The Rule Book (Rule Breakers #1)(73)

“I’m not greedy. It’s not every day I commit company espionage.”

She argued a little more and then gave a clipped, “Good-bye.”

As soon as she got off the phone, I opened the stall and our eyes met in the mirror’s reflection. Her eyes widened a fraction, but she kept the rest of her expression motionless.

If anyone in the company had the capability to hack into my account, it would be the tech guru. Why hadn’t she been the first person I thought of when this happened? Oh, yeah, because friends didn’t set each other up to take the fall for espionage—obviously rule number five in the friendship manual. “How could you?”

She gave a pitying look. “Money’s money, Lainey. I couldn’t pass that up.”

All I could do was stare. How could she be so cold to a boss that gave her a job, a damn good one at that. “You could. I did.”

“Then you’re stupid. Didn’t you say your mom was sick? Why not use that for her?”

I scoffed, disgusted. “Because I’m a decent human being. I’m not willing to screw people over because of money.” I shot her a look through the mirror. “And next time, you should really check to see who is in the bathroom before you talk about corporate espionage. Pretty sure there’s something in the rule book about that.” I gnashed my teeth together, keeping anything else I had to say safely pressed behind my lips. She didn’t deserve to be chewed out. She deserved handcuffs and a jail cell. Never in my life had I wanted to punch someone, but I so did.

I shook my head. Someone who’d be willing to throw someone under the bus obviously wouldn’t understand anything else I had to say. I walked past her in silence and left her in the bathroom alone.

This whole company was backward today. My boyfriend/boss/whatever thought I was a liar and a life-ruiner, and my only friend here screwed me over. The real world blew.

I strode over to my desk and took one last look around me. Good-bye to the stupid set of rules that I failed to follow. Good-bye to the first assistant who thought I was lazy and incompetent. Good-bye to the one person who shredded my heart into confetti-cut pieces.

I grabbed my box and headed for the elevator.

Just as the doors opened, Brogan came rushing out of his office.

“Lainey, wait,” he said, out of breath as he sprinted toward me.

“Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. I’m done with you. Oh, and you might want to check Zelda’s computer and call log. I think you might find you’ve got it way wrong.”

I clutched the box’s cutout handles and lifted my head proudly as Betsey’s doors zoomed open. I walked into the elevator and pressed the first floor button for the very last time, then turned to face Brogan. I blinked away tears and managed to fix my features into something that remotely conveyed the proper amount of screw you. His face fell, and it took everything in me to stay put and not run to comfort him. Our eyes locked, and I took solace in knowing that nothing could quite possibly hurt worse than this.

“Good-bye, Mr. Starr.”





Chapter Twenty-Five


Lainey Taylor Rule of Life #13

No one’s there for you like your mom.

By the time I got back to the apartment, Zoey was already there with a carton of rocky road ice cream and store-bought brownies sitting ready on the counter.

She ran to me and wrapped me in a hug. “What the hell happened?”

“I was framed.” I burrowed my head into her shoulder, wishing I could escape from this whole day. Seriously, I thought only people in lockup said this crap. I grabbed the bowl of ice cream and flopped down on the couch. “By Zelda.”

“What? Why would she do that?”

“Money.” I stabbed my spoon into a chunk of chocolate. “Brogan’s dad got to her, and she set me up to take the fall. She even used my login. My clients. The evidence was stacked against me.”

“He really didn’t believe you?”

I shook my head and swallowed past the thickness in my throat. “No. Not initially.” That was what hurt the most. Not being fired and having zero income now. It was that Brogan and I had finally gotten to a place where we trusted each other. I could see myself with him. A future. My bright future now felt like sand sifting through my fingers—gone, and impossible to pick up the pieces.

“Then he didn’t deserve you in the first place. What an asshat.”

But that was the thing—he wasn’t. Brogan was a lot of things, but that word was only saved for the Do Not Use pages of his employee manual. Deep down, I knew that I should be angrier, but I understood where he was coming from. This was his company, his life. He’d do anything to keep it afloat, even if it meant firing me. How could I ask him to choose between me and his life dream? I couldn’t.

…

The next day, I pulled the masking tape over the last of my boxes and kicked it toward the front door. A lot could be accumulated over the course of five months, and I barely had enough room in my Corolla to get everything down to Portland.

Zoey wrapped her arms around my neck and sniffled into my shoulder. “What am I going to do without you?”

“The same as you always do. Work. Binge on Gilmore Girls. Just do me one favor and don’t get your next roommate off Craigslist. I hear there are a ton of crazies on there.”