The socialite killed Kelly’s reputation among Manhattan high society. The gossip sites covered the sordid affair for weeks—Design icon caught in bed with employee (and godson)! Wealthy heir ensnared by cougar!—and, in an attempt to save his own ass, Matt declared Kelly forced him into the relationship. He also spilled all her dirty secrets, including the tactics she used to get back at those she felt had wronged her. Among them: sending a PSA to all the design studio heads in New York, telling them not to hire Farrah because she was insubordinate and difficult to work with. Kelly claimed she’d been about to fire Farrah anyway before Farrah quit in a childish tantrum over not receiving a promotion.
Matt’s accusations fell apart after a gossip columnist dug up the history of filthy, very much un-coerced texts he’d sent Kelly over the past year. He fled to Chicago with his tail between his legs; Kelly took an extended leave of absence from KBI and was reportedly hiding out upstate.
Meanwhile, Farrah had been inundated with messages from her former coworkers and interview offers from companies who’d been radio silent until news of Kelly’s deception broke. She was glad she finally knew for sure what happened, and that her reputation in the industry was no longer in tatters, but she couldn’t help feeling bad for her ex-colleagues. A lot of them had to look for jobs elsewhere, given KBI’s new client stream had slowed to a trickle.
Farrah herself hadn’t replied to her interview offers yet. If this were a few months ago, she would’ve jumped on them in a heartbeat, but now, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to work for someone else. She enjoyed being her own boss, and she was even getting the hang of the business side of things. Sort of.
“I’m just saying.” Olivia’s voice brought Farrah back to the present. “It’s snowing like crazy out there. Blake’s probably freezing.”
Farrah’s heart seized at the mental image of Blake standing outside, shivering in the storm. “He’s not out there.”
“It’s seven. He usually doesn’t leave until eight or nine.”
“You said it yourself. It’s snowing like crazy. No sane person would be outside right now.”
“No sane person would wait outside their ex’s building for two months straight, either,” Olivia retorted.
Farrah resumed packing, but her heart wasn’t in it. “When did you turn into a Blake apologist?”
“Since I saw how miserable you are. You can ignore him all you want, but if you really wanted to get rid of him, you’d have called the cops on his ass a long time ago.”
“He’s not breaking any laws,” Farrah murmured.
“I’m sure you could make a case for harassment or something. At the very least, you could’ve tried. But you didn’t.” Olivia’s tone softened. “Babe, you can’t keep going on like this.”
“I won’t. I’m leaving for L.A. in a few days, and I’ll be gone for a month. Once I come back, Blake won’t be here.” Farrah folded a denim jacket and stuffed it next to her dress.
“If you say so.” Olivia pursed her lips. “I’m going to take a shower before this storm knocks out the electricity or something.”
“It’s not snowing that bad!” Farrah yelled after her, right as a fierce howl ripped through the air outside.
There was no way Blake was out there. Right?
Don’t do it, Farrah Lin. Don’t you dare.
With a groan, Farrah threw on a coat and shoes, grabbed her keys, and stomped outside. She was furious with Blake for being so persistent, with Olivia for putting the suggestion he might be outside in her head, and with herself for caring.
She opened the door to the building and flinched when a blast of icy air almost knocked her over. The ground was blanketed in thick, powdery snow, and the cold soaked through her layers of clothing until it clawed at her skin.
Farrah didn’t notice. She was too busy staring at the figure shivering in the corner. He stood beneath an awning, but it was too small to prevent the snow from collecting on his hair and coat. There was an alarming blue tinge to his skin.
Her breath rushed out in a gust of shock and anger. “What t
he hell are you doing?” she demanded. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”
Blake’s eyes lit up. “You came outside.” Then he frowned at the sight of her thin coat—she hadn’t put on her parka for such a quick trip—and slip-ons. “You must be freezing.”
Farrah wanted to cry. “I’m freezing?” She grabbed his arm and yanked him inside, trying to ignore the shower of sparks that erupted in her belly. The door closed behind them, shutting out most of the cold, but Blake continued shivering. No wonder—he was soaked from the melted snow. A messy ball of emotion clogged her throat. “What are you doing outside in this storm? Are you crazy?”
Blake lifted his shoulder with a slight furrow in his brow. “I told you I’m not going anywhere. Not until you give me a chance to explain.”
Farrah wanted to scream. “You could’ve gotten hypothermia!”
“Worth it.” His lips curved into a small smile. “At least you’re speaking to me.”
He was certifiably insane.
They could’ve argued all night, but pale blue still tinted Blake’s skin, and if he didn’t warm up soon, he really was going to catch hypothermia.