Page 40 of It Must Be Love

"Stop saying that."

"It doesn't matter what I say, Darren," I quip, "it's how I feel. Amias just articulated it."

"Amias is a dickwad."

"That I can get on board with."

"So, when you gonna resign?"

"Tomorrow," I told him brightly. "He's expecting it, so I'm sure there won't be any drama. And honestly, I think he'll be happy to see me go."

"How are things with your brother and Kara?"

I shrugged. "Neither of them has reached out to me, and I haven't contacted them either. I know he's not the greatest brother, but I didn't think he'd skip our father's death anniversary for lunch at The Langham. That's just too much for me. I've forgiven him for a lot, but this... this is the last straw."

"And you miss the kid?"

"Like no one's business. And just because of Magnus I may have to find a way to make it work with Nolan and Kara."

"Yeah. I'd do the same. Kids are innocent and shouldn't pay for their parents being morons," Darren consoled me and then grinned, "Why don't we go for a walk around the common, indulge in some more holiday spirit, and then find a bar to indulge in spirits?"

"I like that idea very much."

I was still in high spirits on Monday when I walked up to Amias' office with my resignation in hand. Mila fell in step with me.

"You going in to tell him now?"

I'd given her a heads up that I was resigning. She was unhappy about it but not surprised. It was late in the evening, so Amias' executive assistant had already left. I'd looked at his calendar and he was free between six and six thirty, so that was my opening.

"You mind if I come with you and get a couple of contracts signed? I just got them in, and they need to go back to the vendors ASAP."

"It'll be nice when Ethan comes back, and you don't need to run to the CEO for every small thing," I murmured.

"Tell me about it!" Mila agreed. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

"Hanging out with a friend and his friends," I told her.

She knocked on the door. "Yeah? Close friend?" She opened the door, and we both stepped in and gasped.

Amias was kissing Ann rather passionately. Her back was to us. At the noise, he lifted his head, and Ann turned to see us. We stepped out and banged the door shut.

"Oops," Mila muttered. "Should've waited for him to say come in. I wasn't paying attention."

My poor heart agreed with her as it broke into a million pieces.

Foolishly, when Darren had said that Amias may have a thing for me, a part of me, the stupid one, decided to believe it and maybe build a few castles in the air.

But here he was kissing his girlfriend, his hands on her waist. His eyes had been glazed over when he saw us with what I assumed was arousal.

We waited outside for what seemed like forever. While Mila talked about her Christmas plans, I barely paid attention, focusing on keeping my emotions off my face.

A lifetime later, which was about fifteen minutes, Ann came out of the office, wiping her mouth and looking like she'd just gotten laid. I felt my throat constrict.

"So sorry about that," Mila immediately said. "I wasn't thinking and opened the door."

"Oh, that's fine," Ann grinned. "Hi, Naya, how are you?"

"I'm well. And you?"