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“That’s so juvenile It’s like little kids who pull girls’ hair because they like them”

“I ht not be eight years old anyuy You don’t want to face the possibility of getting hurt again, so you shoved her away before she could get close Unfortunately, you didn’t keep shoving and the attraction won out”

I still thought it sounded coot to work, but I was pretty sure Cole was right My track record oood, and when I let myself, I could still feel the bitterness of the ones who used ain, and as soon as I saw Merry, I felt a snap of need for her The attraction was i she was beautiful to craving to know uard up andas hard as I could I didn’t want anything to do with her If I just convinced her of that, eventually the feeling would wear off

At least, that’s what I toldwhat the hell I was supposed to do next I had to talk to her That was obvious This wasn’t a television show or bad o on about our lives to a soundtrack of sappy, watered-down music We had to be upfront and honest about the situation and talk our way through it It wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation Definitely not one I was excited to have, but one that had to happen If it didn’t, we’d be stuck in a never-ending cycle of aardness

The reality was, I had no idea as going on in Merry’sforward I needed to cut off any thoughts at the pass andto fire her Evento pursue her, either Neither one was an option Moht I had it inhappened between us But she was possibly also capable of the same reaction if she kneas as reckless and unprofessional as I had been at the bar

As much as I didn’t want to think about it, I knew there was a chance Merry could react badly to the whole situation It was entirely possible she could have woken up, realized what happened, and felt like I took advantage of her That was the last thing I wanted to happen Not just because I would never want her to feel that way about ry and press sexual assault charges That was a looht that made my stomach turn

I hung around in the breakroo e It was so her, but I wanted to be able to start the conversation as soon as she got into work The earlier we could get it over with, the sooner the questions would stop rolling throughwould leave my stomach

I heard the telltale sounds of Merry coave her a fewit on her when she wasn’t prepared Not that this was the type of conversation you could really prepare for When it sounded like she was ready for the day, I got a cup of coffee for her and walked into her office

“Good ,” I said

Merry looked up at htly There was a startled look in her eyes, and I realized it was part fro else I hated that Hated that she felt that and hated even more that it was my fault

“Hi,” she et out

“Can we talk?” I asked

She nodded and gestured toward the chair across from her I stepped further into the office and closed the door behind me Nobody else needed to hear this conversation Brandon was the only other person from the office who knehat had happened between Merry andto spend his first day of work spreading gossip about his little sister and the boss around the complex I offered her the cup of coffee, and she took it froers touch my skin