it.”
I walked around to her side of the booth and sat next to her, wrapping my arms around her. She buried her face in my chest and shook with silent sobs. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing, just sat there and rubbed her back and arms. Inside, I seethed. The emotions shocked me. Guilt for what happened in the last eighteen hours was one thing, but I wanted to find this Michael and punch him for hurting her. She’d been through enough, damn it. I allowed myself the fantasy while I held her. He’d be standing there, and bam! Right in the nose. He’d collapse in a heap on the ground while I stared down with contempt and–
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m sure you don’t care about all this stuff.”
“I do, actually. What happened next?”
“Well, the whole office was staring at me. Allison walked in and saw us there together and sidled up next to him with a horrible look on her face. I just grabbed my purse and ran out. I may not have a job anymore.” She pulled a tissue from her purse and blew her nose. “Even if I’m not fired, how can I show my face back there?”
“Allison works there, too?”
“Yes. I went home with the intent of eating lots of ice cream and crying the night away. Tears I had plenty of, ice cream not so much. So I decided to dress up and party. Being myself was painful, being someone else for a night seemed like a better idea.”
My jaw tightened. Nobody deserved a day like that, and I knew I hadn’t helped. I pulled her to my chest and breathed in her fragrance. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I guess I have two choices: I can go back there and face them all, or I can start looking for a new job. I don’t know how I can face them. Nothing like being the center of office gossip at a gossip column, but if I don’t, I have no idea how I would make ends meet.” She sighed. “One minute I was working on the article that would land me the promotion of my dreams, and the next minute everything fell apart.”
My mind spun, trying to find a way to fix this for her, a virtual stranger to me. The only ideas I could come up with were nothing short of insanity, so I dismissed them and didn’t say a word. Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted by the waitress bringing our food before I could say anything we’d both regret.
With a pang of remorse, I left her side to sit across from her. She offered me a weak smile. “What about you? When was your last relationship?”
“I’ve never had a serious relationship.”
“What?” She dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter.
“That surprises you?”
“Frankly, yes. I always see women with you on television during your meets.”
“Well, I suppose ‘never’ is kind of a misnomer. I had a girlfriend in middle school and the beginning of high school. That said, I’ve never been interested in tangling emotions with sex.”
Her face darkened. “I see.”
I frowned. “You just broke up with your boyfriend yesterday. When you left the bar with me, were you looking for a serious relationship?”
“I was drugged when I left with you,” she snarled. Her tone made me wince.
“Back to that, again? Fine. Were you looking for one when you left for the bar?”
Her shoulders slumped. “No.” Her voice was small.
“Didn’t think so. You went to that bar looking for a rebound. You found one.” I chewed my food thoughtfully. “I’ve never been into attachments, and I’ve always liked it that way. That said…”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you again sometime.” The truthfulness of that statement surprised even me. Something had shifted in me since our encounter in my gym. I wasn’t going over all romance and commitment, but I hated that she would look back on last night as the night I took advantage of her. I wanted her to want to see me again, even though I’d never wanted that with anyone else. On top of that, the idea that she would go back to work on
I walked around to her side of the booth and sat next to her, wrapping my arms around her. She buried her face in my chest and shook with silent sobs. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing, just sat there and rubbed her back and arms. Inside, I seethed. The emotions shocked me. Guilt for what happened in the last eighteen hours was one thing, but I wanted to find this Michael and punch him for hurting her. She’d been through enough, damn it. I allowed myself the fantasy while I held her. He’d be standing there, and bam! Right in the nose. He’d collapse in a heap on the ground while I stared down with contempt and–
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m sure you don’t care about all this stuff.”
“I do, actually. What happened next?”
“Well, the whole office was staring at me. Allison walked in and saw us there together and sidled up next to him with a horrible look on her face. I just grabbed my purse and ran out. I may not have a job anymore.” She pulled a tissue from her purse and blew her nose. “Even if I’m not fired, how can I show my face back there?”
“Allison works there, too?”
“Yes. I went home with the intent of eating lots of ice cream and crying the night away. Tears I had plenty of, ice cream not so much. So I decided to dress up and party. Being myself was painful, being someone else for a night seemed like a better idea.”
My jaw tightened. Nobody deserved a day like that, and I knew I hadn’t helped. I pulled her to my chest and breathed in her fragrance. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I guess I have two choices: I can go back there and face them all, or I can start looking for a new job. I don’t know how I can face them. Nothing like being the center of office gossip at a gossip column, but if I don’t, I have no idea how I would make ends meet.” She sighed. “One minute I was working on the article that would land me the promotion of my dreams, and the next minute everything fell apart.”
My mind spun, trying to find a way to fix this for her, a virtual stranger to me. The only ideas I could come up with were nothing short of insanity, so I dismissed them and didn’t say a word. Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted by the waitress bringing our food before I could say anything we’d both regret.
With a pang of remorse, I left her side to sit across from her. She offered me a weak smile. “What about you? When was your last relationship?”
“I’ve never had a serious relationship.”
“What?” She dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter.
“That surprises you?”
“Frankly, yes. I always see women with you on television during your meets.”
“Well, I suppose ‘never’ is kind of a misnomer. I had a girlfriend in middle school and the beginning of high school. That said, I’ve never been interested in tangling emotions with sex.”
Her face darkened. “I see.”
I frowned. “You just broke up with your boyfriend yesterday. When you left the bar with me, were you looking for a serious relationship?”
“I was drugged when I left with you,” she snarled. Her tone made me wince.
“Back to that, again? Fine. Were you looking for one when you left for the bar?”
Her shoulders slumped. “No.” Her voice was small.
“Didn’t think so. You went to that bar looking for a rebound. You found one.” I chewed my food thoughtfully. “I’ve never been into attachments, and I’ve always liked it that way. That said…”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you again sometime.” The truthfulness of that statement surprised even me. Something had shifted in me since our encounter in my gym. I wasn’t going over all romance and commitment, but I hated that she would look back on last night as the night I took advantage of her. I wanted her to want to see me again, even though I’d never wanted that with anyone else. On top of that, the idea that she would go back to work on
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