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Does Ahimsa involve doing something that will hurt Cam terribly if he finds out?
Not everything is about sex.
Are you sure?
My phone buzzes, announcing a text. I glance at it and see Cam’s name. Oh, holy fuck. I lean forward and bang my forehead on the desk. These men are going to drive me insane.
I pick up the phone. Hopefully it’ll be a loving message that’ll bring me to my senses.
How does cheesy pasta sound for dinner tonight?
From Cam, that’s as loving as a romantic message. But it doesn’t have the same effect on me as the text Henry sent this morning. I pull it up.
I burn for you. I need you. I love you. Just so you know.
Disgusted with myself, I toss the phone on the desk and lean back in my chair. I’m the worst human being that ever lived. In fact, I’m not even a human being. I’m an insect. Or an amoeba, floating in primordial soup and somehow still managing to get its knickers in a twist over the amoeba swimming next to it.
The intercom beeps, and I lean forward and press the button. “Yes?”
“Your first appointment is here, Juliette.”
I sigh. They’re early. I need to get my head into gear. “Thanks, Rose.” I get to my feet, grab my white coat, and pull it on. It’s my last day in the office today. I have two appointments this morning, but then this afternoon it’s the office party, and after that we break for Christmas. I won’t have to see Henry for a few days—not until we go to Damon’s wedding. Cam is supposed to be coming with me to that. I grimace. Henry is not going to be happy about it, and Cam isn’t exactly going to be ecstatic either. He doesn’t really like any of the guys I work with, Henry least of all.
I’m not going to think about it now. Leaving the office, I head for the main treatment room, and decide to lose myself in work.
*
I keep myself busy all morning. At twelve-thirty, I take my sari to the bathroom, pin it in place, touch up my makeup, and then head for the main office workroom. The food has arrived, and the office staff has laid out the sandwiches, sushi, hot savories, mince pies, Christmas cake, and a hundred other things on several tables, along with bottles of bubbly and orange juice. Christmas music is already playing, and laughter and conversation rings throughout the building.
At one o’clock, I round up James, Tyson, and Alex, who are all still working, and bully them into the workroom. They start circulating, thanking the staff for their hard work during the year.
I’ve organized the Secret Santa, and not long after, Henry appears wearing a Santa suit and begins handing out the named presents. I move around the room, avoiding him, but of course eventually he has to come over to me.
“Here you go,” he says softly, handing me a present with my name on it.
I don’t look at him. “Thank you.”
He hesitates. I don’t look at him, though, conscious of Alex standing not far from us, and unwrap the gift. Henry goes to say something, but in the end he walks away, over to the next person.
I study the book about the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, my vision blurring, and swallow hard as Alex walks up to me.
“Nice,” I say brightly. “Haven’t read this.”
“How are you doing?” he asks.
“Great.” I ball up the paper and toss it into one of the nearby black rubbish bags.
“Everything all right between you and Henry?” he asks.
“Mind your own business,” I snap. He lifts an eyebrow, and my face heats. I lift my chin. “If you want to know if it’ll affect our working relationship, it won’t.”
He frowns. “Hey, give me some credit. I’m worried about you.”
Oh God, these guys. Why do they have to be so nice to me?
He dips his head to try and catch my eye. “Are you still with Cam?”
“Yes,” I reply, because Henry is my work colleague, and I’m not supposed to have feelings for him.
