e she met.]
Chapter 2
The hallway outside the bar. Jake
kr had River pinned against the wall, going at it like the world was ending |
The look in has eyes–pure fire, raw hunger. Stuff I’d never seen directed at me. Not once
I let out this hollow laugh. Yeah, some “game.“]
Then the messages popped up:
[Ugh, I guess I’ll survive being attacked by a horny caveman. You’re welcome |]]
[Your little friend down there kept jabbing me the whole time. Seriously gross|]].
My hands were sluking as I scrolled up, but everything above that was wiped clean
River had started at our company two weeks ago as Jake’s intern
Drop–dead gorgeous and shameless about flauming it. Different barely there outfit every day, serving main character energy to everyone:
J
I’d caught guys sneaking photos, so I pulled her aside about professional dress code and tore those creeps new ones.[]
She nodded like butter wouldn’t melt, then turned around and called me a “bitter old hag” to those same guys.1
When I asked Jake what he thought about River, he barely looked up:
“She’s twenty–two, she wants to look cute. Not like she’s gonna dress like someone pushing thirty.”
Then he shot me this pointed look
“Moe, you’re being jealous and petty. Can’t handle someone else getting attention.”
That shut me right up
Looking back, I should’ve seen the writing on the wall. He was already gone]
Next morning, Jake barged into my office looking ready to murder someone and slammed River’s evaluation papers on my desk.
“Are you kidding me right now? All this over some party drama?”
“You realize you could actually tank her career because you’re throwing a tantrum?”
The papers scattered everywhere. I swallowed the lump in my throat, gathered them up, and said evenly:
“The evaluation reflects her actual performance. If you have concerns, take it up with HR“]
When I didn’t cave, Jake’s tone shifted, going all smooth and manipulative:
“Come on, you know what it’s like being a woman in this business.”
“And it’s her birthday today. She was so excited, now she’s a complete mess because of you.“[
When I still didn’t respond, he leaned forward:[]
“Just say you’re sorry, promise her a decent review next month. Think of it as a birthday gif.“||
“If you’re worried about looking weak in front of the team, I’ll bring her here p
privately.”
Jake hadn’t tried this hard to convince me of anything in years
Before I could tell him to go to hell, he was already ushering in a red eyed River
Kiviji immediately latched onto his arm like some wounded deer, bottom lip trembling perfectly on cur
That’s when I spotted the necklace glittering at her throat. The same dans ou from his room
My chest felt like someone had punched a hole through it. I actually started laughing–couldn’t stop myself. What a complete joke I’d been.
I took a long sip of coffee to steady my voice:
“River, maybe spend less time crying and more time not being terrible at your job. Your campaign ideas are absolutely tragic
Her waterworks kicked into overdrive as she shrieked []
“You’re just jealous because I’m young and gorgeous! You’re trying to ruin my life!”
Then she stormed out, slamming the door so hard the whole office shook]
Suddenly everyone was covering their mouths, whispering and side–eyeing me like I’d just kicked a puppy.
Jake’s face went dark “Mor, you’re really disappointing me right now.“[
And just like that, he bolted after her.
I clenched my fists, shut my dear, and buried every omation deep down while I got back to work
Right before Live, River posted in the group chat about her birthday dinner tonight–her treat, everyone welcome.
The chat exploded with “Happy birthday!” messages. Jake sent ninety nine of them. I counted
All the tears I’d been holding back finally came crashing down, hitting my paperwork like fat raindrops
Jake texted me:
[River doesn’t have a ride. Gonna drop her off at the restaurant. Just head home without me.]]
I typed and deleted a message like ten times before finally hitting send]
One last roll of the dien.
(It’s my birthday too, you know.
Five whole minutes passed before he responded:
[Shit, sorry. If you’d mentioned it earlier I totally would’ve done something, but I already promised River.
[What do you want? I grab you something on my way back.
I pulled up the blinds and watched our whole team parade out with River at the center like some kind of queen bee
Jake stood next to her grinning like an idiot, holding this massive bouquet of roses and a bunch of fancy gift bags
They looked like the perfect couple getting showered with congratulations.
Meanwhile, I was hiding in the shadows like some dirty secret
(Don’t worry about it. I’ll just grab something myself.
I waited until the lobby was completely empty before wiping my eyes and heading home
Sitting there with those divorce papers in my lap, this awful bitter feeling settled in my chest.
I figured I’d wait for Jake to get back to we could talk about splitting up.
Instead, River showed up at my door
