Chapter 3
Aria’s POV
“So you’re telling me this guy made out with you in the backseat of his car… and then just shoved you off like nothing happened?” May asked in shock.
20 minutes later, I was sitting at her place, wrapped in one of her oversized hoodies, a steaming mug of tea in my hands.
But I was still reeling from everything that had just happened.
“Yup,” I muttered. “Who knows what’s wrong with him.”
“What an asshole,” she huffed. “But honestly, this really isn’t like you. You dated that jerk Jace for 4 years and didn’t even sleep with him -which, by the way, was a brilliant choice–and now you’re suddenly making out with a complete stranger in his car?”
I opened my mouth but had no idea what to say. Yeah, she had a point.
“I–I don’t know. Maybe it was the whole Jace–getting–married thing. Maybe I just snapped and wanted to screw around with someone hotter just to get back at him… Honestly, it was so stupid now that I think of it.”
She grinned and wiggled her brows. “So… he was hot huh?”
My cheeks flushed and my mind drifted back.
Those stormy gray eyes, his perfectly shaped lips on my neck, and those arms that could pick me up like I weighed nothing…Shit I need
to stop.
“Yeah. VERY,” I whispered, hiding my red face behind the mug.
May burst out laughing. “Now we’re talking! That’s exactly what you need right now–a drop–dead gorgeous rebound to get that loser Jace out of your system. Screw your ‘no sex before marriage‘ rule. Life is short.”
I gave her a weak smile.
Honestly, I didn’t need a rebound. I needed a job, money, and a place to live. Grayson Hart was like dessert when you can’t even afford dinner.
“So… do you even know who this guy was?” she asked.
I hesitated. Right at this moment, the doorbell rang.
She jumped up to get it and came back a few minutes later, hauling in my luggage, her face frozen in disbelief.
“OMG. You are not gonna believe what just showed up outside.”
J
“Umm… my luggage?” I joked.
“Two fucking muscular guys in black suits and guns! And a freaking stretch limo! They called me ‘ma’am‘ and said they hope Miss Aria has a wonderful evening. Now, you-”
She leapt at me and shook me by the shoulders.
“-you tell me right now who the hell you hooked up with!”
I squealed and dropped into the couch with her, laughing and giggling breathlessly.
“Okay, okay–I’ll tell you. It was… Grayson Hart.”
I practically whispered his name.
Because honestly, I still couldn’t believe it either.
May froze, eyes wide as saucers. “Grayson–THE Grayson Hart?! As in our Alpha? The CEO of Apex?!”
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9:18 AM
Chapter 3
“And Jace’s soon–to–be brother–in–law. Now you know how stupid I was earlier?”
She let out a full–on scream. Then she grabbed my hand, her face flushed with excitement. “Oh my God! Aria, do you know what this means? Alpha Grayson never even lends his jacket to his model girlfriends. He likes you. You’re special!”
“No,” I said firmly. “If I was special, he wouldn’t have thrown me off his lap when I tried to take off his shirt.”
“Maybe he had somewhere to be-”
“Don’t, May. Let’s be real. Guys like him don’t fall for girls like me.” I took another sip of tea, hiding the ache in my chest.
Hell even Jace thought I was beneath him.
What chance did I have with Grayson freaking Hart?
“Don’t be silly, Aria. You’re gorgeous. And smart and amazing and–WAIT! I just had the best idea ever.”
“What?”
“That arrogant jerk Jace thinks you’re just some small–town prude who wasn’t good enough for him right? But what if you ended up with Alpha Grayson? It’ll be easy to get him because he’s already obsessed. Oh, it would destroy Jace. That dickhead would never recover.”
OKAY.
I’d be lying if I said that exact scenario hadn’t crossed my mind when Grayson kissed me back.
What girl hasn’t daydreamed about dating the perfect guy and getting revenge in the most dramatic way possible?
But right now, I couldn’t afford to daydream. Reality was already breathing down my neck.
“Tempting. But right now I need a job and enough cash to keep Grandma in her hospital bed. Dating rich dudes isn’t exactly high on my to–do list.”
May looked at me with soft eyes. “So…any plans? I can try to hook you up with a job, but you know I just work at a coffee shop, and with your degree, you deserve so much more.”
I hugged her. “Thank you. Really. I’ll figure something out. Apex promised me severance when they fired me, so I’m going to HR tomorrow to get it sorted.”
If I could get that money, at least I’d be OK for the next round of Grandma’s medical bills.
The next morning, I showed up at Apex right on time.
But the second Brielle walked in with the HR manager, I had a bad feeling.
“What’s she doing here?” I asked coldly.
“I’ll explain in a minute,” HR replied with a polite, rehearsed smile as she sat across from me. “So Ms. Collins, I understand you’re here to discuss severance?”
“Yes. So let’s not waste time. Just give me the check and I’ll be out of here.”
“Unfortunately, severance only applies when the company terminates a contract without cause. In your case… it appears you were let go due to misconduct.”
Misconduct?
What the freaking hell.
“Jace made a snap decision and booted me. What misconduct are you talking about?”
“But that’s not what Mr. Carter said. He provided evidence that you made a costly error on a sales quote–omitting a few zeroes, to be exact. Cost the company millions. Here’s the email record.”
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Chapter 3
She handed me a printed sheet.
I swore I had never sent this email in my life. But there it was–my name in the sender field.
No freaking way.
Jace forged this.
“And Mr. Carter reported that you had a difficult attitude toward your coworkers. Quote: ‘impatient and arrogant. Brielle’s here to verify
that.”
Brielle twirled her hair and smiled smugly. “Yeah. Aria was a horrible team player.”
I stood so fast my chair screeched. “The only thing I didn’t ‘teamplayed‘ with you was flirt with the boss in the breakroom!”
“Liar!” she yelled. “And I asked Jace. He never said my voice was screechy!”
Oh my God. I couldn’t believe how stupid she was.
“Sit down, Miss Collins,” HR warned. “As of now, not only are you not getting severance, but we’re also considering legal action to recover the losses. If you understand the situation here, sign this acknowledgement-”
“Does Alpha Grayson know about this?” I asked.
Both of them froze. After a long pause, HR finally found her voice. “What does Alpha Grayson have to do with any of this?”
“He owns Apex, doesn’t he? Does he know his team is abusing their power and firing hardworking employees illegally?”
HR frowned. Brielle let out a loud snort. “Please. Don’t act like you know Alpha Grayson.”
“What if I do? What if I go to him and then it’s you who gets fired?”
She laughed in my face. “Oh, you mean you know him on TV?”
“Let’s find out.”
I shoved my chair back and stormed out, heading straight for the CEO’s private elevator at the end of the hall. HR scrambled after me, shouting my name.
I was too furious to care how this ended. All I wanted now was to blow the whole damn place up.
Two guards stood by the elevator.
“I need to see Alpha Grayson,” I told them.
“Appointment?”
J
“No, but I swear he knows me. Just tell him it’s Aria–from yesterday. He’ll remember.”
“You aren’t the first girl here saying that,” one of them mocked.
“Come on, Miss Collins,” HR snapped, trying to drag me back. “This is getting crazy. Go back, sign the paper. Take responsibility for your own mistake.”
“I did
“Alp!
“I be
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