can confirm that your dick hole frowns,” Jackson said.
He pointed at me and smiled.
Then he walked out of the office.
I shook my head.
Sometimes I wondered if I needed a new best friend.
The day moved by in a fury of emails and phone calls.
That’s just how all the days were.
Right around lunchtime I spotted Jacob in the hallway with his fiancée.
She was a pretty young woman.
Janelle.
The other interns gave him hell for being so serious so young.
But Jacob and Janelle met in eighth grade and started dating when they were juniors in high school. He went to law school and she became a nurse.
There was nothing wrong with their life or what they were doing.
They were in love and happy together.
I strolled to my office door.
Janelle had a brown paper bag with her.
As she lifted it, David swung by and swiped it out of her hand.
“David, come on,” Jacob said.
“Bringing you lunch? Is she your mother?” David asked. “Let’s see what’s in here…”
I let out a whistle.
They all looked at me.
“Put that bag down on that chair,” I said and pointed.
David put the bag down.
“Now rip it open,” I said.
“What?” Jacob asked.
“Stay out of it, Jacob,” I said. “David, do what I said.”
David ripped the bag open.
A bunch of random food fell out onto the chair.
“Now plop your fat ass down,” I said. “On the food.”
“You want me to sit on Jacob’s lunch?” David asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Sit. Squirm. Make a mess of yourself. Right now.”
“But I-”
“You’re fired,” I said.
“Shit, okay,” David said.
He sat down and wiggled his ass, crushing the food and making a mess of the chair and himself.
“Now,” I said, “stand up and go find something to clean the chair with. And don’t ever act like that again.”
David’s face turned red and he hung his head as he walked away.
I nodded to Jacob. “Stand up for yourself, kid. Knock his teeth down his throat.”
“Won’t Jacob get fired for that?” Janelle asked.
“Not sure. And even if he did, at least he’s sticking up for himself.” I walked closer to them in the hallway. “You two doing good? Is the distance hard?”
“It’s not bad,” Jacob said. “We still see each other… a few hours a day…”
“It’s tough,” I said. “Just stay true to each other.”
I reached into my pocket and slipped some cash into Jacob’s hand.
“Go buy your fiancée a fancy lunch,” I said. “On me. Take two hours. Treat her right.”
Jacob smiled at me.
The two hurried away, hand in hand.
I went back into my office and grabbed my phone.
Hey… remember when we were young and dumb and in love? ;) Can we act that way again later? I might be able to find my old skateboard and show off for you.
I had another ten emails waiting.
Miranda texted me back.
Can’t talk right now. I have no clue what you’re talking about… skateboard? You know how to skateboard? Don’t text again. Okay? Sorry.
I laughed and tossed my phone aside.
Of course Miranda didn’t know about my skateboarding past.
When I met her, I had already turned myself into the clean-cut version of Liam that cared and wanted a career.
I hated that it seemed like there was no middle ground between the two.
But I knew one thing.
Marrying Miranda meant the other version of Liam would be gone for good.
Chapter Four
Emily
I took my apron off and gently placed it on the counter and put my hand on it.
The front of the bakery was starting to calm down.
I was getting ready to leave.
Lucy was in charge of closing up, as she did most days.
We only stayed open until three.
Some days Lucy would keep the doors open later, depending on traffic.
Ember usually worked until closer to five.
She liked to stay ahead on orders and was obsessed with cleaning the back of the bakery.
I was so lucky to have Lucy and Ember.
That was something I never took for granted for a second.
Any dime the bakery made, I split three ways.
They deserved more, but it just wasn’t feasible.
“That was a crazy morning,” Ember said as she turned and leaned her butt against the counter.
“What was?”
“You got dumped.”
“Oh, that?” I asked. “That was… that was nothing.”
“Girl, he dumped your ass,” Ember said. “In front of everyone.”
“No. That was just a disagreement.”
“Emily, you’re crazy,” Ember said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “And even if he did… dump my ass… oh well. We weren’t married.”
“You two were together for a while.”
“Less than a year.”
“More than a month.”
“So anything over a month is long term for you?” I asked.
“This is about you,”