AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Always.” Tabitha smiles back. “And please tell me you’ll keep coming to Book Club? The ladies are always meddling in my love life when you're not there."
I snort. “Are you saying you don’t want to hook up with Millie’s grandson?”
“Can you believe she said,” Tabitha lowers her voice, “that he’s not the brightest crayon in the box, but he’s good for casual sex?”
I give her a quivering smile, and my eyes well up with tears. “I’m really going to miss this place.”
“And this place is going to miss you.” Tabitha looks like she’s going to cry, which is my cue to leave.
“Amelia told me to take the morning off, so I’ll be back after lunch.”
“Speaking of…” Tabitha gestures across the library toward Amelia, who’s heading our way.
“Jane, there you are!” she calls out, looking surprisingly perky for someone who just fired me. “I called the lunchroom, but you didn’t pick up. I was worried you’d already left.”
My heart leaps. Did she figure out a way for me to stay? Did the Board change their mind?
Her eyes sparkle and she’s practically bouncing on the tiptoes of her Mary Jane’s. “There’s someone in my office who’s here to see you.”
“Go.” Tabitha squeezes my arm, and I can’t help the hope that blooms in my chest.
I hurry after Amelia. When we reach her office, she steps aside so I can enter first. Butterflies take flight in my stomach, and I draw a deep breath to collect myself before I step inside.
The man waiting for me is standing in front of her desk, examining one of the many paperbacks littered across its surface. His back is to me, and I can’t help checking him out. His perfectly tailored gray suit hugs his broad shoulders and tapers off at the waist, and his black hair is cropped short in a classic haircut that lends him an air of power. His black leather shoes are polished to a shine. He looks like he dressed to attend a library gala, not to check out a book on a Monday morning.
He’s definitely not a member of the Board. I see them all regularly, and none match his height and build. So who is he? And why is Amelia practically vibrating with excitement?
JANE
Amelia clears her throat. “Mr. Brooks, meet Jane.”
Mr. Brooks? As in billionaire Bryan Brooks?
He turns around, and my heart skips a beat when his brown eyes meet my own. The man looks exactly like he does on QuickStar—well, except that he’s wearing a shirt, which is open two buttons down, showing a hint of his world-class, world-famous chest.
You’d think that with him living on the hill overlooking our little town, I’d have seen him in person, but the man likes to keep a low profile. That or he hangs out in Moose Falls down the south side of Mansion Mountain. Why couldn’t he have given them the library robot instead of us?
He smirks when he sees me gawking. “Jane, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He extends his arm toward me. “I’m Bryan?—”
“No.” I shake my head and start backing away. “No, no, no, no, no.”
“What—” Bryan’s eyes narrow.
I spin away from him and rush out of Amelia’s office. I’m glad for my flats as I speed-walk across the library lobby.
“Jane, wait,” the bastard billionaire shouts, showing zero consideration that he’s in a library. His decibels and mine are from two different worlds, just like we are. But what else can I expect from the creator of Byron 1.0? Pardon me. Bryan 1.0.
I break into a run.
So does the asshole billionaire chasing me. His dress shoes pound against the marble floor in time with my flats.
I burst outside at breakneck speed. I’m lucky that I don’t mow down some poor person on the sidewalk in my panic to get away.
The street is relatively empty for 10:15 on a Monday morning. I’ve always loved working the ten-to-six shift. Mornings in Maple Valley are slow and lazy, and the walk to work is peaceful. But I guess that’s all gone now. The walk to work, I mean. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of slow, lazy mornings on my living room couch once I’m unemployed.
“Jane!” Bryan shouts from directly behind me.
I spin around to face him. “Why are you following me? Haven’t you done enough?”
