Breach of Honor by Naomi Porter
36 Miranda
IN THE LAST six months, will hadn’t worked late once. I didn’t want to overthink it, but the changes in him after Easter hadn’t gone unnoticed.
He wasn’t sleeping well at all, and it concerned me. The other night, he’d even had a nightmare. In the dream, he’d found me unconscious and it freaked him out. I understood why it upset him. I would’ve probably been beside myself if I’d had his dream.
However, working late wasn’t the same as a restless night’s sleep. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be in a good mood when he got home.
Gina stepped into the doorway of my office. “I’m heading out. Need anything before I go?”
“Nope, all good here. Have fun in New York City.”
“I will! But I feel bad about taking a few days off. Your schedule is crazy busy until…” Gina chewed on her lower lip, thinking. “Until November.”
“And that’s okay. You need a break too. Plus, it’s your senior year and you graduate in two weeks. Have a great time with your mom. We’ll be fine here.” I smiled, remembering when my mom took me to the Big Apple right before I graduated. We’d had the best time, and so would Gina.
“Thanks, you’re the best!” She waved and was gone in a flash. “Bye, Lily!” Gina hollered, running out of the building.
I laughed, returning to my iPad.
LA Premier’s calendar was booked solid. I wouldn’t be surprised if my partners pressured me into hiring more staff. It might be in our best interest to scale it back and turn down some jobs.
We were growing at a supersonic rate, and I owed it all to Claire. She talked us up every chance she got with the newspapers, on social media, and to all her friends. We didn’t have to spend a penny on advertising because Claire’s recommendation was worth millions.
“Looks like I’ll be operating the phones again.” Lily appeared in my doorway, arms crossed. She looked more depressed than usual.
Henry had done a number on her heart, the jerk. To add insult to injury, he was sending her random texts with pictures from his travels. He didn’t seem to have a clue he’d hurt her. Or maybe he did and didn’t care.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be here to answer phones too. I think Viv is available to work some now that the semester is over.” Tate’s wife, Vivien, was in graduate school studying art history at UCLA. Last summer, she’d worked for us whenever we were swamped, which wasn’t very often; times sure had changed. “Maybe she’d be open to working part time over the summer?”
“You’d offer her a part-time position? Really?” She plopped into the chair in front of my desk.
“Why are you so surprised?” And why was she making it sound like I was the one calling all the shots?
“Because those are words you never speak…ever. Hire her! I’ll even ask her—no, I’ll beg her!”
Lily was interrupted by her ringtone, “Un-break My Heart” filling my office.
She jumped to her feet. “Oh my God! It’s Henry. He’s calling. Oh my God!”
“Well, answer it… if you want. I can’t believe Toni Braxton’s sad song is the ringtone for him.” How did she not breakdown every time she heard it? Shit, tears burned behind my eyes.
She waved me off, answering the call. “Hello, stranger.”
Oh, she was masterful at sounding unaffected when she was actually angry and heartbroken.
“I’m fine. Busy. You?”
Wow. She didn’t leave my office. I lowered my eyes to my iPad, pretending to scroll and click apps while I listened with interest.
“Sounds like a great time.” She sat back down on the chair. “Did you call for any reason in particular? I’m in the middle of… of doing the books. It’s the end of the month, you know?” She pulled the phone away from her ear and stuck her tongue out at it… at him. “Don’t sound disappointed because I’d rather reconcile the books than talk to you. I mean, how did you expect me to feel when you left after we spent two days together screwing like horny-ass teenagers. Not to mention, this is the first time you’ve called since you left a month ago.”
She pulled the phone away from her ear and flipped him off.
“Hang up on him,” I whisper-shouted. I hated to see Lily unravel because of the jerk. Again, she waved me off.
“Yes, yes, I know you said you were leaving. It’s whatever, Henry. Just don’t come back here expecting me to spread my legs and fuck your brains out. I think it best if you don’t call me again.” Her eyes filled with tears, despite the strength in her words.
Whatever he was saying affected her, judging by the color draining from her face.
“Hang up now.” I tapped my hand on the table to get her attention, but she ignored me.
“No. I don’t want to hear it. I won’t be your California hookup. I’m over it, Henry. I’ve moved on.” A tear skittered down her cheek. “Enjoy Cairo. I’m sure you can find a gorgeous Egyptian to occupy your time. Goodbye, Henry.” She ended the call, staring into nothingness, and my heart broke.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
“No! Not another word about him. What about Viv? Should I call her?” And just like that, she’d rebounded.
“Yes, call her.”
Lily rose to her feet and paused. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I was a fool for thinking he felt the same way I felt about him. I was wrong, and I’ve learned. That’s the end of it.”
“Okay.” Of course, I didn’t believe a single word that left her lips. It wasn’t the “end of it.” Lily was a woman who would rather die than cry over a man.
It was why I was so sad for her. She’d only known Henry for a few days, and he’d managed to make my badass, made-of-stone best friend cry.
The sorry bastard had lost the most incredible woman in the universe.
