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She got changed into shorts and a tank top, knowing that Ashley wasn’t going to be home until tonight. Going for a run was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but it was the only way she might sleep tonight. She needed to exhaust herself.
And thankfully, Ashley had not been joking about the tub of ice cream. It was waiting for her in the freezer.
She tied her hair back in a ponytail and checked her phone one last time before shaking her head. Of course, there was nothing.
She had to believe that she’d done the right thing. She couldn’t go back to the way things were, and Madison was never going to date her personal assistant.
So, she had to do it.
Even if it hadn’t gone the way she’d wanted it to.
A knock at the door had Payton freezing in the middle of her living room.
No one knocked on their door.
Payton squinted through the peephole, her breath catching when she saw Madison standing in her hallway.
She gripped the door handle, taking a deep breath before opening the door. “Hi.”
She had no idea why Madison was here. She could just be telling her that she was accepting her resignation. There was no reason to believe that anything had changed.
“Hi,” Madison said, her expression neutral. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.” Payton stepped back, glad that they kept their apartment tidy ninety-nine percent of the time.
Madison’s heels clicked against the hardwood flooring. She hovered inside the door, her weight shifting from one foot to the other. “Are you here alone?”
Payton nodded. “Ashley’s gone all day. She’s doing a wedding.”
“On a Monday?”
Payton shrugged. “I guess.”
“Anyway,” Madison said with a sigh. “I came here to apologize. For what happened in my office. For my reaction.”
“I thought you’d be happy.” Payton stood inside the door, not offering to move into the living room, to sit down, because she had a sinking feeling that this conversation wasn’t going to last very long.
“It was our first day back,” Madison said. “I was shocked.”
“I just thought it was the only way. I’m sorry if it puts you in an awkward position now. Without a P.A.”
“I don’t care about that.” Madison waved her off. “And I get why you did it.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but.’”
Madison exhaled. “I’ve been trying to tell you all along. I’m not worth it, Payton. I have a terrible track record. And now you’re quitting your job because of me.”
“It was never going to be a long-term job.” Payton shook her head. “And I can’t believe you would say that about yourself. Still. What was last week for you? The end of it? When we weren’t pretending. Did you not feel this? This magnetic pull between us?”
Madison inhaled a sharp breath. “Last week was amazing. Honestly. But we were on vacation. We were in an unusual situation. One that I put us in.”
“If I’m not your personal assistant anymore,” Payton said, her pulse thumping in her ears, “Then give me a chance. Let’s just... Go on a date? I know we’d be doing things backwards, but... Whatever it takes, Madison.”
“I had Jen’s sister, Laura, telling me not to screw this up yesterday. I got a text from Jen on the way here telling me not to fuck this up. Both of them telling me how lucky I was.” Madison took a step towards her. “And I felt so guilty. For letting them think that this was real, but I don’t think that was it at all. I think I wanted it to be real, but I knew it couldn’t.”
“But why can’t it?”
“That’s what I’m starting to ask myself now.” Madison stood in front of her, running a hand through her hair. “I’ve been so busy fighting this, that I haven’t stopped to wonder what it could be like.”
