The next day I slept till almost noon and woke up in a fog. Christian had personally signed off on our paid leave, so I didn't have to go in. The company gossip chat, though, had blown up.
Lucy DM'd me.
Lucy: Stella, oh my God! Was what your brother said in the lobby yesterday true?? Does the boss really have your name tattooed on his lower back?! What is going on between you and the Grim Reaper?!
I played dead and didn't answer.
After hiding out at home a whole day, I had no choice but to suck it up and go back to Mercer Tech the third morning. All day I tried to stay as far from the CEO's office as I could. Every time somebody stared thoughtfully at the waistband of Christian's suit pants, I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me—and the Empire State Building with me.
Christian
