TIFFIN 2

6

Hey everyone! I hope you're having a good start to your day ❤❤ just so you all know, Jo will be coming back soon. I miss her so much 😭
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"Why on earth are you letting him leave?" Brendan whined, looking like he were ready to collapse.

"Who, Hero?" I asked, trying to make it appear as if I could care less. 

"Yes," Brendan fanned himself once more, "Forget about Cole. My, my. All those piercings, tattoos, and biceps... If you won't take him, honey, I will."

"I think I'll pass," I replied, making my way over to the shelves, "He's my ex for a reason."

As I skimmed through a binder listing all the different board of directors, Brendan kept digging further. 

"Oh, an ex, huh? Do you still love him? If so, I'll back off immediately."

Thinking about this fact, I had a sudden feeling that Hero didn't play for his team, either. 

I set the binder on my desk, trying to distract myself with the peeling plastic.
 
Brendan sighed. "You do love him. I can tell."

This caught my attention. I went to sit at my raised chair. 

"How can you tell?"

Brendan smirked.

"Women's intuition, I suppose. I've seen so many different interns go through this and never follow through with the relationship. I know he loves you back. I saw it on his face. If he was willing to force his way past our receptionist, he's definitely worth it."

"I can't take him back," I said, "Not after everything we've been through."

Brendan raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't that be the very reason you should take him back? Because of everything you've been through? How bad could it have really been?"

"He did many unforgivable things, but he hurt me more than I could have fathomed."

Brendan frowned. "How badly did he hurt you? Not physically, I hope."

I shook my head adamantly. "No, never physically. He's not like that... He just..."

I trailed off, not sure if I could share something so private. 

"I can't really talk about it."

Brendan looked at me sympathetically. 

"I understand. What do you say we take a night out for macchiatos or drinks at a bar. I'm sure Cole would want to tag along- only as friends if that's what you want."

When he saw my uneasy expression, he back-peddled.

It's not that I didn't like Cole; he seemed like a well-put-together guy, but that was exactly the problem. I didn't want to give anyone any false pretenses.

I could definitely control myself around another guy, couldn't I?

"We don't even have to bring him along. We could make it a girls night."

I grinned at this. "Oh, that sounds perfect. I could invite my friend Josephine along, though she'd like something a bit calmer."

"That sounds great." Brendan replied, "Now we better get to work before Tawnee catches us off-guard. If I fax you a list of clients, could you file them accordingly and set times for their interviews?" 

I smiled. "Certainly."

Later as the day went on, Tawnee had arrived without any sign of Cole. I thought I was off Scott-free until there was an announcement about the company meeting with corporate.