“You helped her do this.” Taking a firm step forward, he tries to speak, but I don't let him get out a single word. “Do you have any idea how hard I worked, and what this did to me? You two ruined my life, you destroyed everything I've worked for, and for what? What did I ever do to you, except like you?”
Holding my breath, I grab my lips with my fingers, and my eyes pop open wide.
Shit! I didn't mean to say that!
I'm such an idiot! My blood starts going and then I say something I never meant to.
Lyle's eyes are still, stunned, and his brows fold in hard. My eyes gloss over, devastated with how my life is going. Everything is ruined. My future. My dreams. And any chance with my crush.
Why does everything I touch burst into flames and turn to dust?
I can't do anything right.
I can't even fight for what I really want.
5
Dalia Present Day
“Well, how is it?”
“It's only been one day, Kira. And it's work, which is good, I guess.”
“Why are you doing that?” she asks harshly.
“Doing what?” I play dumb, trying to skirt around the conversation. I'm not sure I want to tell her everything.
There are two big reasons I'm leaving out details. And they both have the last name Vox.
“Seriously, Dalia, don't give me a generic answer like that. Is it horrible? Do you love it? Is it everything you thought it would be? I mean, you've been pining for a position in New York for such a long time, and now you have it. You must feel good at least. I mean, where's the excitement?”
Feel good. . . She has no idea.
Should I tell her?
There's so much temptation to drop this bomb on her, filling her in on the surprise of my life as to who my new bosses are. I'm also hesitant. I know how she is, and I know how she holds onto the past a little more than she should.
I feel like she'll want me to quit, and I'm not willing to do that. But Kira is also my best friend, and we share everything, there are no secrets between us.
Who am I kidding? I'll never be able to keep this from her.
Here goes nothing.
“Honestly, I love it. But you want to hear something crazy?”
“You know I do. What is it? They're putting you on the next cologne advertisement with Chris Hemsworth?”
Laughing out loud, I shake my head to myself. “Oh my God, can you imagine? I wish, but no. Get this, my new bosses are Sandy and Lyle Vox.”
“Get the fuck out of here!” she yells into the phone, and I swear she drops it at the same time. The speaker crackles with static, and she suddenly sounds really far away. “You're serious? Psycho Sandy is your boss?”
“Yeah, I know. It's crazy right? I couldn't believe it either. I never expected to see them when I walked in.”
“That's fucking nuts. And you didn't know it before you got hired?”
“No, I had my interview in the HR office on a different floor. Didn't see either of them until my first day. I guess I should have put two and two together, Vox Design and all, it just didn't click.”
She lets out a loud breath of air into the phone. “Wow, the fucking Vox twins. So, how did he look?”
“What do you mean, how did he look?”
“You know what I mean. Please, don't make me spell it out for you. How did he look?”
Giggling, I look at my reflection in the window of the side entrance door, and run my finger under my eyes, wiping away some stray eyeliner. “He looks good.”
“Just good?” Her voice is teasing, playfully higher than normal.
“All right, he looks really good. Hotter than I remember. There, is that better?”
“Details, girl, details. Give me something better than that.”
“Oh my God, Kira, you have no idea. He's so much bigger than when we were kids, like he's spent the last five years working out every day. He's so thick that his muscles have muscles.” Leaning back against the building, I tap my fingers against my thigh. “But it doesn't matter anyway, he's my boss. That makes him completely off limits.”
Kira lets out a loud laugh as she says, “Boss—who cares if he's your boss. You shouldn't let that stop you.”
“Who cares? I care. This is my new job, I don't want to risk getting it all muddy by getting mixed up with him. You remember what it was like in school. And I definitely don't want to get fired. Not that it matters, he's probably got enough girls to juggle, he doesn't need one more.”
I can picture her face on the other end of the phone, and the smile she's probably wearing. “You know what I've always said, if you want it, take it. That's the only way to do shit. There's no sense in waiting for it to come to you, go get it yourself.”
“Thanks for the advice, Dr. Phil.” Chuckling, I look at the time on my phone. “Shit, I hate to cut it short, but I got to go. Can't be late a second day, that would look terrible. I'll call you later, okay?”
“Don't forget! I want to hear more about this later. Try and snap a few sneaky pics of him to send me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I'll see what I can do.”
Hanging up the phone, I grab my stuff and head into the building. It's going to be my first day on the new project, and I have no idea what to expect.
The elevator doors open, and I nod at the secretary as I head to my office. Rounding the corner, I have my head down as I walk inside.
“Good morning,” Lyle says, causing me to jump in surprise.
Throwing a hand to my chest, I stop short. My head snaps up to see Lyle sitting at my desk with his feet up. “Good morning. I'm
