Page 32 of Breaking News

“No,” I said to my reflection as I grabbed my purse from my bed. “You’re Jillian Fucking Taylor. Act like it.”

Being the last person to arrive wasn’t a mistake. I could almost hear my mom’s southern drawl in my head as I walked into the Gardners’ house.“A lady’s never late. She just knows the perfect moment to make an entrance.”

The women were already in the backyard, and the guys were just getting started with their poker game. Owen dealt the first hand as I made my way through the kitchen. Graham wasn’t the only new addition to the group—Sean from the comic book store was there, too, and I was delighted to see his wife just beyond the sliding glass door. But as eager as I was to talk to Erika, I had to make a pitstop at that poker table.

I made a beeline for Graham, having planned out exactly what to say during the drive over. “Olivia shared a secret about you today, Graham,” I said, draping my hand on the back of his chair.

“Oh, shit.” He held his cards to his chest and looked up at my face—and then at my chest—and then at my face again. With a quick glance across the table, I caught Xander watching me closely. He wasn’t even picking up the cards he’d just been dealt, and he wore a scowl on his face. To my right, Owen was suddenly very interested in his smartwatch, and the other guys were fighting for their lives to keep their eyes on their cards.

I had Graham’s full attention, though. Looking down at him like this, I could really see the gold flecks in his brown eyes. “I knew her working with you was going to be a problem,” he said, lowering his cards to his lap. “I’m scared.”

“You should be. Because now I have leverage.” The secret was that he belted out Tom Petty songs on road trips, but I was prepared to let him worry it was something far more embarrassing. “Now, if you don’t grant me time off, I can threaten to tell these guys all your dirty little secrets.”

A playful smirk appeared on his lips. My intimidation tactic wasn’t working. “You think I’m not using her to report on all your misbehavior at work?”

I put my hand on my hip. “Wait. Are you saying she’s a double agent?”

“It would appear so,” he said, watching my fingers as I stole a rye chip from the communal bowl of Chex Mix between him and Owen.

“Then I guess we’re both going to have to be on our best behavior,” I said, crunching on the chip. I quickly turned to Sean for a fast subject change to take the attention off Graham, whose eyes looked like they might bulge right out of his head. “Sean, If you and Erika are both here, who’s manning the shop?”

“Dimitri,” he deadpanned, without missing a beat. The guys laughed. Last I knew, his son wasn’t even walking yet, so there was no chance he was working a cash register. “We figured it was time for him to start pulling his own weight.”

Before I could quip back, Xander stood up. “Jill,” he said, nodding for me to follow him through the Gardners’ house. No, “Follow me,” or “Can we talk?” He only jerked his head and expected me to follow him like an obedient dog.

Stupidly, I did.

He led me up the stairs to the dark hallway on the second floor of the Gardners’ house. I let out an exasperated sigh when I reached the landing. “Xander, what do you need?”

“Who all have you told?” He crossed his arms.

“About us splitting up?” I asked, and he just blinked, like it was obvious. “I’ve only told Meghan and Graham.”

“You seem to be telling Graham a lot of things.”

“So? He’s the CEO. Gotta keep him on the up and up.”

Xander’s eyes traveled down my body and back up again. “What are you going to say to the others?”

“You mean Abigail.” It was a statement—not a question.

He just blinked.

I draped one arm on the banister at the top of the stairs, eyeing the canvas print of them on the console table nearby. In the photo, Owen was carrying Sarah on his back in a field of wildflowers; an engagement photo, I assumed. “I’ll keep it vague. I won’t say anything that’ll embarrass you.”

“Thanks.”

“I expect you’ll give me the same courtesy?”

He put his hands in his pockets, staring at the photo of Owen and Sarah with me. “I’m not going to say a word.”

“Even better.” I turned to him with a polite, closed-lipped grin, which he returned. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like we were going to be okay—like we were handling this breakup the right way.

Until I turned to walk down the stairs.

“Wait.” Xander’s hand closed around my elbow, tugging me back before I could take another step. It made my breath catch in my throat. “Don’t flirt with Graham.”

“Excuse me?”

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