Flawless Ruin

“The opportunity?” My mouth hangs open. “But—”

“One hundred thousand dollars,” she says with a gleam in her eye. “Of course, I’ll split it with you. I know you need the money for your mom—”

“No,” I shake my head.

“Oh, okay, then you use it for other things,” she says with a smile, coming up to me and putting a hand on my arm. “Really, Juliet, I was doing you a favor. Caleb Sterling goes through women like tissues. No man is worth missing out on this kind of cash.”

I stare at her. Doing me a favor. Exactly what Olivia said to me. Why does everyone seem to think they’re helping me? Are they that delusional to think this would make me happy?

“I don’t want the money!” I shout, cupping my hands around my mouth and nose, unable to believe this. “I can’t believe you did this! Going to Olivia behind my back—”

“Wrong.” Standing there in her bra, she fists her hands on her hips. “Olivia came to me. She told me she was worried you wouldn’t be able to go through with it. And she was right. You needed that extra push. Believe me, you’re going to thank me, one day, when you look back at this.”

I scowl at her. “Believe me, I’m not.”

I whirl to head to the bathroom. If I have to look at her one more second, I’m going to go ballistic.

She calls after me, “Oh, come off it, Juliet. Were you really thinking Caleb and you had sticking power? That man is a dog.”

That’s it. I’ve had enough. I face her, so full of rage I can’t see straight. “If that’s the way you think, I don’t want to be roommates with you.”

Shock melts to indignation. “Fine! I don’t want to be roommates with you, either! You’re already living in fantasyland, anyway, if you thought Caleb Sterling actually cared about you.”

It hits me like a slap. That and his words: You were just a fun plaything. That’s all. They echo around the apartment like a gunshot, hitting me straight in the heart.

“Get out,” I spit, pointing to the door.

She scoffs. “My apartment. My lease. You get out.”

Oh. She’s right. It is. “Fine!” I sneer, stomping back toward my room and slamming the door. When I’m in there, I look around. Guess it won’t be my room for long.

I sink down onto my bed, wondering where I put my suitcase, and it hits me only seconds later.

I have absolutely nowhere to go.

* * *

I wait until lunchtime,when Vicki and most of the staff are out, to collect my things from the office. I don’t want to see anyone.

I wear my hair in a ponytail, and glasses instead of my contacts, hoping people won’t recognize me. It’s a lame disguise, I know, but I’m desperate to avoid them. I even take the back stairwell up, fifteen flights.

The second I step out of the door, I realize how stupid I’ve been. Not only am I breathing like a large, dying animal, no one ever comes in through that door. So people look. Head down, I feel their gazes, hear them whispering behind cubicle walls.

When I get to my desk, I practically throw myself at it, find a cardboard box, and start loading in my personal items.

I’m just finishing up, ready to bolt out the door in the next few moments, when a voice says, “I heard you were here.”

I look up to see Mara. As glad as I am that it’s the one friendly face in this building, I bristle. News travels fast, apparently. All the way down to the art department, in what? Five minutes?

“Hi. Sorry, I can’t stay. I’ve got to—”

She steps forward and notices the box. “What? Why are you leaving? Did they let you go?”

I don’t want to go into it, so I just nod. “I was hoping to get in and out before anyone noticed, but—” I let out a short, high laugh which does nothing to disguise my misery. “Apparently, I failed.”

“Oh, honey,” she says, putting her arm around me. “You look terrible.”

“Thanks?” I laugh because I know she’s right. “I mean, it’s not just the job. I had a fight with my roommate, and now I need to move out.”