Page 18 of Sin

Relief hits so hard I nearly sag forward.

“I’ll call the board and let them know I won’t be available starting tonight.” I stand. “It’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

Somehow, I hope I’m right.

4

Laurel

I slept like crap. Not the kind of bad sleep where you wake up once or twice and roll over. The kind where your brain refuses to shut up all night long. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mason leaning against my desk. You think this is one-sided? Then I'd remember the wedding ring on his finger and immediately hate myself for even entertaining the thought. And god knows I’ve entertained it a lot over the years.

Around five in the morning, I finally gave up. If I’m going to be miserable, I might as well be productive. Which is how I find myself walking through SINsual headquarters while the rest of the city is still half asleep. The building feels different this early. No executives rushing to meetings. No sales teams arguing over forecasts. No Opal running an illegal gambling empire from her desk. Just silence.

I bypass my office completely and head straight for the research lab. If there's one person guaranteed to already be here, it's Jack. Sure enough, the moment I step through the doors, I find him hunched over a workstation studying a series of test reports. Jack is one of our lead scientists and one of my favorite people in the building. He's close to my age, tall and blond, with an easy smile and ridiculous dimples that make him look trustworthy even when he's explaining the mechanics behind vibrating silicone.

He glances up when he hears me enter.

“You’re here early.”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

His gaze sharpens immediately. “Bad night?”

“Terrible.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

Jack laughs. “Definitely a bad night then.”

I steal the stool beside his workstation and glance at the samples spread across the table. Prototype casings and internal testing reports. Things that normally make me happy. Today they just remind me of Napa. Which reminds me of Mason. Which reminds me that I may actually throw myself into traffic before next week arrives.

Jack studies me for a second.

“This have anything to do with yesterday's board meeting?”

I groan. “Everybody knows?”

“Laurel.”

“Right. Stupid question.”

The Sinclair family is basically the office version of a reality television show. Of course everybody knows that I challenged Mason.

Jack spins slowly in his chair.

“So.” His grin appears. “How badly did you scare the executives this time?”

“I told Mason Sinclair we don't sell toothbrushes.”

Jack immediately bursts out laughing. “Oh my God.”

“I stand by it.”

“You challenged the CEO in front of the board?”

“He challenged me first.”