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“Is you know who still coming by your apartment?” Amy asked, in a low voice.
“Every night,” I said, with a sigh. “I don’t know why he bothers, I’m not going to let him in.”
“Maybe you should.”
My irritation flared. “Why? There’s nothing he can say to make this hurt any less.”
“Okay, okay,” Amy said, raising both hands. “It’s just tha…”
Our conversation halted when a couple of guys from the new digital team entered the lunchroom, and I quickly wiped away the tears that stung my eyes.
“You’d think a man engaged to Melanie Warren would be a little happier,” Simon muttered as he dumped his tuna salad on the table.
Amy discreetly glanced my way as I pretended to nibble on my sandwich. My jaw was too tight to take a bite. I needed to get out of there.
Brian chuckled. “I know, right. If I had a woman like that, I’d…”
As if on cue, Grayson sauntered into the lunchroom carrying an empty coffee cup and my chest tightened.
Simon cleared his throat to cover Brian’s words. “William, I hear congratulations are in order.”
Grayson’s hard gaze darted to mine, then back to Simon. “Thank you, Simon.”
“Have you set a date yet?” Brian asked.
Scooping up my leftovers, I manoeuvred my way around Grayson and out of the lunchroom before I could hear the rest of the conversation.
Amy shadowed me down the hall and pulled me into the photocopy room, shutting the door as I sank to the floor, struggling to breathe. Crouching beside me, she took my hand and massaged a pressure point to help me relax. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but your energy is all over the place. You really need to talk to him.”
“There’s no point. He made his choice. I was stupid to believe we could be anything more.”
“You weren’t stupid, you were brave,” she said, running her hand down my hair. “You finally let someone in. That takes guts.”
A little snort erupted from my mouth. “And look how it turned out.”
Amy smiled sadly and squeezed my hand. “You’ll get through this, I promise.”
“Not if I keep working here. I need to find a new job.”
“No, you can’t leave,” she pleaded. “No one else understands me.”
“I don’t think I have a choice.”
Struggling to concentrate that afternoon, I opened a new window on my computer and started my job search. It wasn’t surprising when nothing came up with the same wage and skill set. I considered myself lucky to have this job; not only was I paid to take photos, I got to see them published in a popular magazine every month. It also put a healthy sum into my savings account each week, pushing me closer to my dream trip.
“What are you doing?”
I jumped so high I nearly fell off my chair, frantically hitting the keyboard and mouse trying to close the incriminating screen.
My shoulders slumped when I realised it was too late. I swivelled my chair around to face Grayson, who stood motionless behind my desk with his arms crossed. His jaw twitched as he stared at my monitor.
“I…I’m…looking for a friend,” I stammered, knowing my cheeks were turning pink.
He leant forward, reading the screen over my shoulder. The scent of him made my heart ache. “This friend of yours seems to have a very similar skill set to you. Would they be interested in working here?” The corner of Grayson’s mouth twitched.
“They’re not suited to a place like this,” I muttered.
He rubbed his stubble. “If they gave it a chance, perhaps they’d be surprised.”
