Not Pretending Anymore by Ward, Penelope (big ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Declan: Hey. Are you just getting off work? I was hoping we could talk.

I felt like I was in middle school as I watched the message go from Sent to Received to Read. My pulse raced, and I started to perspire again. At least I probably wouldn’t have to wait very long. Molly was usually pretty fast at responding to texts.

But a half hour later, she hadn’t written back. Rather than sit around and wait for my phone to chime, I hopped in the shower and started to get ready for work—which was a whole different can of worms. My boss, of course, knew I was coming back to Chicago. Two days ago, I’d told him I wanted to check in on how things were turning out before deciding whether or not to stay. He’d been great about the last-minute change. But he’d left it up to me to let Julia know, and I hadn’t done that yet. Obviously, I had some loose ends to deal with there, too.

By eight forty-five, it was time to leave for the office, and I still hadn’t heard from Molly. I knew she’d read my text, so I assumed maybe she was stuck in a delivery or something. I hated to leave for work without talking to her, but the ball was in her court now.

At the office, I found Julia in the conference room. The walls were all glass, so I could see in from the hall, but she was busy and didn’t notice me at first.

“Knock, knock,” I said opening the door.

“Declan!” Her whole face lit up. “What are you doing here?”

It looked like she’d been prepping for a meeting. A projector was set up at the head of the table, and she was placing packets of papers in front of each seat. But seeing me at the door, she stopped and rushed over. Since the conference room was a fishbowl, she looked outside in the hallway to check whether the coast was clear before reaching up and wrapping her arms around my neck. Julia pushed her tits up against my chest and came in for a kiss. Luckily, I managed to turn my head in time, and her lips landed on my cheek instead.

Ben, one of the two junior account executives they’d sent to replace me, came walking down the hall, so I lifted my chin and cleared my throat. “Ben.”

Julia probably assumed that was why I’d avoided the lip-lock and stepped back.

“Hey, Declan. How are you?” Ben said. “Julia didn’t mention you were coming.”

“She didn’t know.”

Julia beamed. “He surprised me.”

Great. Now she thought I’d wanted to surprise her rather than avoid talking to her.

“Does that mean I’m heading back to corporate early?”

I nodded. “It might. I told corporate we’d get together and see where things are and how many hands we need here before the launch.”

Julia’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, I know exactly the hands I need and where.”

Shit.

I was relieved when people started to file into the conference room for the meeting. It gave me a chance to escape Julia’s claws, but also and more importantly, to check my phone. Julia loved to put on a good show, so I took a seat and let her bask in the limelight while I surreptitiously stared at my cell, hoping to see a new message pop up.

The meeting lasted more than two long hours, but it wasn’t until five minutes before the end that my phone finally buzzed. My blood started to pump. But it was only Belinda checking in on me. I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I responded as vaguely as I could without lying.

Belinda: How you doing, cowboy?

I texted back.

Declan: Hanging in there. Waiting to talk to Molly now.

Belinda: Go get ’em, loverboy. Let all us girls know how you make out. We’re rooting for you.

Great. Now I was going to let down an entire lesbian bar if I struck out with Molly.

After the meeting broke up, people who had come in late stopped to say hello and welcome me back. When it was just Julia, me, and the two other account execs from corporate, she turned her focus back to me. “Why don’t you and I get an early lunch to catch up?”

“Umm…” I glanced down at my phone, which still had no new notifications, and nodded. “Sure. That’s a good idea.”

We walked to a deep-dish pizza joint two blocks from the office. Julia requested a booth, and a waitress came over to deliver waters and pass us each a menu. The minute she was gone, Julia got up from the other side of the table and slid into my side of the booth.

“What are you doing?” I looked over at her, confused.

She grinned, and suddenly I felt a hand on my thigh beneath the table.

“Uh, that’s not a good idea.”

She slid her hand up farther and cupped my junk. “No one can see.”

I covered her hand and removed it from between my legs. “Do you think you can sit on the other side so we can talk?”

She pouted. “All business and no fun makes Declan a dull boy.”

But when I didn’t acquiesce, she rolled her eyes and sighed. She also moved back across from me.

“Listen, Julia. You’re a great girl, but…”

She blinked a few times, and then her head reared back like she’d been slapped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?”

“You’re going to give me the it’s not you, it’s me speech?”

“Well…I…we…” I sighed and ripped the Band-Aid off. “I’m sorry. I met someone. And I’m really crazy about her.”

“In Wisconsin?” She folded her arms across her chest. “That was fast.”

I shook my head. “No, here in Chicago.”

“What do you mean here in Chicago? How long have you been back?”

“I just got in last night.”

“So how did you meet someone here in Chicago?”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “I’m in love with Molly.”

Her entire face twisted. “Molly? As in your roommate?”

I nodded.

“When did