I can't verbally respond. I just nod as my eyes fill with the sting of hot tears. Come to think of it, my whole face feels hot. And my body. My lungs can't get enough air—my stomach clenches and launch myself at the trash can.
All of the fancy dinner—and drinks—comes right back up. The acrid sting of bile burns my nose and throat. I let out a pitiful groan, which quickly turns into another retch.
Nora steps back with a disgusted look on her face. "Brooke, are you drunk? How much did you have?"
"Two," I manage to respond between heaves. "Only two. Not—hurk—drunk."
"Ugh," Nora huffs. "I'm getting ahead of myself—I'll be right back. Don't… just stay there, okay?"
The only answer I can give is another horrible dry heave. God. What a horrendous fucking night this has turned out to be. On the list of things I never want to do in front of work people, puking into a trash can is pretty high. So is getting caught fucking Dustin. But here I am, puking my guts up, sobbing uncontrollably,aftergetting railed to within an inch of my life.
Seriously, fuck my life.
"Brooke?" Dustin's voice echoes down the hall.
"Yeah?"
"I'm so sorry."
Another flood of tears drench my cheeks. No, Dustin, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I got youwrapped up in my dumpster fire of a life. If I hadn't teased him—if I hadn't drunkenly called him over to Janine's, if I hadn't poured my life grievances into his lap, we wouldn't be in this mess. We'd have a professional, if icy, relationship.
The thought squeezes my guts, and I double over the trash can again.
"Oh, god." The door opensagain,and my boss, Kelly, rushes over to me. "Oh, sweetie. Here, I brought you some ice water, can you drink it? What happened?"
"Don't answer that," Nora snaps. She files back into the room with not only Kelly but fuckingTravis. The CEO—or rather, outgoing CEO—of DropTop.
"Fuuuuuuck," I groan and tilt my head back, willing the tears to stop flowing so goddamn freely.
"Why can't she answer me, Nor? What's going on?" Kelly wrings her hands and looks back and forth between myself and the group.
"There's going to be an investigation, and I do not want anything she says to taint the outcome."
"Jesus, what'd she do?" Travis chuckles. "Steal office supplies? C'mon, Brooke. If you really needed printer paper that bad, you could just ask me."
"Urgh."
This is the worst day of my life. This is worse than finding out Calvin cheated on me with… however many people. This is worse than when Huey threw up on my clothes literally thirty seconds before I had to leave. This is worse than literally anything I can think of. Ever.
"Alright, now that we have two witnesses, Brooke?" Nora claps her hands together, making me wince from the sudden noise. "Brooke, you are officially on leave pending investigation. You are not to have any contact with Dustin Sanders. You are not to utilize or access any company devices, servers, accounts, or personnel—with the exception of myself, Travis, and Kelly. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," I grunt.
Kelly shoves the cup of water at me and gives me a concerned look. "Please, honey. Drink this. It'll help."
Somehow, I really don't think it will.
Janine, who I just remembered I put down as my emergency contact, bounces nervously on the balls of her feet as I disembark the ship. Nora and Kelly flank me on either side, and I just feel numb. Maybe I'm dehydrated from puking up everything I've eaten and drank for the past ten years; I don't know.
"Oh, thank fuck. I thought you were dead!" Janine shrieks and nearly tackles me.
"Please, no loud noises," I whisper and scrunch my eyes shut.
"What happened? Why is she like this? What's going on?" Janine whirls on Nora and Kelly.
"I apologize for the inconvenience—" Nora starts.
"Nora, let me handle this," Kelly interjects. "Brooke has had a bit of a rough night. Can you make sure she gets home safely? Maybe to a doctor tomorrow, if the vomiting doesn't stop? Maybe the ER?"
