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"That was mean and a bit harsh. Your hunky man isn't the only one who wasn't exactly truthful. You were just as bad."
"No, I wasn't. Dane was worse. He said he wouldn't have come near me if he knew who I was. That hurt. It made me feel like the only thing I was good for was sex and that I didn't matter."
"Sweetie, that's how it started. It evolved from there, and from what you told me, it sounds like you two fell for each other."
"That doesn't matter—not anymore. Dane hasn't tried to contact me at all. No text. No phone call. Nothing. If he truly cared, he'd reach out. His silence tells me our relationship isn't as important to him as I'd hoped, and he's done with me."
Romeo shakes his head, his lips contorting into some weird frown. "You are so stubborn. You told him not to talk to you again, remember?"
"I was angry. Dane should know that."
Romeo gives me one of his masterfully perfected eye rolls and then stares at me. "Maybe he broke his crystal ball. Call the man. Don't throw away what could have been."
"No. If Dane wants to work this out, he has to make the first move."
"Your asinine stubbornness will cost you." Romeo wags his finger and gives me a stern look.
I glare at him, ready to bite back.
A young man comes around the corner right then with a tray of coffee.
"Oh, thank God," I mutter.
"Jonathan, this is Brittany. She has the caramel macchiato. You might want to give it to her before she leaps from her chair and rips it off your tray. She's a bit pissy this morning."
Jonathan eyes me warily as he hands me my coffee. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." I give him a sweet smile, belying Romeo's comment.
"Is Jonathan here with the coffee yet?" Katherine says, opening her office door and stepping into the hallway. She sees me and furrows her brow. "You're here? Didn't you fly home from Europe yesterday?"
"I did, and I'm on the calendar to be here today."
"Of course you are. You're here." Katherine takes her cup from Jonathan. "Go take Natalia her coffee. You don't want to keep her waiting."
"Yes, ma'am." Jonathan hurries down the corridor.
Katherine turns her attention back to me. "I need to make a phone call. Then I want to hear all about your assignment. Give me fifteen minutes, then come into my office." She suddenly wrinkles her nose and sniffs the air. "Did someone bake cookies?"
Romeo chuckles, his fingers going to his cheeks. "It's Brittany. She had a fight with a bottle of vanilla-scented perfume."
Katherine arches an eyebrow. "Do something about that before you come to see me." She spins around and walks back into her office, closing the door behind her.
"Oh, fuck!" I bring my hand to my eye. I can't believe my wretched timing.
"Eye twitch?"
"Yep. A bad one. Maybe if my eye contorts enough, Katherine will think I'm an alien and kick me out of her office."
"Fat chance of that." Romeo leans over and opens one of his desk drawers. He pulls out a plastic bag and places it on his desk. "I think you'll need this."
I get up and peek inside the bag. "Twizzlers! Oh my God, I do need this. Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Now, skedaddle so you can figure out how to tell Katherine you did the sexy with one of the cruise line's owners."
Suddenly terrified, I grab the plastic bag and my belongings and dash to my office. Ripping open the Twizzlers, I stick a strand in my mouth and hurry to the storage room to borrow a canister of disinfecting wipes. Back in my office, I close the door and use the wipes to strip the perfume from my skin. Finished, I sniff the air, the scent of vanilla still strong. "Shit," I grumble, remembering the perfume is in my nose. Yanking another wipe from the container, I hold my breath and shove it up both nostrils. After several coughs and a thorough cleaning, I take another whiff and crack up. I've changed from smelling like a vanilla factory to becoming a lemon orchard.
Hanging my head, I shove another Twizzler in my mouth and go to Katherine's office. I knock on the door, then peek inside when she yells for me to come in.
