so desperate for…” She swiped at a tear on her cheek, and I hated myself more than I hated anything else in that moment. “It’s yours. You can have it.” She blinked a few times, clearing her eyes to slide her mask of cold indifference back on her face. “I think I’ll be moving back home with my family since there’s clearly nothing here for me.”
I was stunned into silence for the second time today as she spun on her high heel and strode out of the break room.
By the time I pulled myself together and translated the meaning of her words, I jogged out to the main space, but Taylor was nowhere to be found, no evidence left behind that she was ever here. The woman I loved had effectively walked out on me and the chance at a life together.
And it was all my fault.
