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I take in a fortifying breath. “Todd lost his shit—”
“Don’t tell me.” She lifts a hand. “The barista screwed up his morning coffee order? Unless the one he’s been crushing on for months is either straight or he’s gay and already seeing someone. Or were they sold out of chunky monkey muffins?”
“No to all of the above.” I sigh.
She rubs my arm. “What happened?”
“I screwed up his schedule.”
Her hand stills. “Surely, he can find a replacement. If you need me to cover for you, I’ll see what I can do.”
“I told him I couldn’t take on new clients ever.” Her head jerks back. “He ripped me a new one before telling me he never wanted to see my face again.”
She blinks. “Why can’t you take on new clients?” I ready myself to respond, but she tacks on another question. “Are you pregnant?”
“No.” My eyes shift to the blue sky. “I broke cardinal rule number four.”
“Ah!” Her eyebrows arch. “I’m guessing we aren’t talking about Alistair.” I shake my head. “Mr. Van Der Linden, then.”
“Yes.”
She nods slowly, her lips pursed. “Is it … mutual?”
“It is.”
“Why aren’t you jumping up and down for joy?”
“Bryce and I had a fight. A big one.”
“Over your choice of career?”
“Yes. He left Vegas one day early… while I was still asleep.”
“Shit. He left without a word?”
“He… left a note on his pillow,” my voice croaks.
She clasps her hand over mine. “Oh, sweetie.”
Sofia,
You won’t let me in. You won’t let me help you. You won’t stop working for Todd. You’re right. I don’t know how this is going to work between us. I need to get back to Silicon Valley. Maybe we both need time to figure it out. The room is paid for. Check out by three o’clock.
—Bryce
The note gutted me.
I don’t blame him for leaving. I pushed him away. It didn’t prevent me from bawling my eyes out.
“You know the biblical saying, the Lord gives it, and the Lord takes it away?” I ask Cassie.
“I’m a bad Catholic—to my Irish nana’s dismay—so I’m not up on my Bible reading, but I remember that saying.”
“On the same day the man I’m in love with, tells me he loves me, my dreams shatter. I was in an impossible situation. I couldn’t be with Bryce and keep working as an escort. He didn’t give me a chance to process things. He put his foot down and declared I was no longer allowed to work for Todd. End of story.” I exhale. “That pissed me off. There was no let’s talk about it. Like a pigheaded mule, I held my ground.” I shift on the bench. “The money from Alistair helped taper off my financial hemorrhage. But I’m still suffocating under a mountain of debt.”
“Fucking Brad Hyler.”
“Fucking Brad Hyler,” I echo.
