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Damn consequences. They always came. Always.
I shook my head, trying to shake the image out of my brain, but it wouldn’t budge. That couldn’t be right. What I saw, maybe there was an explanation. Maybe he was just…good friends with her or something. But my stomach cramped and soured even as I tried to come up with excuses. The look on Liv’s face wasn’t someone who was just a friend.
Someone poked their head through the doorway of the office, and I jumped when a familiar voice called my name.
“Wren, you got sat again.”
I looked up into Ellie’s crystal-blue eyes.
She frowned as she took in my expression. “Hey, are you okay?”
I nodded vigorously. I didn’t want her to know I was having an internal meltdown over possibly nothing. I realized Atlas’s sandwich and fries were still in my hands. I couldn’t go out there. I couldn’t look at him, not yet. I thrust the plate and basket toward Ellie.
“Can you take these to Atlas please? I’m—I’m busy right now and he doesn’t have much time for lunch.”
She tilted her head to the side, glancing at the food. “Yeah, okay… But are you sure you don’t need any help?” She looked around the room, obviously trying to decipher what I was busy doing.
“Hurry, please. Tell Atlas I’ll see him later. And can you cash him out and pick up that new table?”
“Okay…” She turned reluctantly, and I almost pushed her out of the room. When she disappeared down the hallway, I retreated into the office, hands on my chest. I backed right up against the wall, bracing myself against it as I tried to tell my frantic, fickle heart to calm down.
It’s not what you think. It’s not what you think.
But maybe, it was exactly what I thought.
Atlas and I hadn’t defined our relationship. We hadn’t described exactly what we were to each other, even though I thought we’d had something…special. I thought we had both been on the same page, but what if we weren’t? I hadn’t made it clear I wanted to be exclusive. I just assumed we were.
Oh, God.A thin sheen of sweat coated my skin. I’d almost worked myself into a full-blown panic attack, when someone else swept into the office.
It was no one other than Liv, with her long, beautiful, dark hair and smoky, seductive eyes that narrowed as she caught sight of me.
“What are you doing in here?” She wasn’t exactly scolding me, but there was a tone of impatience in her voice.
I clutched my hands tighter to my chest, wanting to reach right in and pull out my heart. I apparently couldn’t trust it anyway.
It took me a few tries before I found my voice. “I was looking for Wanda.”
Her chin rose slightly so she looked at me down her slender nose. “So am I. You never came back to our table.”
I cleared my throat. “I—I’m sorry. I got busy.” I couldn’t even manage a fake smile for her. It felt as if all the life had been zapped from me.
Her lips thinned as she scrutinized me until I fidgeted. “You don’t look busy.”
I didn’t say anything, and we stared at each other before she raised a flawlessly shaped brow. “I’m surprised Wanda hired you. She’s usually good at weeding out the duds.”
Something snapped within me at that comment. I had no idea who this woman was, and I wasn’t going to stand here while she insulted me. I furrowed my brow, throwing her my hardest glare.
“Who are you, by the way?”
Her face pinched, a vein in her temple popping, but she didn’t back off. She placed her hands on her slender hips, throwing me a scowl.
“Who am I?” She placed a finger on her chest. “Sweetheart, I think the real question is, who are you? Because everyone else in this town, and definitely everyone who works in my father’s own damn restaurant, knows who I am.”
The blood drained from my face. Her father? I’d never met the owner of the grill, but I’d heard good things about him. He’d apparently been on vacation with his family for the last month.
She knew her words had thrown me because she smirked. “And as the daughter of the owner of this establishment, I think it would do you well to not piss me off.”
My hands clenched into fists as another wave of anger rolled over me. How could Atlas ever be close to this raging bitch?
I gave her the best smile I could manage, which was nothing more than a twisting lip and clenched teeth. “So sorry. I didn’t realize I was speaking to someone of such importance.” I spat the last word in case she missed the sarcasm.
Her lip curled, but the vibration of her phone distracted her. She fished it out of her purse and glanced at it, expression tightening. “I don’t have time for this.” She dropped the phone back into her name-brand bag. “Lucky for you, I have to meet my boyfriend before he goes back to work.”
She spun on her heel and had almost made it out of the room before I called after her.
“Your boyfriend?”
She glared at me from over her shoulder. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. My boyfriend. Officer Atlas Ranes.”
And without another word, she stomped out of the room, leaving me shattered on the floor.
