Page 68 of Mr. Wrong Number

Even though he’d surprised me with his sweetness, it was still just sex. Just the two of us responding to the chemistry, and now it could never happen again. In real life, we never would’ve connected in a relationship sort of way, so this had just been us getting in a few more good rolls before the sun came up.

I smiled and burrowed my head deeper into the linen pillowcase that smelled like Colin’s laundry detergent. Who would’ve thought the greatest sex of my life would be with Colin Beck?

I closed my eyes and let the quiet sound of his breathing lull me to sleep.

•••

MY PHONE.

I sat up in bed, waking up as my phone chirped from where it was charging on the floor. I was confused for half a second before I looked down and saw that I was sprawled out across a very sleepy-looking Colin.

Who was smirking at me.

Shit. One look at his face and the events of the night before came rushing back.

Holy balls.

It’d been an incredible night, but Colin had made me feel too much. I felt my cheeks get hot as he grinned and I said, “Hey, you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Good morning.”

The phone was loud, and I had to crawl over him to grab it. Part of me was glad for the distraction, because I needed to getmy thoughts together and be cool about Colin. I glanced at the display—it was Glenda.

“Oh.” I stole the sheet, wrapped it around my body, and moved to sit at the foot of the bed in case Colin wanted to go back to sleep.

“Hello?”

I watched Colin climb out of bed and grab his pants from the floor, stepping into them, and it almost felt too intimate for me to witness.

“Olivia, it’s Glenda. Listen, I’m just going to get right to it.”

Her voice sounded weird—pissed—and my stomach dropped. Something was very wrong. I scrambled off the bed, grasping the top of the sheet before running down the stairs to take the call. I didn’t want Colin to hear. “Oka—”

“Beth with human resources is also on the line, just in case we require assistance, okay?”

Oh, my God.“Um, okay.”

“It’s been brought to our attention that you don’t have any children. Is this true?”

My ears started buzzing and I felt queasy. “Um, technicallyyes, but if you’ll let me ex—”

“So you completely fabricated two children in order to get this job, is that correct?”

“No!” My heartbeat was going bonkers as I tried to think of a way to explain. “I mean, kind of yes. God. It started as a tiny misunderstanding, and then I didn’t know how—”

“We cannot have a parenting columnist who isn’t a parent.” Glenda sounded so cold that my throat hurt. “But bigger thanthat, one of our core values at theTimesis integrity, Olivia. Dishonesty is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

I blinked fast and felt both cold and hot. And also like a terrible human being. I tried not to cry. “I’m so sorry. Do you think we could get together and—”

“We have no choice but to terminate your employment.” It was clear Glenda didn’t care to hear my side of it, and I didn’t blame her. “Beth is going to take over the call and give you information on COBRA and your NDA. Take care.”

Just like that Glenda was gone, and the nice HR lady started going over my nondisclosure agreement. I listened as she explained the legal recourse of telling secrets, and it made me think of my own secrets.

How the hell had they found out?

I hadn’t told anyone other than Colin that I was the 402 Mom, but he wouldn’t tell, right? I mean, who the hell would he tell? He was too busy—and too self-absorbed—to tattle to the newspaper about my dishonesty.

I could still hear his words on the balcony.You really think in a town like Omaha it’s not going to come out?

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