Page 39 of A World Without You
“Yes,” I say, stepping forward to hug him, but he steps back, putting his hand in his pocket and walks away. “Good to see you!” I call, and he throws up a hand, not turning around as he walks back down the line of cubicles.
I step back into the file room and lean against the cold metal of the file cabinet, squeezing my eyes shut. That was allwrong, wrong, wrong.
“You good?” Bennett asks, and I jump. I forgot he witnessed this awkward encounter.
“He hates me, doesn’t he?”
Bennett winces and opens his mouth to give me a watered-down yes.
“Like, really hates me. I’m pretty sure he was ready to light me on fire.” I cover my face with my hands.
“I mean, it’s possible,” Bennett says, and I poke my eyes out from behind my hands.
“Not helpful,” I say, and he shrugs.
“What? Do you want me to tell you everything is fine and he’s probably not mad or weirded out about seeing you at his office—”
“This is not his office,” I interrupt.
“You know what I mean.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was trying to. I saw him come out of a meeting, said hi, and afterward he told me he’d be working out of Garrett’s old office until Christmas while he works with marketing on the Birthday Sale campaign.”
I blink twice at Bennett.
“I didn’t realize it was his marketing company we contracted with.”
“So I’m like his secretary?” I hiss out the last word.
“No, he’s bringing over his own assistant. Her name is Kennedy, and she’s very nice, and you will probably work with her more than him,” he answers, and I study his light brown eyes with hesitation and disbelief.
“You had a very thorough conversation instead of just...I don’t know...Running. Over. Here. To. Tell. Me!” I know I’m more upset with Bennett than I should be, but I’m also more flustered than I wanted to be when I saw Colin for the first time since everything happened. I wanted to look a certain way and have practiced my speech in the shower a few times before seeing him face to face. I was already contemplating my outfit. Something cerulean—his favorite shade of blue because he said it brought out the color of my eyes.
“I was trying to get intel for you,” Bennett retorts. “You’re welcome.”
I don’t miss the sarcasm, and I groan. “I’m so humiliated. This isn’t how this was supposed to go. I feel like Tonya Harding’s boyfriend just hit me in the kneecaps.”
This warrants a rare laugh out of Bennett, so I shove his shoulder. “You realize you rarely laugh, and my misery has been absolutely hysterical to you.”
“Hey, you have to admit, it’s funny. And things need to actually be funny to laugh,” he says, and I glare at him. “Never fake laughter or orgasms. That’s my motto.”
A laugh erupts out of me. “Like, you—a man—need to fake orgasms.” I shake my head. This is all pretty ridiculous—not to mention juvenile. “Is she pretty?”
“Who?”
“His secretary. Kennedys are always pretty. She’s probably gorgeous.” I bite my thumbnail, pacing the dark file room. “And smart too. She’d have to be if she’s Colin’s assistant. He’s very particular and doesn’t let just anyone work that closely with him.”
I tilt my head from side to side, cracking my neck and doing my best to focus on the last stack of archives to be filed away and the faint hum of Bing Crosby singing ever so jollily over the office speakers.
“You know what I think?” Bennett asks, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms.
“I’m acting like a child,” I mutter.
“Yes.”
“Hey...”
