Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Scarlett—”
“I—”
We speak over each other, and I’m the one to forge ahead. I point back toward his open office door. “I should get going. My mom’s probably wondering where I am. Have a good holiday, okay?”
The Monday after Thanksgiving, we have a department-wide meeting. Everyone is crammed into the conference room where we got our team assignments on my first day on the job. Sophie warned us what to expect, i.e. a lot of extraneous fluff better sent in an email.
I don’t mind the fact that it’s a waste of my time. Hudson will be here.
When I arrived, I took up a spot in the back, and I have the perfect vantage point; I don’t even have to be sly about it as I watch him stroll in. There’s a tightening in my stomach the moment he walks through the door, an infusion of adrenaline like I’ve been hooked up to an IV. Today, he’s decided to torture us all in a dark gray suit with a pale blue-gray tie. He had a haircut over the weekend, just a trim, but that jawline seems especially fierce today. He props himself against the wall near the door like he’s hoping to make a quick exit later. He crosses his arm over his chest, using it to prop up his elbow. He rubs his bottom lip, deep in thought for a few moments, and then he starts to scan the room, ever-so-slowly looking over his shoulder.
It takes him so long to reach me, and when he does, our gazes lock. His brown eyes soften. The harsh lines in his forehead ease. Hi, the look says.
A thousand butterflies fill my chest.
Hi.
It feels like he looks longer than he should, like we’re just indulgently staring at each other while the world keeps spinning. I shift and peer down at my watch, wondering if he’s still looking.
I want him to be.
The dangerous thought strikes me like a lightning bolt—a revelation I don’t want.
I’m glad for the distraction as the meeting picks up. They throw a lot of information at us, more than I was expecting. There’s applause and acknowledgment of the merger Hudson wrapped up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It’s so obvious how uncomfortable he is in the spotlight. He adjusts his collar and nods, not even looking around the room.
Afterward, when they release us, I don’t feel like shoving through bodies, so I give people a chance to leave so I’ll have a clear path to the door. Hudson hasn’t moved from his spot. He’s scrolling on his phone. I pass him, and he seamlessly falls in step beside me.
His shoulder bumps mine unintentionally in the shuffle. When my hand grazes his, I yank it away and wrap my arms protectively around my waist.
Everyone around us is rehashing their holiday weekend, but we don’t say anything as we walk side by side toward my office. At the door, I branch off and walk in. My body is humming, and when Kendra comes in behind me, I almost can’t look at her for fear she’ll know everything. But what is there to know that’s not locked inside a vault in my chest? So Hudson looked at me during a staff meeting? So he walked me back to my office? That’s hardly enough to hold up in court. Both things could totally be written off, especially the last one. My office is on the way to his office. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was reading too much into all of it.
Nyles kept pestering me about my love life over the weekend, like I expected he would.
“So you’re telling me there’s no one else?”
“I’m completely single,” I told him. “I’m not even on any apps right now.”
But the truth felt like a lie. I couldn’t even look him in the eye as I said it. It’s how I feel right now with Kendra in my office, like I’m harboring a big bad secret.
Fortunately, with how much time everyone took off over the last few days, the office is buzzing. A new email with a new task pings my inbox every five minutes. I restructure my to-do list a dozen times, trying to keep ahead of the things Sophie will want returned to her the fastest.
Kendra asks me if I want another cup of coffee, pointing to the forgotten mug on my desk. I’ve been so busy I forgot to drink the second half of the cup I poured for myself first thing when I arrived.
“That’d be great, thanks.”
I finally take a break at lunch so I can head down to the food court, but I take my sandwich right back up to my desk and eat while I work.
It feels like I blink and it’s 7:30 p.m. Kendra packs up her stuff and nods at me on her way out. I shut down my computer—heart racing—as I take my workout bag and head down to the gym. I never know if I’ll arrive before or after Hudson. I never know anything about our encounters except that it feels like the rug could be pulled out from underneath me at any moment. For now, he finds me entertaining enough to toy with like a mouse, but for how long?