About Last Night (About Last Night #1)(35)

My desk was smaller than the others, but today, that didn’t bother me. I sat down, got comfortable, and logged into my computer. I still had ten minutes before I was officially on the clock, so I reached into my bag and pulled out my cell.

Me: Is the happiness meant to last this long? My cheeks hurt from smiling. I don’t think I like it.

Behind me, a cautious voice asked, “What is up with you today?”

Gasping in fright, I clutched at my chest and spun in my chair. When I saw her standing there with narrowed eyes and tapping her foot, I sighed. “Jesus, Ella. You scared the crap out of me!”

She looked at me in a way that said ‘I’m onto you.’ Then she sniffed the air around me.

Brows almost to my hairline, I smacked her arm and whisper-hissed, “Stop it! You’re freaking me out.”

Just then, my cell chirped. I checked it quickly.

Quinn: Hell yeah. What did I tell ya? Amazing stress relief.

I smiled down at the display as Ella asked, “Who’s that?”

Sobering in an instant, I placed my cell face-down on my desk. “No one.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re clearly not crushing on whoever is textin—” Understanding dawned on her and she smacked my arm. “Oh, my God! You’re f*cking him! Who is he?” In-between my shushing and trying in vain to cover her mouth as she babbled, “Girl, you better tell me who this guy is. We are workplace BFFs. We don’t keep shit from each other!” I gave in.

“He’s just a friend.”

She grinned, her smile sly and catlike. “Yuh huh. Sure.”

I shook my head. “No, I swear. He’s a friend. That’s it.”

Her wild, curly hair falling over her shoulder, she flicked it back with a sassy flip of the hand. “Well, if he’s just a friend, you better be telling him about your sweet, sexy friend Ella who has more curves than he can likely handle. Tell him she really needs to get laid, you dig?”

In a moment of complete brainfart, I almost told her where she could hire him for the night. Slapping a hand over my mouth in alarm, I simply nodded.

As she walked away, she looked me up and down before muttering absently, “God, you are so weird.”

I slid back into my office chair, fighting a groan, and stared absently into my computer screen.

Damn, Ella… you don’t know the half of it.




Work was uneventful. This was probably because Addison had worked offsite today. It was as if the entire office was happier, in better spirits, because she wasn’t there.

And although I felt the same as the others, it was kind of sad that one person had the power to make an entire office full of people cower in fear.

In short…Addison was a super bitch.

Mom had invited me over for dinner, not that I needed an invite. The invitation was more of an order. I was avoiding her, and she was onto me.

Harry was waiting for me when I walked out of the office with a grin. “Yo, turd!”

Not quite reaching to his level of name-calling, I discreetly scratched at my face with my middle finger. I could not let my work peers hear me call my brother a douche canoe…or could I? I didn’t think the workplace etiquette pamphlet I received covered sibling name-calling.

Just as I approached the car, a hand stopped me, lightly gripping my arm. “Mia?”

I looked up to see my outer-office boss. “Nicholas.” I smiled, genuinely surprised. “Hi.”

My brother’s expression turned into a scowl. “Can I help you?”

Nicholas peered over at my brother. “I’m Nicholas Dietrich, Mia’s boss.” He spoke confidently and held out a hand, which I knew my brother would take. They shook hands and my brother introduced himself as I rocked back on my heels. “So…”

Nicholas ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry to bother you. I need to get into the office. Can I borrow your pass?”

Confusion crossed my face. “Why can’t you use yours?”

He looked at me, but glanced over at my brother before clearing his throat and explaining cautiously through gritted teeth, “Someone seems to have deactivated my card.”

Understanding dawned in my mind.

Addison. What a bitch. She couldn’t do that. It was his business too.

Harry cleared his throat and I looked up with an apologetic expression. “Can you wait a few minutes?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “If I get a parking ticket for your stalling—he pointed at Nicholas— “then you’re paying.”

Nicholas held up a hand in agreement. “Of course. I only need a minute.”

Harry nodded, puffing out a breath and waving us off.

We walked to the elevator in silence. Only when the doors closed behind us, he spoke, “How are you liking Addison Ltd?”

A beaming smile appeared on my face. “I love it. I love the people. I love the work-pace. I lo— Well, I like the boss.”

He snorted. “You do? I find that hard to believe.” He looked forward, but side-eyed me. “Has she given you ‘the talk’ yet?”

I shrugged. “What talk?”

He gently shook his head. “The don’t-f*ck-my-husband talk.”

My mouth gaped. I leaned forward and whisper-hissed, “She does that a lot?”