Page 65 of Mateo & Nicole
Even if she could find something close to what she had, there was little chance Mateo would give her a glowing reference. Maybe she needed to speak to Daniel. He was a supervisor of sorts. And he liked her well enough.
She groaned and pushed her hands into her hair. The last couple of weeks had been miserable. Knowing that Mateo was lying about visiting with Caroline had taken its toll on her. Then keeping up with the lies of seeing her old friend had only added to it.
Well, Nikki had learned her lesson. Caroline had always been toxic, and she’d proven that she wasn’t going to change.
Nikki went over the day that Mateo had broken things off with her a million times. That picture that Caroline had sent him—she’d been the mastermind behind it all. She’d said she was going to order more drinks, but she’d really only wanted to get Nikki into a position that would hurt Mateo.
And he’d believed Caroline.
Nikki didn’t have any more tears left. Mateo had believed Caroline because they were already spending time together—reconciling. If he hadn’t been interested in Caroline, he would have at least demanded that Nikki tell her story. Instead, he let her walk away.
And they hadn’t spoken since.
A shuddering breath left Nikki’s chest. She’d get through this. She’d been through breakups before. Paxton hadn’t seemed to notice too much since he was still getting riding lessons from Mateo.
Maybe leaving wasn’t the end goal. Maybe Nikki just needed to let the wound heal so she could move on. They could remain friends—as impossible as that appeared to be.
It would be impossible.
Yesterday, she’d locked eyes with Mateo, and for a brief moment she felt alive again, only to have him turn his back on her and for her to realize there would be no going back.
Her phone buzzed with a message, and Nikki glanced at the lit-up screen. Caroline’s name populated it. That woman had been silent since that day at the restaurant. She hadn’t reached out, and Nikki hadn’t been interested either. Whatever Caroline wanted to say, Nikki wasn’t going to hear it.
She snatched up her phone and immediately blocked Caroline on all platforms. Next she deleted all her messages. If there was one destructive force on this planet that needed to be wiped out, it was Caroline.
Nikki tossed her phone onto the stainless steel countertop of the kitchen with disgust and sighed again. She didn’t feel like cooking, but she’d have to start preparing dinner soon. Sure, she could have Jason and Mark whip something up, but that could put her job even more in jeopardy.
Mateo wouldn’t fire her for breaking up with him, would he?
No. He was too good of a man for that.
But he would let her go if she started slipping.
What was she going to do?
Come on, Nikki. Wipe your crushed heart off the floor and keep going. You knew this was a possibility. You knew that Mateo was out of your league when you gave him your heart. Who else do you have to blame? No one.
Her eyes shifted to her phone again. There was only one reason Caroline would message her after everything.
She would be gloating. That’s what she did. Once she got what she wanted, she made sure the world knew it.
Nikki’s lips turned into a sneer as she considered what that might mean. If Caroline showed up at Winding Creek Ranch on Mateo’s arm, that would be the end of everything. Nikki just didn’t have the strength for it.
The door to the kitchen swung open and Sophia entered, looking frazzled. “Nikki, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
Nikki lifted a brow and gestured to the kitchen. “Somehow, I think you knew this is exactly where I would be. It’s sort of my job at the moment.”
Not for long.
She couldn’t think like that. She needed to be strong.
Not only for Paxton, but for herself.
Sophia moved closer to her and leaned her forearms atop the counter across from Nikki. The island in the middle of the kitchen was the perfect place to prep everything, and soon it would be covered with ingredients. But for now, it was the only barrier keeping the two of them separated. “I’ve been thinking a lot about last week.”
Nikki stiffened. She’d asked Sophia to drop it. She didn’t want to talk about Mateo or what had happened. Why was Sophia bringing it up now? Did she know something? Nikki’s eyes slid to her phone, and now she found herself wishing she hadn’t deleted the message from Caroline. Maybe there was a chance she could call the phone company to retrieve it.
“Nikki,” Sophia said forcibly and reached for Nikki’s hand. “You need to talk about it. You need to tell me what happened so I can help.”
