Page 55 of The Rebel
“Tonight you’re sleeping in the bed, and I’ll take the couch,” I said.
“Er, no. I’m the guest. So, how was it? I’m a bit jealous that I couldn’t come. Although I had fun bingeing on my shows. Kevin hates them, and I really wanted to finish the series.”
I bit my lower lip. “If I tell you something, do you promise not to judge?”
“Oh! Nothing good ever comes out of you saying that.”
“When have I ever said that?”
“That one time in college when you went out with… You banged your boss, didn’t you?” she exclaimed.
I nearly fell off my chair. “That’s… I…”
“Oh my God. You did.”
“Not exactly, but we did fool around.”
Annelise started to laugh. “Goodness. Well, that didn’t take long.”
I closed my eyes. “I want to bury myself in sand and never come out. I feel so bad.”
“Why? Was it bad?”
“N-no,” I stuttered. “Quite the contrary. But heismy boss.”
“Yes, that does tend to complicate things sometimes.” She ate another spoonful, carefully chewing, and stared off into the distance.
“You’re judging, aren’t you?”
“Not exactly. I’m just… surprised. You’ve always been very adamant about not dating anyone at the office, let alone your direct report.”
“Oh, you’re making it all worse.”
“Sorry! That’s not what I mean to do. I’m your friend. I’m not here to judge you.”
I groaned. “I can’t even explain how it happened. It all seems a little bit surreal. It’s so unlike me. One minute we were discussing the event, and the next… I don’t even remember. I said something about my perfume.”
“Coco Mademoiselle?”
“No. His grandmother Isabeau finished my perfume, and he brought it over. I put it on, and… It’s really hard to explain.”
“You don’t have to.” Annelise and I had an unspoken rule. We never overshared spicy details. She might be my best friend, but that seemed like too much. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did you talk about last night?”
I swallowed hard. “Not much. Afterward, we joined the main room and ordered drinks. Then he spoke to a business partner, and I… left.”
Annelise winced. “You just left?”
“It wasn’t like that. I was off the clock.”
She cocked a brow.
I sighed. “Fine, I left.”
I focused on my bowl, eating the rest of the granola. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to make things weirder.”
