Page 92 of #Starstruck

I finished finals and graduated from college. I felt so sad that Chase wasn’t there, because we had planned for him to come. After I was handed my diploma, I looked out to see my family cheering and calling my name. For a moment I thought I saw Chase leaving through the doors at the back of the auditorium but decided I must have imagined it.

I really missed him.

Now that college was done, I started looking for a full-time accounting job. Problem was, everybody seemed to know me. And they asked inappropriate and probably illegal questions about what it was like to date Chase Covington. It didn’t matter that I’d gone to an excellent school and earned a degree. They just wanted to gossip like we were girlfriends. Even the men.

Finally, I found a little start-up that made software applications and was in need of an accountant. I wanted to work with an ocean conservation nonprofit, but I needed a job. They offered excellent benefits and a good salary. And not once during the interview did Brenda, the woman interviewing me, say anything about Chase. I absolutely killed it. It was probably the best interview I’d ever had. When it was over, Brenda enthusiastically shook my hand and said, “We will definitely be in touch, Zoe. It was such a pleasure to meet you.”

Feeling good about myself for the first time in a long time, I stopped in the restroom to use the facilities and planned to call Lexi when I got to my car to let her know how it had gone. My first inclination was to call Chase, and I felt sad for a moment when I remembered he couldn’t be my first phone call anymore.

I had made it to the front of the building when Brenda came running after me, calling my name. “Zoe!”

Confused, I stopped, wondering if I’d forgotten something.

“I had to call the CEO and get his approval, but if you want the job, it’s yours.”

No way!“Yes. I would love to work here!”

Brenda held out her hand, and I shook it with enthusiasm. “Fantastic. Can you start on Monday at eight?”

“I can.”

“Great! We will see you then.”

“Absolutely.” There was something I needed to know first. “I have a weird question, but did anyone pull strings to get me this job? Call you?” I didn’t want this to be because Chase had made a phone call.

“No.” She said the word like I was a crazy person. “You earned this on your own merits.”

Relieved, I decided to leave before she rescinded the offer because of my weirdness, and I told her I’d be there early Monday morning.

Lexi and Gavin said we should celebrate, but I hated being their third wheel. It hadn’t been an issue before Chase, and even though I adored them both, they were a constant reminder of what was missing in my own life.

When they were home, I tried to steer clear and stay in my room. Now that school was over, I didn’t have quite as much to occupy my free time. I did my best to remain off-line, and despite her disdain for most social media, Lexi put it aside to act as my Internet police. “Didn’t anybody teach these people if they don’t have anything nice to say, they should just shut up?” I heard her say more than once.

She also teased me about the #TeamZase hashtag.

“Zase sounds like a bar of soap,” I agreed.

“You don’t get to pick your couple name. You’re stuck with what fans give you.”

When she came into the bedroom with her phone, I thought she had another update about social media. Instead she said, “Chase did an interview.”

I gulped down the knot that had quickly formed in my throat. He did press only when he had a new movie coming out, and I knew he didn’t have anything being released soon.

“It’s about you.”

If I didn’t want to watch it before, I definitely didn’t want to watch it now.

“Well, not really about you. It’s about how he isn’t dating Amelia Swan, and how everything that’s been said about them is a lie. How he was in love with someone else but wanted to keep the relationship private. You should watch it.”

Our doorbell rang before I could reply. Lexi got up to answer it.

She came back into the room, her eyes wide. “Zoe, it’s for you.”

Beneath my heartache, a surge of happiness welled up inside me at the thought that it might be Chase. But One-F was standing in the living room instead. “Hey, Zoe.”

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

Lexi had made herself scarce to allow us to talk. I knew I should offer him something to drink, but the shock of seeing him made me forget my manners. “Did Chase send you?”

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