Page 177 of Bridesmaid for Hire
One night.
That’s all it took.
Lost my job.
Lost respect.
Lost my girl.
Yup.
Poof.
Gone.
Just like that.
Shocking, if you think about it. How someone can lose everything like that within a few hours. Might be a record.
I uncap my drink and take some small sips of water, my stomach still queasy.
Maggie is probably standing up at the altar right now, filling in as a bridesmaid, looking all kinds of gorgeous in her dress. She probably has a flower in her hair, those lips decked out in a gloss that would have my heart stuttering just from the sight of her mouth.
I should be there.
If anything, to support her, tell her how beautiful she is.
To dance with her.
Fuck…is she going to dance with Hardy? Hudson, maybe? Are they making a move on her, knowing that I fucked up somehow?Men like that always win the girl. They win everything in life.
I drag my hand over my face. I don’t even know what I did, what I said. That’s the worst part. If I was knocked out, then what could I have possibly done that would have pushed Maggie away from me? It’s not making sense. Sure, I messed up my chances with the Hopper family, but I fail to see how that’s connected to Maggie.
Frustrated, I unlock my phone and pull up the text message I sent Jaleesa. I explained everything to her and said I’d be getting canned Tuesday morning. I apologized but haven’t heard anything from her, probably because it’s late there.
Or because she’s so mad at me that she doesn’t want to text me back. After all, this affects her too. Her employee that she was supposed to be managing is getting fired, which I’m sure in Reginald’s eyes means she wasn’t doing her job properly.Man, I fucked this up so bad.
I close out of the texts and just by chance, check my emails—who knows, maybe I’ll still have access to them. It would be a miracle.
I open my inbox on my phone and low and behold, I still have access. Looks like Daddy Reggie isn’t as sly as he thinks he is. I pull down on the screen, refreshing the inbox, and that’s when an email pops up from Deanna.
Fucking great.
Let’s see the gloating.
I pull up the email and read it.
Rough night on the island last night? I don’t know if you could hear cackling this morning, but that was me, all the way in San Francisco. It’s funny how you tried to weasel your way into the good graces of the family and ended up getting fired—oh, I know, it’s not official yet, but rumor around the office is, your Tuesday isn’t looking pretty. Such a shame, you had some potential. Although, I have to thank you for the additional idea for my proposal, I really think it rounds me all out. Pocket weddings, really a novel idea—
Wait…what?
I sit up in my seat, heart pounding as I stare down at my phone.
Why did she say ‘pocket wedding’?
And why is she thanking me for that idea?
That’s…that’s Maggie’s idea.
