with her. Her presence filled parts of Claire that she didn’t
think would ever be anything but hollowed out. She reached
up and rubbed at the ache behind her breastbone while still
trying to swallow down the lump that stubbornly remained
wedged in her throat. Was that what it meant to fall?
She should have been shocked, but maybe the real shock
was in that she didn’t feel very shocked at all. She wasn’t
surprised and she wasn’t appalled. She’d had too much time to
think. Too much time to fixate. Too much time to need. She’d
wondered what was wrong with her, and now Jenny had given
voice to it.
“No. No, I’m not falling for her.”
“Then you’ve already fallen. I’m sorry, I used the wrong
tense.”
Claire wanted to throw back her chair and stalk around her
office. She knew any tells would give her away. Jenny was
like a bloodhound with a scent in her nose and she wasn’t
going to give up easily.
“No. That’s not what’s happening. Yes, I did things with her
that I shouldn’t. She’s beautiful and she’s got this allure…”
That was too much. She hadn’t meant to say that. It made her
sound pathetic. “I’ll make it stop. But I can’t send her
anywhere else. That would be giving in to her father and he
would double cross me again. Even if he didn’t, it would make
me look stupid. He’s already made me look more than stupid
on one occasion.” It had ruined her career, that night. All her
dreams were ruined. If her father had been alive at the time, he
would have laughed with glee at her misfortune. He was one
of those grandstanding people who loved to say I told you so.
“Send her to an apartment in the city then. Or go stay there