Page 59 of On Your Knees

Ridge growls from deep within his chest and grabs my arm as he pulls back from his kiss with Zeland. “You’re not going anywhere. Neither of you are. Give Arlo some time to process what happened and then do what you like. Right now, we are going to snuggle because I’m all up in my feelings.”

“You broke him,” Zeland jokes.

“I happen to think I fixed him. Look how perfect he is now, all strong and in his feelings. All we need to do is make him cry?—”

I squeal as Ridge grabs my ankle and tries to pull me off the bed. Zeland grins and grabs my arms, and they both pull on me until we all dissolve into laughter. My heart still hurts over Arlo, but Ridge is right—we have to give him time to process this. The ball is in his court and what he does now is up to him.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Arlo

Curled into the corner of the shower, with my knees pressed to my chest, I wrap my arms tight around myself like a lifeline. Warm water beats down my back, but I’m freezing, and every drop feels like salt in an open wound.

Tears blur the tiles beneath me as rough sobs escape my throat. I can’t stop the sting in my eyes or the tremor in my hands.

I lost everything that made me feel whole. How fucking stupid am I? A woman on the internet, someone I bared my soul to, turned out to be nothing more than my worst nightmare. Every secret, every confession I thought was safe, she used against me.

My chest feels like it’s caught in a vice—tight, unrelenting pain that no shower can wash away. My dream job, the thing I built my life around, was nothing more than a cruel joke.

And here I am, drowning, wondering how I let myself fall for it.

The second I got home, I wanted to put my headset on and talk to her, to tell her what just happened, but she is the same person. They have broken me more than Millie Baker ever did.

After way too long—my skin’s all pruney—I drag myself out and wrap a towel around my waist. The only thing I can do is get wasted and pass out.

Hopefully, when I wake up tomorrow, this will all be a bad dream.

It sure as shit was not a dream.

I’m woken by the chiming notification of an email on my phone. I forgot to delete the app, but there is no way I am going to work. How can I show my face there again? I will be the laughingstock of the office when word spreads about what happened. I open the app, intending to sign out.

Subject:My Office.

Arlo,

Be in my office at 10am. I expect you on time.

Ridge Ellington

Chief Executive Officer

Ridgeland Enterprises

Fuck Ridge, he is as bad as they are.

I ignore his email and throw my phone across the room. He can fuck right off. I should write a nasty reply, but I won’t, that isn’t me. Maybe I could write a simplefuck you.

A glance at my monitor shows it’s only eight. I could sleep for a few more hours, but now I don’t have a job and I need to apply for more. First, though, I need coffee. I get dressed, simply going through the motions until my normal coffee shop comes into view. Memories of Zeland being there every day and buying me breakfast sting.

There is no way I’m stepping foot in that café.

So I turn on my heels and hurry down the street, mindlessly walking until I smell the sweet scent of roasting beans. As I push through the door, I look around and see it’s a gaming café, and a young guy greets me as I walk in.

“Hi, welcome to Game and Grind. How can I help you?”

“Can I get a medium coffee, two creams, one pump of vanilla?”

“Sure thing. I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.”

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