Page 18 of Bridesmaid By Chance
I move toward the door, and I can practically hear the regret in his voice when he says, “Sloane.”
I glance over my shoulder, waiting to hear an apology. Yup, goahead, beg and plead, apologize until your mouth is frothing for forgiveness.
He adjusts the sleeves of his shirt as he says, “I’ll let Jude know.”
I blink a few times, because he’s serious. That’s all he’s going to say? No,I’m sorry?Please come back?You’re the apple of my eye and I need you?
He’s…
He’s really firing me.
Well…that’s…that’s just rude.
He really can’t handle the truth?
How eye-opening. Facts are facts. He was a bit of a weasel in that meeting, and that’s coming from me, the girl who worships the ground Hudson Hopper walks on with his fancy, expensive loafers.
I was just being honest, and if he can’t handle that, then good luck. That’s a him problem.
Yeah, that’s right—that’s a him problem.
Why should I feel bad about trying to help a guy out?
Why do I feel embarrassment creep up my back, slowly crawling to the nape of my neck?
Why are my cheeks heating?
Maybe because the man I’m infatuated with just fired me, and that’s slightly humiliating. Maybe because he made it quite clear in a matter of seconds that, despite the hard work that I’ve put into this job that I hate, despite working effortlessly at making sure Hudson is taken care of—days full of meetings, demands, and decisions—that I’m fully and freely disposable to him.
And that doesn’t settle well.
It hurts, actually, and there’s only one way I know how to react when I’m hurt…
“Don’t worry about telling Jude you fired his sister. I have no problem informing him of your terrible business practices. Maybe while I’m at it, I’ll inform him of other things. Like…like…” I try to think of something revealing, anything, and then something snaps in my brain. Oh yes, I got it. “Maybe I’ll inform him that your green drink you slurp up every morning actually has a ton of sugar in it, something you apparently never looked into. Might still taste like crap, but it’s full of empty carbs.”
His face falls flat. “No, it’s not.”
“Oh, yeah…it is. So much sugar. The most sugar. All of the sugar, Hudson. The wrinkles in the corners of your eye will only grow deeper if you keep filling your body with such filth.”
He touches the side of his face, which nearly makes me laugh, but I hold it together as I continue with my rant.
“And just so you know, if you actually emptied your inbox, I wouldn’t have to repeatedly send you the same email over and over again because it keeps getting buried. It’s called organization, Hudson.”
He straightens, looking perplexed and outraged at the same time.
“Not to mention the healthy snacks you request for the kitchen, no one likes them. Not one single person. We constantly donate them to shelters while Freida stocks up on snacks from Costco and divvies them up around the office for people to keep in their desk drawers. It’s a waste of money and no one will say anything because they’re too scared to hurt your brittle ego.”
His brow pinches together. “The snacks are good.”
“No one wants dried cucumber, Hudson. What’s even the point?” I toss my arms up in frustration. “And since we’re on the train of honesty, that brown suit you wear on occasion is hideous and should be burned.”
“That’s from Italy.”
“Doesn’t make it any less ugly. Just atrocious. I throw up a little in my mouth every time you walk into the office wearing it.”
He folds his arms now. “Is that all?”
“No,” I say, letting it rip. “I use your bathroom when you’re gone because your toilet paper is softer. I once scraped ketchup on your back by accident before you went into a meeting and didn’t tell youbut watched you give a presentation to a room of twenty people with a bloodlike condiment staining your suit jacket.” I take a deep breath and keep going. “You are negligent when it comes to compliments and my work ethic. You refuse to acknowledge the thought and care I put into looking professional every day. And I’ve spent countless hours sitting at my desk, staring into your office, wondering about all the ways I could help ease the tremendous amount of tension you carry on a daily basis. Sitting on your face is always the solution I come up with.”
