Jake opened his phone and scrolled through his contacts to verify that he indeed had Shayla’s number. He wouldn’t call her right now, especially if she was about to get bombarded by her friends. He’d wait and see what they found out. But after that, he was going to swoop in and lay claim to the woman. He’d waited long enough. It was time.
Chapter 2
“Why do I get the feeling I’ve walked into an intervention?” Shayla asked as she stepped into her condo after working. She’d had a relatively short day with a quick flight out and back.
The living room of her condo was filled with all her friends, which was a feat in and of itself considering how often they were all off work at the same time. She was half-kidding when she pointed out they looked like they’d staged an intervention, but considering the lack of response and the looks on their faces, she decided perhaps she’d been right.
Raeann, her roommate who’d moved in when Bex moved out to live with Bracken, spoke first. “We’re worried about you.”
Shayla frowned at all of them as she headed for the kitchen and grabbed a wine glass. There was an open bottle of white wine on the coffee table, and she picked it up and filled her glass before dropping onto the sofa between Christa and a very pregnant Bex.
She should have seen this coming. She’d been out-of-sorts for a while. All of her girlfriends would notice. She just hadn’t felt like sharing. But it was time.
Christa cleared her throat. “I hate to tell you this, but nasty rumors are spreading about you at work.”
Shayla cringed and then drained the rest of her wine in one gulp. “Great. Wonderful.” She stared at her empty glass. “Do I want to know what they’re saying?”
“No.” This response came from at least three of them at once.
“What happened with Hawke? You said you two broke up a while back, but you never talked about it,” Bex asked.
Shayla sighed and leaned her head back against the couch. “Turned out he was a dick and I broke up with him, but he apparently doesn’t like to be dumped, so he’s still texting me and calling all the time.”
“Shit, Shay. That’s awful,” Libby said.
Shayla nodded. “It is. I guess he’s decided to spread rumors about me now. How childish.”
“For what it’s worth,” Christa said, “the rumors aren’t believable to anyone who’s ever met you.”
Shayla took a deep breath, glanced at the bottle of wine, and then decided against getting drunk and set her glass down on the coffee table.
“Maybe you need to report him,” Libby pointed out.
Shayla shook her head. “I’d rather wait him out. He’ll get bored eventually and find someone else to harass. I won’t let him get to me. Who would believe me anyway? He’s a senior captain who’s been with the airline for twenty-five years. I’m just some dumb flight attendant who was stupid enough to fall for his charm and sleep with him.”
“You’re not dumb.” Bex grabbed her hand. “He shouldn’t get away with this.”
Shayla turned to her. “What do you think would happen if I went to HR? Especially if he’s already spreading rumors about me. I’d be the one to lose my job. Not him. I like my job. I’d much rather ride the wave and ignore the gossip.”
“I get it.” Raeann nodded as she tucked her black hair behind her ear. The stylish white streak she kept in the front got almost buried when she tucked it back. “I’d probably do the same thing. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where people often believe the woman.”
“I agree,” Christa responded. “It sucks, but you’re probably right. HR would waggle a finger at you and tell you it was bad judgment to have dated him in the first place.”
“And clearly it was,” Shayla added.
“You couldn’t have known he would turn out to be a dick,” Bex said as she squeezed Shayla’s hand.
Libby clapped her hands on her knees. “So, what can we do to help? You’re in a funk lately. Your usually bubbly self is nowhere to be found.”
“You need a distraction. A new man,” Raeann suggested.
Shayla groaned. “The last thing I need is another man. I’d rather wallow in my self-pity for a while and ride this out.”
“I hate that plan,” Christa said. “Let’s at least go out this weekend. Dancing. Drinking. You’ll feel much better if you get out of the condo for a while.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass for now. I’m not feeling it.” Shayla didn’t even want to guess what rumors were being spread about her, but if her friends could see the texts or listen to the messages, they would be appalled.
“Okay, but if you change your mind, you know we’d all be here for you in a heartbeat. And you have to know we’re doing all we can to squelch the rumors when we hear them.”
Shayla smiled at Christa and nodded. “Thank you. You’re the best friends a gal could have.”
Chapter 3
Jake had no idea if his decision to show up unannounced at Shayla’s condo was a good one or not, but here he was anyway. When all the women got home last night and shared what little they knew with their men, Jake’s phone had started ringing. The men were rightfully concerned, and so was Jake.
Granted, he didn’t know Shayla very well, and it was definitely not his place to interfere, and there was a good chance this would backfire on him, but he couldn’t sit back and let Shayla deal with some asshole harassing her.
It wasn’t simply because Jake had been eyeing Shayla for a long time. It was partly because he wouldn’t sit back and let
