Page 28 of Forged in Peril

Grace stopped short, dropping one of her many designer bags on the counter and rushing over to give her a hug.

“What on earth happened?”

Bristol sobbed, trying to swallow the sound of her crying with little success.

She hadn’t cried at work since her first couple of months at D&P. She’d learned to control her emotions, or so she thought, but Grace’s kind face had been enough to crack the wall of protection she’d been trying to raise.

“I slept through my alarms this morning, somehow, and ended up extremely late for court,” she said, ragged breaths clutching at her chest between words. “Worse, I screwed up Jaclyn’s presentation files and made her look bad in front of the judge. I need this job, Grace.”

Grace’s brow furrowed in sympathy as she rubbed Bristol’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice bright.

“Every single person in this place has screwed something important up. Once, I booked the wrong flight and actually sent Carter and Reilly to Sydney, Nova Scotia, instead of Sydney, Australia.”

Bristol shook her head, imagining the chaos that would have probably ensued. At least she and Jaclyn weren’t responsible for handling operations in the field.

Still, Grace had a point.

“Admittedly, I’ve made worse mistakes than this. Like the time I knocked over an entire cup of coffee on one of the senior partner’s desks at my last job and ruined about fifty documents.”

“Honestly, that’s pretty on brand for you,” Grace joked.

Bristol tried to smile, but after only a moment, her face fell once again. She was thankful to have a friend here, but the job came first, and after this morning, she was going to do everything she possibly could to get back into her boss’s good graces.

“I need to get back upstairs and get back to work,” she said, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Jaclyn is already angry, and I don’t want her to come looking for me and find me crying in the lounge.”

Grace shook her head and strode over to where she’d left her bag, rooting through the huge pink leather sack until she located her phone. Bristol watched as she stared down at it for several long seconds, her long nails tapping away at the touchscreen.

“There. Jaclyn is officially taken care of.”

She tossed her phone back into her purse and reached in again, pulling out a monogrammed cosmetic bag that would have easily fit every bit of makeup and skincare that Bristol owned.

“You have time to get yourself presentable before you face the rest of the day.”

“Thank you, Grace,” Bristol said, taking the proffered bag and moving to get to her feet. She didn’t bother to ask what sort of crazy distraction Grace had come up with. If Cam’s testimony was to be trusted, the woman was a bit of a miracle worker when it came to getting out of a jam.

“But first, we’re going to have a chat.”

Bristol sat back down, surprised at the unusual firmness in Grace’s tone.

“Look, this is obviously about more than Jaclyn,” Grace said. “It’s been clear to me all week that something else is going on with you. I mean, who wouldn’t be freaked out after that whole thing with your car?”

Bristol stared at the tabletop, gripping her warm mug with both hands as she tried to form a response.

She didn’t want to admit it, even to herself, but Grace was right.

It wasn’t a disappointed boss that troubled her. She was used to that. And it wasn’t the possibility of failing at this job when she had nowhere else to go.

No. Neither of those things were enough to make her cry.

But having her car vandalized, and worrying that someone might have broken into her house in a deliberate attempt to frighten her and to mess up her life? Knowing that somewhere out there was a scumbag who would do anything to make sure his crime against her stayed buried?

Yeah, that could do it.

She waited, taking a few unreasonably slow sips of tea.

Grace was the office gossip, and everyone knew it. As much as she liked the woman, she wasn’t sure she wanted to confide in her, and in any case, who was she to demand that Bristol give up her secrets?

Finally, she broke the silence.

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