Page 110 of Last Night Was Fun

Emmy had put a hand to her chest like she might have been having a heart attack. She certainly felt something in her chest, but it wasn’t pain. “Maybe,” she said, somehow winded despite sitting down.

When had Alice called Gabe on Sunday? They’d spent nearly the whole day vined around each other in bed. Perhaps he’d taken the call while she was in the shower; hehadleft her waiting for a while before he joined her.

Alice cautiously eyed her as Emmy pulled her mind from a steamy memory. “Well, maybe you should fully sit down for this next part, then.” She reached out and shepherded her into one of the chairs opposite her desk. Alice’s office looked much like the director’s: busy, organized, full of baseball memorabilia. Emmy looked straightahead at the framed black-and-white photo of Alice’s great-uncle in his uniform from the 1950s. She took another breath.

“Okay. Keep going,” Emmy said. “I’m ready.”

“All right. Well, he told me the two of you had decided to stay together and give up your chance at the promotion, but then when you told him the job was going to be yours, he realized there was no way he could let you give it up for him. He didn’t want to stand in your way, so he requested a department transfer. That way you could stay together, and you could still get the promotion.” She paused, and Emmy felt her eyes warm with moisture. “And I said, ‘Well, shit. That’s about the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard, and who am I to stand in the way of love?’ So I told him I’d make some calls to see what we could do because I agreed: there was no way we could let you give up that job.” She gave Emmy a stern look that was half smile and layered in warmth. Then Alice’s mouth beamed into a full smile. “I swear to god, Jameson. All the doors I’ve opened to help you get here, and you were going to walk away over some guy.” She playfully rolled her eyes, but Emmy could see the honesty shining through. She’d wondered how Alice would receive news of their decision. If she’d be disappointed in Emmy for her choices. Based on the look on her face now, maybe a little bit, but the situation was no longer relevant.

“I’m sorry, Alice,” Emmy said anyway.

Alice lifted a shoulder. “Don’t apologize to me; it’s your life. But listen.” She leaned in with a serious bend to her brow. “I know now he’s not justsome guy. He sees your potential and he wants you to succeed, Emmy. You know I’m not a relationship expert, but please listen to me when I say hold on like hell to that, okay?”

The moisture glossing Emmy’s eyes washed over with a new wave. The idea she’d been wrong about what she’d heard yesterday was both welcome and terrifying because that meant Gabe hadn’t betrayed her, but she’d made a terrible mistake. At the hopeful look onAlice’s face, she didn’t have the heart to tell her she couldn’t hold on to it because she’d already let it go.

She wiped her eyes with a sniffle as a thought occurred to her. “What about the rumors he got Mikey Walker fired?”

Alice’s face flattened into a frown. “You know I’m not supposed to talk about that. But since there’s obviously been some kind of miscommunication here that’s got you in a state, I can tell you this: Walker was selling team secrets to scouts. Olson found out about it and reported him. Management took action off his tip. He did the right thing, and it just so happened to coincide with him getting hired. The ruthless reputation took on its own life-form, and Olson couldn’t do much to stop it given the situation was confidential. Jameson, that doesn’t leave this room, okay?”

Emmy slowly nodded, adding the newest addition to her list of bombshell facts redefining everything she thought she knew. Gabe hadn’t gotten someone fired out of spite; it had been a morality move—and probably a difficult one to make as a young intern.God, she’d been so wrong.

She shook herself and tried to focus. “Thanks, Alice. I won’t say anything. So, what does this mean? He’s been transferred to a different department, and we’re free to be together?”

“Yep. Turned out there was an opening on the pitching staff, and with his experience and the promise of taking some training courses, they were willing to give him a shot,” she said with a smile. “I mean, he’ll be starting at the bottom, doing the grunt work, but he was willing to do anything. We just needed sign-off from Director Allen yesterday morning. Now he’ll be traveling with the team, but so will you as senior analyst. Kind of worked out perfectly, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh god, yes. Right,” Emmy said, suddenly remembering her promotion came with a significant change in lifestyle. “How soon will that start?”

“For you? Next week,” Alice said. “For him?” She flipped herwrist to look at her watch. “In about an hour, if they haven’t already left for tonight’s game in LA.”

Emmy’s heart hammered. So much had changed in the past twenty-four hours. She had a new job, a new office. And the things she’d said to Gabe? How would he ever forgive her? He hadn’t lied to her. He’d tried to fix the problem so she could have everything she wanted.

And through it all, she still wanted him. She’dalwayswanted him.

The question now was would he still want her?

The urge to crunch into a ball and cry hit her hard, but Alice softly punched her shoulder and nodded toward the hall with a smile. “Come on. Let’s get you into your new office.”

Emmy followed her down the hall, awash in a complicated cocktail of emotions. She was thrilled about the job—she’d gotten everything she’d been working for. But her heart was aching over what she’d said to Gabe. She hadn’t even given him the chance to explain before she jumped to the worst conclusions.

As they walked, she whipped out her phone and unblocked his number.

I’m so sorry. I misunderstood. Can we talk?

She tapped it out in a rush, not really thinking it through, but desperate to say something to him.

His typing dots didn’t appear. Nothing indicated he’d received the message. There was a good chance he’d blocked her number by now, too, she realized with a heavy heart. And she couldn’t blame him.

“Here we are,” Alice announced when they turned the corner to her new office. The square room was half the size of Alice’s but big enough for a desk, two chairs, maybe a plant, and had the coveted internal-facing window along with a whiteboard.

A small smile lifted Emmy’s lips despite her silent phone and breaking heart. “Thanks, Alice.”

“Of course. IT will bring your computer over in a bit and get you all set up. We’ll get you a new name plaque for the door too. Feel free to decorate however.”

Emmy already knew exactly what she was going to hang on the walls; she’d had it planned for months. Her framed degrees, a championship pennant, the autographed bat she’d won in a charity raffle, and a photo of her brother from his rookie year. She smiled at the thought of Josh’s photo smiling out at everyone who came to visit her. He’d hang behind her and keep an eye on the hallway while she worked.

“Congrats, Emmy,” Alice said. “You deserve this.” She left her alone and clicked down the hall on her shiny heels.

Emmy set her tote on the empty desk. She rounded it and sank into her new chair. She smoothed her hands over the wood and allowed herself a moment to appreciate what she’d accomplished. She looked down at her slender, feminine hands atop a surface only men had utilized before. But it washersnow. She’dearnedit, and no one could say differently.