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Wanda shook her head, frowning. “Your ex? I don’t know anything about him. The person who ratted you out was Lori.”
The news hit with the force of a punch to the gut, and Marissa’s mouth fell open. She stared at Wanda in disbelief. “What?”
Wanda nodded her confirmation, her gaze sympathetic.
A cold wave of shock washed over Marissa. She couldn’t move. Her heart pounded a drumbeat of disbelief in her chest.
“Why would Lori tell Arnie about my relationship? How did she find out…?”
Her mind raced, replaying past interactions at the office. Each time she had given Lori advice, each time they had joked about the hot rich guys coming into the office. Each memory was a fresh stab, and the bitter taste of disillusionment coated her tongue.
Did Lori find out that Garlique was owned by Bruno and put two and two together that they were involved? Marissa had shared her food with her! Or did she guess from the day that Bruno brought her lunch from his tavern?
“We were friends.”
Wanda pursed her lips. “You might have been a friend to her, but she wasn’t a true friend to you. Lori really wanted to be a matchmaker, and with you out of the picture…”
Wanda didn’t need to finish the sentence.
“A position opens up, and she becomes the next matchmaker right away. She doesn’t have to wait.”
Wanda nodded again.
“She acted surprised when security escorted me off the floor, as if she had no idea what was happening to me and why. Yet she was the reason Arnie found out in the first place, and she had to have known what the repercussions would be.”
The betrayal cut deep, and now she understood why Chet had been adamant he hadn’t contacted her employer. He had been telling the truth. He really was innocent, and she owed him an apology.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. We’re going to miss you. Rick was really bummed he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. When you have a free moment, give him a call.” Wanda pulled out a card and wrote a number on the back. “That’s my personal cell phone, not the company phone. Don’t be a stranger, and if I can help you in any way, let me know.
“Thanks, Wanda. I will.”
They briefly hugged, then Wanda left to go to work. Marissa looked after her wistfully. That used to be her.
With a deep sigh, she went back inside the coffee shop and found an empty table.
The resume writer arrived ten minutes later, and they worked on her resume right at the table, on his laptop. When they left an hour later, she had a new resume and two sample cover letter templates she could use to apply for positions. During the interview, he said roles in sales would best fit her skill sets. No surprise there. She had the same thought and was pleased her ideas matched his.
She drove home more optimistic than when she left that morning. The meeting with the resume writer had filled her with a renewed sense of hope. She was so focused on her future and searching for potential jobs that at first she didn’t see Bruno seated at the bottom of the stairs.
She came to a dead stop. He was a sight for sore eyes in a white short-sleeved shirt that showed off his muscular torso and biceps. Despite his delicious appearance, he seemed haggard, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. She would have the same appearance if not for the magic of makeup and a cold compress that drastically reduced the puffiness under her eyes from the lack of sleep.
He slowly rose to his feet. “Hello, beautiful.”
Her chest squeezed tight, and her fingers tightened around the keys in her hand. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“You ghosted me.”
“I was going to call you.”
“When?”
She shrugged. “Soon. I have a lot going on, and I didn’t—couldn’t talk.”
“What’s been going on that you couldn’t talk to me?”
Marissa released a tired breath. “Arnie fired me on Thursday.”
“Why? What happened?” Bruno asked in alarm.
