❝ꋬⲧℓᥲ𝖘❞

I stared at the elevator as the silver panels locked shut and the numbers above the door rose.

Everything I’d been working for was on the line. I’d have to turn around and face the music. Face the Myers family and try to salvage things.

But every part of my being screamed for me to follow Erin. Because what happened with this account was far less concerning than the knowledge that my crazy girl thought we were going our own ways next week.

“Atlas?” Devin prompted.

It was time.

I sighed and spun around.

“I don’t even know what to say” I shifted my weight on my feet and glanced over toward the elevator again when it opened, my heart squeezing when the woman stepping out wasn’t Erin. “I thought I needed to be something I wasn’t to win you over. And I can’t think straight with that woman spinning through my life like a tornado.” I glanced at the elevator again, even though I knew Erin wouldn’t come back for him. “I’m sorry I lied.”

Devin shook his head. “You didn’t need to bring a fake fiancée to impress us, Atlas. The way you carry yourself, your ideas, your dedication, they all speak for themselves. Not to mention your past work. We were thrilled when we heard you were coming instead of that coworker of yours.”

I cocked a brow.

“Wait, what?”

Wilson, Devin’s brother, nodded.

“We’ve met Milo a few times, and we don’t mesh. But we’ve heard good things about you. And you’ve spent this week proving them all true.”

“Thanks.”

Until a few months ago, that probably wouldn’t have surprised me. But the fiasco with my last account had fucked up everything I’d worked for.

Wildon continued, but I couldn’t resist peering over at the elevator again as the doors opened. I should be giving the Myers my attention, but I was dying to get upstairs and talk to Erin.

There was no way this hadn’t become more than an arrangement to her.

“Atlas.” Devin cleared his throat, pulling my attention back to the matter at hand. “The way you watch the elevators every time the doors open tells me this isn’t what needs your attention right now. Because the account isn’t what matters.”

I shook my head.

“No, don’t think that. It matters. More than anything.”

Devin put a firm hand on my shoulder.

“It matters. But not as much as her.”

I tried to pull it together and focus on Devin and Wilson. This contract mattered. My father’s approval mattered.

“Don’t,” Wilson shook his head.

“You don’t need to explain” Devin smiled. “I love my business. I love my job. But when Martha needs me, I push my work aside. Probably more than is reasonable. Because there’s important. And then there’s important. Don’t think we don’t know the difference.”

I tilted my head, digesting the man’s words.

“We’ll talk later,” Wilson assured me.

“Thanks,” I forced a smile before jogging to the elevators.

I needed to talk to Erin. We could fix this. I was sure of it. And although she was probably freaking out about spilling the beans of our fake relationship, it didn’t seem to be an issue with my potential clients. With everything out in the open, maybe we could take time to explore this thing between us.

We just needed to talk.

I knew we were on different pages, yet I was still floored when I walked into the room. Watching her fold her clothes and carefully pack them into her bag made my stomach bottom out.

She was going to leave without talking things through What the hell?!

Erin glanced over her shoulder at me but didn’t meet my eyes before turning her attention back to the clothes she was tucking into her bag.

“I’m sorry, Atlas. That was just the worst timing—like ever” Her shoulders slumped.

“I’m not worried about that.” I glared at the bag, still baffled by how quickly she’d cleared out her things. “But we need to talk.”

“Oh” She finally turned to me, then bit her lip and studied the contents of her suitcase. “Did you want the stuff you bought for me back? I didn’t even think about leaving it.”

“Clothes? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Did she really think I gave two shits about any of her stuff?

Erin spun toward me, eyes going wide.

“I said I was sorry. If I could, I’d go back and make sure I didn’t say anything that could have been overheard. I get that you’re mad. But what do you want me to do? Eventually, we had to ‘break up.’” She used air quotes for the last two words.

And right there and then, the ground crumbled beneath my feet.

She really believed this was nothing more than an arrangement. I wasn’t sure whether that was a punch to my gut or a knife to my heart. Either way, my chest was so tight I could barely breathe. I’d never gotten attached to a woman, even after months of sleeping together, and I’d never understood when they’d complain so dramatically about it.

But the blank stare Erin Cahill was giving me now made me want to throw up.

She was really walking away.

I wanted to drop to my knees. Beg her to give me time to prove there was something real between us, but pride kept me on my feet.

I cleared my throat.

“Fine, let me write you a check.”

The shirt in her hands snapped as she flung it.

“What?” She hissed. “Are you for real right now?!” Her mouth hung open and her eyes blazed with fury.

I paused, at a loss for words. My brain was screaming abort. I knew I’d massively misstepped, but I wasn’t sure how. Erin was a complex puzzle I desperately wanted to spend more time figuring out.

But she didn’t want that. Right?

“You really still plan to pay me?” Her voice went up three octaves, and it was clear the answer should be no. But I wasn’t sure why. “I get that I’m an idiot and messed up big time. But way to make me feel like a prostitute.”

She shoved the last few things in her bag and snapped it shut.

What? Did that mean she thought there was something between us too?

But before I could process exactly what she meant, she pushed past me and strode toward the door, letting it slam behind her.

Why did I suddenly feel like the asshole in this story?

***

❝乇𝕣ίŊ❞

I forced myself to hold back the tears.

Money? Really? After everything, he was going to pay me?

In the last few days, we had become so much more than a stupid paid arrangement. In my mind, we’d established something like a friendship. I

wanted to help him, and I cared about him. I loved the way he laughed and called me his crazy girl. The feel of his hand on me. The expression he made when he was working through the details of his presentation. And I thought he cared too, at least a little. Even the hand squeezes and hugs when we were alone seemed like more.

And yet he wanted to pay me.

My jaw clenched so tight it ached.

“Erin. Stop for a minute.” Belinda’s voice echoed through the lobby as I stepped through the glass doors that exited onto the street.

Pausing on the sidewalk, I sighed. I liked Belinda, and now she knew about the lie. But it was time to face the music.

“I heard what happened” Belinda peered down at my bag. “Are you leaving?”

If she had heard, why did that fact surprise her?

I swallowed hard as the woman gave me an assessing look.

“I messed everything up for Atlas” I toed the sidewalk with the tip of my red wedge.

Belinda chuckled.

“Oh please, you didn’t mess anything up but that man’s heart.”

I froze.

“What?”

“I don’t know why it’s taking my brothers so long to offer your man the account, but it’s a sure thing. They loved what he put together, and they enjoyed working with him. He checks all their boxes,” Belinda assured.

A weight lifted from my shoulders. The news was a relief, yet I still had this kernel of unhappiness deep in my stomach.

“But I wanted to talk to you about you,” Belinda went on.

“Me?” I tipped my head.

“I want to offer you a job,” the older woman began. “No reason to stand there catching flies, Erin.”

I snapped my mouth closed.

“A job?”

“My assistant decided not to return from maternity leave, and I’ve been using temps” Belinda eyed the sky as she shook her head. “These people don’t even have a basic understanding of chemistry, and when I’ve found someone who does, they can’t handle social settings. I’ve been impressed with the way you’ve handled yourself in any situation.”

I couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped from my lips.

“You mean how I pretended to be engaged to someone?”

“Oh, stop” Belinda waved me off. “You two will work it out.”

“There’s nothing to work out. It was an arrangement” The word came out harsher than I meant, but my annoyance over how he’d tried to pay me was creeping back in.

“I see the way he looks at you” She patted my hand. “He’s smitten. And that man is the type who goes after what he wants” Belinda winked.

I thought back to the look Atlas had given me as she left the room.

“Right now, he’s pissed.”

“Yup,” Belinda chuckled. “Sounds like marriage to me. He’ll go from smitten to being mad at you and then back to smitten. The cycle of love.”

Love?

I shook my head.

“Even if you were right, he lives in LA.”

Belinda grinned.

“If you take the job I’m offering and Atlas accepts our contract, you two will be working together here.”

Atlas would be working here, in Montana?

The idea shot through me like a roller coaster, the thrill before the drop. He’d never mentioned staying in the state.

Did he even know this?

If we worked together, I’d have to watch him move on. Date someone else. And acid swirled in my stomach at the idea.

“Can we get back to the job offer?” Belinda asked.

I nodded and listened as she laid out the job details. It was part executive assistant, part lab assistant. I’d be dumb to turn down such an amazing opportunity. But I just couldn’t say yes. The kernel of discomfort grew inside me.

Why didn’t I want the job?