All right, maybe she was talking about me. “What unwelcome truth?”
She began typing.
“Georgina, what happened in your meeting with Vance?” I asked. “Why are you leaving early?”
“You don’t need me anymore, and your job is safe—”
“Fuck the job. What about us?”
Her fingers froze. Finally, she lifted her eyes to mine. “There’s no us. There’s you, and there’s me. You are staying on as creative director. I am moving on to my next assignment.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I tried to keep the irritation from my face. “We had an argument this morning. So what? Let’s figure it out.”
“How do you think it made me feel to realize that the man I’d just woken up next to, a man I’d gone against all my instincts to trust, would hold me back to keep himself happy?”
“Pretty shitty, if that’s how you took it,” I said.
“You called me unqualified. You said I don’t have what it takes.”
“And you know that was my anger talking. Nothing more. Of course I want you to succeed and your career to flourish. I think you’re good at this job—hell, you’re better at it than I am.”
She looked down and muttered, “That’s not true.”
“Look. I’ve been on edge about all this ever since you started. This morning, it came to a head, but I didn’t mean the things I said.”
She sighed back against her chair and fidgeted with a tiny button near her throat. “Thank you, but . . .” She lowered her voice. “We have to be honest with ourselves. The unwelcome truth is that last night was a mistake.”
“You can describe last night a lot of different ways, but mistake is complete and utter bull, Georgina.” I scowled. “No argument could convince me of that.”
“Sleeping with a coworker is never a good idea, but especially for us. We were at each other’s throats on day one. We’re just not compatible.”
“I don’t buy that.”
“I’m not selling anything. I’m simply saying how I feel.”
It occurred to me that our roles had flipped. Now, I was the one at the front of the room asking to be let in, and she was pretending she didn’t care—the same way I’d dismissed her at our very first meeting. Why had I treated her that way? Out of pure fear. I’d been terrified of change, loss, and failure. “You’re scared,” I said.
She slammed her laptop shut. “Yes, I am. Of repeating my past.”
“The last thing I want is for you to think I tried to exploit your kindness,” I said. “You know that’s one of the things that drew me to you in the first place.” She opened her mouth looking ready to protest, but I cut her off. “Not weakness. Kindness.”
“And what happens if I forgive you this time? What if I pick a restaurant or neighborhood or vacation spot you don’t like?” She opened her hand on the table. “Will your first instinct always be that I should sacrifice so you can have what you want? Will mine be to give it to you?”
I clenched my jaw. That fucking hurt. “After the day we had, after I cut myself open and bled to you all the things I can’t talk about, you’re going to keep treating me like Neal?”
Her cheeks reddened. “As soon as I admitted I had feelings for you, I started acting the same way I did in that relationship.”
“You’re acting chickenshit is what you’re doing,” I said.
She pulled back. “This is my life, and I’m not going to second-guess myself because you don’t understand it.”
I took a breath, an attempt at composure as she burrowed deeper under my skin. “I’m trying here, Georgina. What I’m failing to articulate is that I’m not ready to call it quits. I made a mistake this morning, and I’m apologizing because you’re one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time.” I shoved a hand through my hair, looking for a way to ask for what I wanted while being sensitive to her fears. “I want this to work. Does me telling you that feel like I’m pushing you?”
She glanced at the table. “No.”
“Then that’s what I want.” I paused. “And if you’re walking away from something you want because I was an idiot, then you’re still letting a man dictate your decisions.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she said, anger threading her words.
“But true.” I tossed the Butterfinger on the table. “For when your cravings hit tonight.”
I returned to my office, leaving her to glare after me. Did the truth hurt? Good. At least she wasn’t indifferent. I’d been in the enemy zone for months and the relationship zone for a night. But indifference? Give me death. Because it was true what they said—there was a thin line between love and hate, and while it existed, I still had a shot with her.
24
Georgina
As my apartment building’s ancient elevator ascended, I sagged against a wall until the doors opened at my floor. I didn’t think I could get any more tired after falling for, making love to, and breaking up with Sebastian in under forty-eight hours. Seeing him at work today had been hard and avoiding him was even harder.
Especially since I always wanted to know where he was, what he was working on, and who he was with.
As usual, Bruno heard me coming down the hall. His nails clicked the wood floors inside as I unlocked the door. One step in and he was circling me, wagging his tail and whining for attention.
“Hi, baby boy,” I cooed, ruffling his fur. No matter how my week was going, this would always make it better. I kissed the top of his head. “How was your day?”
I dropped my keys in the handmade ceramic bowl my mom had sent me for my last birthday and headed into the kitchen. Fortunately, Gordie had been able to stay late so I could finish up at work. I’d gotten so much done without Sebastian around, there wasn’t even much left to accomplish.
When I noticed Bruno’s food bowl was full, I pulled Gordie’s note from a magnet on the fridge. “Couldn’t get him to eat tonight.”
At my side, Bruno nudged his face into my hip. Unlike most dogs, he didn’t go crazy over his meals, but he didn’t skip them that often. “You hungry?”
I picked up his bowl, added a little more wet food on top, and set it back down. Once he’d sniffed it and began to eat, I unzipped my skirt and flopped onto the couch with my trusty remote. I’d only managed to turn on the TV when Bruno wandered out of the kitchen and jumped onto the couch. He put his head in my lap.
“There’s no way you ate that fast,” I said to him. “What’s up, buddy?”
He sighed, raising big gray-blue eyes.
I pet his head. “You’re needy tonight. Maybe I’ve been neglecting you lately.”
Apparently, ignoring the ones I cared about took it out of me. Or, maybe like me, Bruno was just missing his new friend Sebastian. As if trying not to think about him wasn’t hard enough, he’d already called once since I’d left the office.
I wasn’t ready to talk. My emotions were still running high, and that would only get me into trouble. I wasn’t smooth like him—I’d proven myself susceptible to giving in to others when I didn’t even know I was doing it.
My cell rang, and despite the fact that I was still avoiding him, my heart leapt with the thought that it might be Sebastian. I got it from my purse, slightly disappointed to see my boss’s name. She rarely called after eight o’clock, so it had to be important. I muted the TV to answer.
“Georgina?” Dionne said. “I’m glad I got you.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” She hesitated. “Well, maybe. I’ll get right to the point. I caught wind that Modern Man is going to offer you a job.”
I sighed. “They already did.”
“I see.” She blew out a breath. “You know I’d never keep you from doing what you need to, which is why there’s nothing in your contract that says you can’t leave to work for a client. But I hope you’ll give me a chance to convince you to stay.”