Lost Me while Chasing Her

Hours later, I heard the faint click of the front door opening.

Vince Doyle was home.

As usual, he barely acknowledged me. He hung up his coat, climbed into bed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

A woman's perfume still clung to him.

I turned away, but his phone kept buzzing on the nightstand. I picked it up and saw several messages from Lauren Barrett.

[Thanks for coming over and staying with me tonight. Natalie isn't upset, is she? I promise I'll apologize to her in person when I get the chance.]

I stared at the screen, my vision beginning to blur. Then I scrolled through the rest of their conversation.

The messages were openly flirtatious, and Vince responded to her more often than he had ever responded to me. With her, he was nothing like the cold, distant man I knew.

My throat tightened as I typed a reply.

[He's asleep. And no, I'm not upset. You can talk to him tomorrow.]

I locked the screen and set the phone back on his nightstand.

I picked up my pillow, about to head to the guest room when a hand suddenly closed around my wrist, its warmth seeping into my skin.

I froze.

Without opening his eyes, he murmured, "Lauren, I'm here."

I studied Vince's handsome face and let out a bitter laugh.

Then I pulled my wrist free and left.

Early the next morning, the guest room door flew open. Vince stood there adjusting his cuffs, his voice low and accusing.

"Why would you say something like that to Lauren? She's young and sensitive. You know that. Besides, she's just my new secretary. What do you get out of giving her a hard time?"

I looked up and met his furious gaze. "Just your secretary? What kind of boss calls his secretary's name in his sleep?"

Vince stiffened, a flicker of discomfort crossing his face. "There's nothing between us except work. I say her name all day, so it must've slipped out. Stop being so petty."

I looked away and nodded calmly. "Fine. From now on, you can say her name as much as you want."

He suddenly grabbed my arm, his voice sharpening with impatience. "Lauren and I haven't done anything wrong. Stop twisting everything into something it's not."

I lowered my eyes and pulled my arm free. Then I straightened his collar, my voice still calm.

"You haven't done anything wrong. I see. You're just the kind of boss who goes out to buy tampons for his secretary, right?"

Vince's back went rigid, and his expression darkened. He took a deep breath.

"Her period was really heavy, and you didn't have enough tampons, so I went out and bought her more..."

My hands stilled, and I looked up at him. "How thoughtful. You even keep track of your secretary's period."

The truth was, I had noticed plenty of other signs lately.

Cartoon mugs, lipstick, and even clothes she had left behind started appearing around the house.

I just hadn't bothered confronting him about every little thing.

Vince frowned, straightened, and slipped his hands into his pockets as he looked at me coldly.

"Natalie, I've explained this to you over and over again. You've changed. You're becoming completely unreasonable."

The moment he finished speaking, his phone chimed again.

It was the same custom alert from the night before.

"Go," I said evenly. "Otherwise, she'll just show up here looking for you."

It wouldn't be the first time.

Vince opened his mouth, hesitating for the first time. In the end, he still turned and walked away.

I slowly let out the breath I had been holding.

Then, I looked down at the map spread out in front of me. I picked up a red pen and circled a small southern town.