Chapter 24 24

Chapter 24 24
Karin's POV
I storm out of his office and down the hall, and I fall into the ladies’ room. I burst into the stall, sit down, and put my head into my hands.

Embarrassment filled me. I had just completely lost control and made a fool of myself. You stupid fucking idiot.
My heartbeat pounded through my body, and I was so angry right now that I couldn’t even see straight. His words came back to me: But you fucked that up this morning when you left like a two-year-old.
God.
Angry tears streamed down my face, and I wiped them away as quickly as they appeared.
Stop crying, you baby. I’m not even upset—I’m angry. Now I had to get off this floor without anyone seeing me.
Why was I fucking crying?
I knew why. Because I was sleep deprived, and I deserved to be treated better, that’s why. The fucking asshole. Who the hell did he think he was?
The longer I stayed in here, the worse it got. I washed my face, dried my eyes, and dropped my shoulders as I steeled myself to walk past reception.

I’m fine, fine . . . totally fine. Adrien Vale did not have the power to affect me at all. I opened the bathroom door and walked out, and Matt came around the corner. His face fell when he saw me. “Karin?” He frowned. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, of course.” I stormed past him.
“He’s had a bad day,” he called after me, and my eyes filled with tears anew.
Yeah, well . . . so had I.

“Where have you been?” Eva asked on my arrival back to my desk.

“I went and saw Rémi,” I lied.
“So where do you want to go tonight?”
“Oh.” I winced. I couldn’t think of anything worse. “I’m sorry, guys. I’m going to bail. I need to sleep.”
“But we want to hear all the juicy details.”
“Oh.” My heart sank. I didn’t want them to know that I was the world’s biggest loser. “We didn’t meet up last night. He pulled out.”
“What?” Maël frowned.
“Whatever. I don’t care.” I shrugged, acting casual. I wished I hadn’t told them anything at all about him now.
“Yeah, that’s okay. I need to save money anyway.” Maël sighed as he packed up his computer.
“You coming?” Eva asked.
“I’m just going to finish this up.” I opened my computer back up. The last thing I wanted to do was give the bastard a reason to fire me. I finished my task, and finally, an hour later, I closed my computer and headed downstairs.

I walked through the front doors and glanced up to see the black limo parked at the curb.
Shit.
I looked around nervously. Was he in there? Damn it, I didn’t want to see him. I power-walked across the street to the safe haven of the café. I ordered a drink and took a seat at the window.
Great. I dragged my hand down my face. Seriously, what was next? This was the last thing I needed.
“Here you go.” The waiter smiled as he put my iced tea down in front of me.
“Thank you.” I watched the driver across the road as he leaned on the limo, and I thought back to the other night when I was on my knees, and he tried to open the door, and it was locked. I wondered how long he had worked for him, how much he had seen. I watched as he answered the phone and then got in the car and drove off.
Huh? Was Adrien already inside the car? Why did he drive off? That was weird . . .

The front doors of the building opened, and a group of men walked out. Shit, it was them. I picked up the menu and covered my face as I peered through the window and across the street.

Matt, Elliot, Christopher, and Adrien . . . and the blonde girl who had been with Matt the other night. She was super trendy, and her work clothes looked like they belonged in a modeling shoot. The boys looked so similar. Elliot was the most like Adrien, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Then Matt and Christopher looked alike, lighter hair with a curl. They were talking as they walked, and Adrien said something with a straight face, and they all laughed out loud.

What did he say?

They walked around the corner. Elliot put his hand affectionately on Adrien’s back as they crossed the road while deep in conversation. I watched them walk up the street and then go into a cocktail bar.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes with a huge, sad sigh.

Ugh, I just wanted this day to be over.