He looked up at her. “Do you have a PhD in psychology?”
She shook her head. “I don’t.”
“You didn’t write that book, did you?”
Rose shut her eyes and covered her face with her hands. “No, and I’m so sorry, because I love this job and I respect you so much and–”
“I’ve been going around the country telling everyone what an amazing psychologist you are.”
She stared at him. “I know.”
“The entire sale to Phoenix is based on me telling him you’re marvelous, and vouching for you, and saying you’re one of a kind.”
“Iknow.”
He could hear his voice getting louder, but he couldn’t stop it. “There were news stories written about you! If they found out you lied your way into this job, it would ruin the credibility of the company, we would lose clients, we wouldn’t be able to sell, and I’m pretty sure Barney would jump off a dock!”
“I know!” She yelled back. “This isn’t what I wanted to happen.”
He stared at her. It felt like he was looking at Rose, the woman he knew well and trusted.
But it wasn’t Rose, not really. She was essentially a stranger. It was uncanny, and truth be told, he felt a little sick. “This isn’t a game, Rose. These are people’s livelihoods.”
She started backing out of the room, her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I’m–”
She turned and disappeared through the door.
Chapter Twenty-five
Crying at work was in the top three of Rose’s least favorite activities. She hated that she was a crier. It’d been this way since she was a kid, and though she’d gotten much better about getting yelled at, tears could still surprise her when she least wanted them to spring up.
Normally she could hold it together until she got to her car, or at least to the bathroom. This time, however, it wasn’t holding.
Rose skirted out of Craig’s office and kept her head down on the way to grab her coat and purse. A few tears slipped out as she waited for the elevator, but thankfully no one was there to see them.
In the lobby, she picked up her pace, and once outside, she broke into a run, tears streaming out of her eyes and dropping off her cheeks in droves.
She ran for two blocks, until the tears slowed and her face dried. Her lungs were on fire and she stopped, looking up between the buildings. Rose had the urge to keep going, to walk down street after street after street, to wander until the sun set, until she was somewhere else, untilshewas someone else.
But her shoes kept slipping off her heels and she was gasping for air, so instead, she called her sister.
“Hey, hey,” Lillian said, answering after a few rings. “How’s it going?”
“Lillian.” Rose took a deep breath. “I told him.”
“You did? Did you tell him everything?”
Rose could feel her lip starting to quiver. “Uh huh.”
“What happened? Are you okay?”
Rose wanted to answer, but a sob swelled in her chest and burst through her mouth. “I don’t know.”
“Where are you? I’ll come and pick you up.”
“I don’t know where I am.” She looked around, blinking into the sunlight. “I mean, I’m in Seattle, but I ran away from the building. I don’t think I’ve ever been this direction.”
“Well, go and find a Starbucks, then send me your location. I’m in town for work today. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
