Page 91 of Never Been Worse

My eyes roll, and I copy the quote, putting it into the group chat.

Is this chick for real? She was FIRED.

Ava

Why are you reading it? You know it’s just trash.

Because I love to torture myself. I don’t know.

Jules

How are you doing?

My friends are worried about me, that much is for sure, especially now that they know the entire story of my breakup, about how Jeremy threatened them and what I did to protect them. They were pretty angry that the real reason I gave up the designs was to save them, but in the end, they understood, knowing they’d probably do something similar for me.

Good, knowing that it’s T-minus 14 days until he gets what’s coming to him.

Ava

HELL YEAH!

The day after my meeting with Jeremy, whispers of Wes and my breakup spread through the media as planned. I was anxious nearly the entire day, as I boxed up a few of my things and made a show of lugging them to the car so photos could leak, worried that Jeremy wouldn’t think it was enough to quiet his threats. But by five, when I was slowly putting a few of my things away in the cottage behind Jules’s house, I received a text from Jeremy.

Jeremy

Good job. When can I expect the designs?

I smiled, loving that phase one of our plan worked while simultaneously fighting the urge to throw my phone at a wall. Instead, I took a deep breath in before answering.

Two weeks

It was a simple response, and part of me expected him to argue, to tell me he wants them quicker and remind me that I’m working on his clock, not mine, or threaten me again, but he didn’t. Instead, he sent a thumbs-up in what I assume I’m to interpret as an acceptance of this new deadline.

Jules

I bet you can’t wait until this is over.

You have no idea.

I mean that on so many fronts, not just because I’m excited tofinallyhave this bullshit with Jeremy behind me, but because not waking up in bed with Wes every morning has proven to be much more of an issue than I thought it would be.

In an effort to lean into this story of a breakup and not allow for Jeremy to suspect what we’re doing, I’ve been staying at Jules’s place, something that was a hard sell for Wes. But I wasn’t risking the media whispering that maybe this was some kind of publicity stunt and it getting back to Jeremy. I’m confident in our plan and our ability to pull it off seamlessly, and I know, even if we had to enactProject Ruin Jeremy Vaughntomorrow, it would work. But the creative in me who lives for a big reveal wants things to go as planned. Poetic justice in its purest form.

Jules

Come have breakfast with me as a distraction! Sophie is requesting it.

I smile at that text, looking at the rumpled sheets and the empty bed beside me and sighing. Then I put a pin into my dress form, stepping back to look at the progress I’ve made and make my way into Jules’s house.

Ten days until Project Ruin Jeremy Vaughn

The sound of cutting shears on thick fabric fills the room in a satisfyingsnip, snip, snipwhen my phone lets out a beep. Quickly, I drop the scissors and check the screen, smiling at the photo Wes sent me.

My design room, the cork board still essentially an FBI crime scene, but everything else is pretty much pristine.

Wes

She misses you

---