“What do you mean? You’re not stupid. Far from it.”
“I’m smart, but so incredibly dumb when it comes to men.”
“Is this about your ex?”
I nodded against him. “That’s why I’m in this mess in the first place. When I found out he cheated on me, I got really mad and went off on him. So, then he took my credit cards and went crazy. He bought the new girl all sorts of shit, and bought himself a ton of stuff, too. He even opened new cards in my name that I didn’t know about, and when he was gone, there was nothing I could do. I owe over ten thousand dollars in credit card bills and then I have to pay for rent and utilities on my own too, now. It’s such a mess. That’s why I have to keep this job.”
“That horrifying!” Bryce exclaimed. “Did you call the police? Or a lawyer?”
I shook my head.
“Why not? That’s theft. He should be in jail for what he did to you.”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I’m really stupid when it comes to men.”
“Honey, trust me, that’s not a real man.”
“And Cooper is?” I said, skeptically.
“I have no idea what kind of man he is, to be honest. I’ve certainly heard my fair share of stories. But, that’s not really my point. I just mean that you are worth so much more and you never deserve to be treated that way.”
I sniffled, doing my best to get myself together. It wasn’t like me to be such a basket case. But everything that had happened was piled on top of me and making it hard to breathe.
“I’m so sorry, Allie,” Bryce said.
“Thanks. He was such a dick.”
“Cooper?” he asked.
“No, my ex.”
“Yeah, he sounds like a real piece of work.”
“He was a piece of something…”
Bryce laughed and I smiled through my tears.
I pulled out of the embrace and wiped at my eyes. “Thank you for always being so kind to me,” I said. “You took a chance on me by even helping to get me this job and I know you’re done your best to help me through everything. I hope I’m not making you regret it.”
“Absolutely not. I know we can get this whole thing figured out. I think this is the turning point. We need to turn the page. The Plush ad fiasco is over with, so now you can get back to the computer training and we can stay in our department. I’ll have to deal with Rita, but that’s part of my job, not yours. So you shouldn’t need to interact with her going forward. Let’s put this all behind and move on.”
“Deal,” I agreed, feeling a little lighter.
A knock on the door broke into our moment.
“I hate to interrupt,” a voice chirped from the doorway.
I looked up and saw Brittany, Rita’s main assistant, standing over us, her perfect, Barbie doll smile plastered on her perfect, Barbie doll face. I frantically wiped at my face, sure that all I managed to do was spread my wet mascara all over my cheekbones.
“Yes, Brittany?” Bryce replied.
“Rita needs to speak with both of you, immediately. Please follow me,” she answered, never dropping her sugary expression.
What the hell did Cooper ever see in this girl? I started to wonder as I stared at her in disbelief. If this was “his type” then I was out, for sure.
I guess that was already settled, I reminded myself silently.
A new wave of tears rushed to my eyes but I blinked them away.