Page 124 of Party Favors

He looked guilty and immediately backed off. Adrian took me by the arm and led me a few feet away.

“Everly, I’m so sorry that I have to do this, but Topher Crawley told me that I have to fire you and have you escorted from the party.”

Adrenaline and shock spiked up my spine until it created a ball in my throat, and for a second I couldn’t speak. “What? Why?”

“You have a noncompete clause in the contract you signed when you started at Elevated. Apparently Topher spoke to a woman at this party who said you threw her a baby shower yesterday.”

I put a hand over my stomach, unable to believe that this was happening. Surely the universe wouldn’t hit me with two such horrific tragedies right in a row. “I didn’t know about the clause. I’m not even an official event planner. I did it in my free time.”

“Yes, but you met with the woman at Elevated’s offices. Which Topher knows because he recognized her from the meeting. He thinks you’re trying to poach potential clients for yourself, which also violates your contract.”

I knew I should have read that thing before I signed it.

“I’m not trying to steal clients,” I said, pleading. There had to be a way out of this. “Claudia specifically told me she wasn’t interested in doing showers and that’s what this was. A baby shower. I was just trying to do a favor for a friend.”

“Did you get paid for it?”

“I—yes. I did.”

“I’m really sorry,” Adrian said again, and I could see that he was. “You were the best assistant I ever had. I should have promoted you a long time ago. But Topher’s made this call and there’s nothing I can do.”

Correction—there was nothing he wasgoingto do. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I realized that Adrian would never stick his neck out for me. Less than a week ago, he had been telling me that I was the second most important person in his life, and tonight he was firing me. I hysterically wondered if he could see the irony in that.

Two men approached, hotel security staff who were probably all too happy to throw me out.

Adrian leaned his head to the side, indicating that these were the people who had been sent as my escorts so that I wouldn’t make a scene. “Have a good night, Everly. Keep in touch.”

I should have let Vella light his hair on fire when she’d wanted to.

I had worn a side bag tonight that I currently had on, and so the only thing I needed to do was collect my coat from the coat check. I turned my head and caught Max’s gaze.

He looked stricken and I could tell that he’d overheard every word. “Everly, I’m so sorry.”

I nodded, telling myself not to cry. “So tonight you cost me my heart and my job. If you wanted to find a way to evict me from my apartment, you could go for the hat trick.”

When I tried to move past him, he started following me, saying my name again.

“Leave me alone,” I said. “I’ve already been embarrassed enough for one night. I don’t want to talk to you about this. I think we’ve both said everything we need to say, and whatever this was is very obviously over. Enjoy your father’s anniversary party.”

With my head held up, I walked across the ballroom to the coat check. I didn’t lose my security detail until I was out on the sidewalk, asking the valets to hail me a cab. It didn’t take long for one to arrive, and as I went to climb into the taxi, I looked back at the hotel lobby.

Max was standing beyond the entrance doors, watching me.

I closed the door hard.

This was over and it had barely even begun.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

I cried the entire way home and I think I completely freaked my taxi driver out. He kept asking me if I was okay, but I couldn’t talk. I was incapable of forming words. Instead I curled up into a ball in the back seat. I wanted to make myself as small as possible, as if that would somehow prevent me from feeling so much searing, horrific pain.

When I got back to the apartment, I was dismayed to find Vella making out on the couch with Otis.

I just stared at them. I didn’t have enough emotional reserves left to even be upset with her for whatever was happening right then.

She took one look at my face and said to him, “Get out.”

“But I thought we were going to—”

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