Page 84 of My Office Rival

“So I guess everything went okay?” Her voice was breathy.

“Yes, Mitchell is going to tell the client. You’ll still have to talk to Gerald, and your client eventually, but we’ll handle everything with the investigation.” Mitchell hadn’t promised that, but I would make sure of it. “I promise you, I will try to protect you from the fallout. As much as I possibly can.” I feathered my thumb over her jaw and watched her eyes soften, her lips curve.

“Thank you.” She flung her arms around my neck and buried her face against my shoulder. Her lips press against my jaw. With her in my arms, I was the king of the world, a thousand feet tall, an impostor no longer. No, I was a superhero.

“I got you,” I said, the words insufficient for how good it felt to do this for her.

“No one has ever done anything like that for me. I’m always the doer, the strong one. The way you stood up to Gene for me. I don’t know what I would do if he started spreading rumors about me.” Herthroat worked against my neck. “Thank you, Jason.” Her voice was muffled as she clung to me.

Suddenly, my heart was in my throat. I needed to tell her how I felt. There had never been another woman like her, there never would be. I would destroy Gene a thousand times over for her.

“Cynthia, I —”

Her phone rang, and she leaped up. I sank back into the couch. She made a gesture like she needed to take the call, and I nodded. When she was done, I’d tell her. I would make her dinner and use tonight to declare my feelings for her. With the soft look she was giving me, I thought she might be all in. Just like I was.

52

CYNTHIA

“Hi, is this Cynthia?” A cheerful woman’s voice came over the line as I paced Jason’s study. The call had come from a Texas number, which was odd.

“Hi, this is her.” I had no idea who this was. Maybe something related to the case?

“I’m so glad I could reach you. This is Tina from Human Rights Defense. You interviewed with us about a month ago?”

My stomach bottomed out. What could they possibly want?

“I remember. I really enjoyed meeting everyone,” I said carefully.

“We loved meeting you too. And I know we offered the role to someone else, but we have an urgent need to fill a second position, and everyone here really liked you. We’re hoping you’d be willing to accept and start sooner rather than later. It would be temporary, just a year, but we think you’d be a great addition to the team.”

Holy shit. My palms started to sweat. “Thank you, Tina. I’m excited about the offer. Let me think about it today and then come back to you.” I stumbled over the words. I wanted to shout “I accept” into the phone, but I knew this was the more professional route.

“Great,” she trilled, promising to email me the details and the formal offer.

We hung up and I slumped into Jason’s armchair, shaky with adrenaline. This was my dream job. Fighting for people like my parents who had come here with nothing, doing work that meant something.

This was a temporary role, but it would set me on a whole new path.I have to tell Jason.The thought stopped me short. Texas meant moving, and moving meant we were definitely done. But maybe we were done anyway. I chewed my lip. Jason had never promised me anything.He stood by you. He gave you more than one night.I squeezed my eyes shut. I so badly wanted that to mean something. The fantasies I had spun for myself while we played house were so tempting. He was fantastic. I needed to call Margo before I got even more muddled.

I video called her and it was a few rings before she answered.

“Hi,” she yelled. “Hold on. We’re hiking, but we’re just walking to the car. One minute.” She gave me a thumbs up, her hair sticking to her sweaty face. Andrew’s chest came into view. He clearly had his arm looped around her. He dipped his head down to speak directly into her ear, and she blushed. I wanted that. He was obsessed with her. Every time they were together, he looked for ways to touch her, to make her happy. And she, who had thought she was too driven to find love, had blossomed even more with him in her corner.

She finally shut the car door, and the wind was silent. “Hi, sorry. We just finished the best hike. It was slow at work today, so Andrew forced me to take the day off.”

“Is that what the kids call it these days?” I teased.

“Very funny.” She reddened, so I knew Andrew had tried something on the trail. “What’s up? How’s the deal going?”

I opened my mouth to tell her, but realized I couldn’t say anything. If H Brands was going to be investigated by the feds, then I couldn’t tell anyone what we knew. I settled for, “It’s okay. Not great. Should be done soon. But more importantly, do you remember Human Rights Defense in Texas?” Margo had counseled me through the entire interview process.

“Oh yeah.” She frowned. “Those assholes.” I smiled at her loyalty. She had declared I was better off without them after the rejection.

“Yes, but they just called and they want to hire me for a new role.”

“Oh my god,” she yelled. “I take it back. That’s amazing. You really wanted that job.” She scanned my face over the video and frowned.

“Why don’t you look thrilled? I thought you’d be over the moon.”

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