“Unf.” I shifted, conscious of the crick in my neck from sleeping at such an awkward angle.

Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I looked around.

Oh, that’s right.

Last night, I’d fallen asleep on the couch with Carter. When I awoke in the middle of the night, I was confused and disoriented, alone on a strange bed in the dark. Lonely, I’d stumbled through the apartment until I found Carter asleep on the couch, then crawled on top of him and fell back asleep.

His arms around me felt cozy, and the steady thump of his heart beat in his chest beneath my ear. Despite the cramped accommodations, it felt safe and comfortable with him.

With the benefit of a night’s sleep between me and Gary, I felt more like myself, ready to face the world on my own terms instead of passively letting anyone tell me what to do. There were still things I needed to work on in myself, but at least I wouldn’t need to face Gary again.

Carter shifted and rested his chin on the top of my head, but his breathing remained the steady, predictable rhythm of someone deeply asleep.

Waking up with him every morning would be something I could get used to all too easily.

None of that, I thought. This should never have happened.

We may not have had sex or even made out much, but yesterday was a huge slip I couldn’t afford to make. Confronting Gary again had left me in a weak mental state and desperate for comfort and distraction, but that was no excuse for bending the rules. The rules were in place to protect me from this exact thing. Gary had shown me that I couldn’t place my trust or dependence in a man ever again.

Even if Carter seemed perfect.

Gary had once been a perfect gentleman as well, and he had almost ruined my life.

From now on, I had to follow the rules to the letter. One more date with Carter, and then we would never see each other again.

I ignored the part of my mind that rebelled against the thought.

Slipping off Carter, I rolled to my feet and brushed myself down. I still wore yesterday’s clothes, which was a problem if it was too late to go home before heading to work. Poking around the empty pizza box and scattered glasses, I found my phone hiding underneath a cushion.

“Fuck,” I said.

Carter snorted, and I froze. His eyelid opened halfway and twitched, then it shut and he rolled onto his side.

It would be hard enough to make it to work on time as it was. Clara wouldn’t care if I wore the same clothes as the day before. I’d just have to avoid Lorelei.

After gathering my things, I looked down at Carter. Even asleep and disheveled, he pulled off a messily handsome look that made me want to unzip his pants and wake him with a nice surprise. If he were my boyfriend, that’s the kind of thing I’d enjoy treating him with.

But he wasn’t, and I wouldn’t. I was afraid to even wake him up and face the goodbye, so I knelt to pat Rex’s head, shushing the puppy when he yipped, and then left the apartment.

My phone rang as I hit the street. I expected it to be Carter, wondering where I’d gone, but it was Lorelei.

I winced. Clara must have told her about the meeting with Gary.

“This is Madison.”

“Good work on the meeting yesterday.”

Lorelei sounded sincere. I searched hard for any hint of sarcasm but came up empty.

“Um, thanks,” I said. “Have you talked to Clara?”

“No, I’m not in the office today. I’m meeting with an influential group of executives at the yacht club this afternoon. I did just receive a call from Gary Morris.”

My heart stopped. “You did?”

“He says he’s considering our proposal, but he’d like to meet with you on Sunday to talk it over more. I told him you’d be there. His secretary is sending the details over to the office.”

“What?” My mind went numb. “I can’t do that, Lorelei.”

“You can, and you will. This will make or break us, Madison. You get this contract, and I’ll get you your own office and plate it in gold. You fuck up, and I might not have to fire you because Merritt won’t make it another quarter without this. Do you understand?”

Lorelei’s statement was so unexpected that I faltered in my response. Clara and I had known things were dire, but not that we were on the verge of collapse.

“But… wait, what? I knew things weren’t going great, but we still have some solid contracts. How did things get so dire?”

“That’s my problem. Your problem is this contract. Don’t disappoint me, Madison.”

She hung up. I stared at the phone, dread welling in my breast.

“Fuck!” I yelled, unable to hold back the emotions roiling through me.

It was the busiest time of the morning, and I shared the sidewalk with hundreds of other people making their way to their places of work. A few gave me odd looks, but most ignored me.