“Thanks, Leah,” I tell her, suddenly feeling better than I have in a really long time. “I’m fine, I promise. And I think Meg will be, too. It might take her a little bit longer because she’s putting up with a jackass like me, but she’ll get there.”
“I sure hope so,” Leah says, standing. She walks over to the bookshelf across my office and puts the ledger where it belongs. “I like that girl,” she says with a small smile. “And I can see why you like her, too. Just…try not to make her quit. She’s good at her job, and the rest of the staff really likes her, too.”
“I know,” I assure her. “I’ll do my best not to make her quit.” I give her a reassuring smile, and she heads to the door.
Just before she exits, she stops and turns back to look at me. “Oh, and, uh, make sure you get some disinfectant wipes for that desk.”
I pick up a notepad and toss it at her, but she’s out the door before I can hit her, and I can hear her laughing as she scurries away. I laugh, too. She’s such a pain in my ass. But I love her.
With Leah gone and that painful conversation over with, I open my laptop and start to look at offices again. I see one I want to check out and decide to jot down some notes, but my notepad is across the room on the floor.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, irritated at myself for tossing it. I decide to just get another one for now, but when I open the drawer, I see the box that holds the bracelet I purchased for Meg.
I haven’t looked at it in a while, but I can’t help but open it now. I see all of the charms that remind me of her, and my heart feels heavy in my chest.
Am I making the right decision?
CHAPTER24
MEGHAN
Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since Hunter and I fucked in his office, and while I have been feeling better about myself, for the most part, than I have felt in a long time, I’m just not feeling it at all today.
I show up for my shift, trying to look my best, but my skirt is a little tight, and I don’t know why. It might be all of the chocolate and wine—but I haven’t been binging on that since before I went to the beach to find a different sort of solace.
Walking into the club, I say hello to Allie and some of the other girls. They are talking to Stella Rose, the dancer who sometimes performs with Audio Anarchy. I don’t know her very well, but I am drawn to her. She has a crowd around her because she’s so enchanting. She smiles at me, the lights in the lounge reflecting off of her mocha skin, and I can’t help but smile back.
“You’re the new girl, right?” she asks, her accent something like a Southern drawl mixed with high-society British. It’s lovely, and something I don’t believe I’ve ever heard before. She extends her hand, and I shake it.
“I’m Meghan,” I tell her. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen you dance a few times. You’re so good. You could go on tour with JLo or something.”
Stella’s smile falters slightly, and I wonder what I’ve said. Perhaps she doesn’t like JLo? But she says, “Thank you, that’s sweet. I’m going to go finish getting ready. Nice to meet you.” She waves her goodbyes at everyone else and steps away.
I look at Allie. “Did I say something wrong?” I ask.
“No, no, you’re fine,” she says, patting me on the arm. “She just has a history she doesn’t like to talk about, and I think it’s holding her back.”
“Oh, damn,” I mutter. “I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.”
“No worries!” she says. “Hey, we’re all going to the diner tonight after our shift. You’ve got to come. You’ve never been before.”
“The diner?” I question.
Mia literally claps her hands. “Yeah! You’ll love it. They have the best bacon!”
“Mia and her bacon.” Lexi laughs. The others join in, and I press a smile to my face, but suddenly my stomach isn’t feeling well. I don’t know if it’s the mention of greasy bacon or something else, but a pain shoots through me, and I have to hold on to the wall for a second.
“Are you all right, Meghan?” Sadie asks me, a concerned look on her face.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell her with my hand over my stomach. “Just…I don’t know. Not feeling great.”
They all give me sympathetic looks, but it’s time for us to make our way to the dance floor, so we head out, and I try to put the uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen, which is now shooting down to my legs, aside.
My clients are great, as usual. I get to wait on a table full of actors from a movie that they’re making down the street. One of the guys, Rhett Carlisle, is a comedian, and every time I bring him another beer, he does a different great impersonation. His Christopher Walken is spot on. He has me laughing so hard I start to forget about the cramps I was having earlier.
And then it dawns on me… cramps. “Oh, shit!” I mumble as I drop my tray off at the bar, rushing to the back.
“Meghan?” Carter calls after me as I rush by him. “Are you all right?”