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“What?” Luke said irritably.
“You look like shit.”
“Unless you have something work related to talk about, I’m not interested in chatting.”
Mark didn’t reply, and they sat silently for a few minutes before Luke blurted out, “I broke it off with Jane.”
“What? Why?” Mark said. “I thought you moved her to my department so you could date her.”
“I did, but then I found out something…”
Luke stared miserably at Mark. His best friend leaned forward and said, “Tell me what happened.”
* * *
Half an hour and a shot glass full of whiskey later, Mark put his feet up on Luke’s desk and leaned back in his chair. “You’re an idiot. You know that, right?”
“You’re not helping,” Luke said.
“I am,” Mark insisted. “You need someone to be straight with you, and I’m the asshole who’s gonna give it to you straight.”
“Fine,” Luke said. “Get it over with.”
“You’re in love with Jane Smith. That’s fucking easy to see, and you went and screwed it up because you hate that she fucked that wanker from the club. You hate the fact that Jane had sex with someone you think is beneath her.”
“That’s not it at all,” Luke retorted. “She sleeps with her boss, Mark. That’s what she does. She sleeps with them for their fucking money. I was just another boss for her to fuck and take advantage of.”
“You asshole,” Mark said. “Did you even listen to her side of the story?”
“No,” Luke admitted.
“So, you’re taking the word of that scumbag at the club over the word of the woman you love. A ridiculously sweet woman who went so long without food that she passed out in your goddamn office. A woman who has worked two jobs for how fucking long to pay for the care of an old woman who isn’t even her family. She lived in the fucking Badlands with no heat and no electricity in the middle of the goddamn winter. When you made fun of her wardrobe, she bought clothes instead of food.”
Luke winced, but Mark continued mercilessly. “She’s a good person, and you know that. Even if she did the stuff that the dillhole at the club said she did – people make mistakes. Don’t condemn her for her past. She loves you for who you are. Do the same for her. Do you have any idea how lucky you are to get the chance to be with the woman you love? Don’t throw that away, you fucking asshole.”
Luke stared at his best friend in silent shock. Mark glared at him before dropping his feet to the floor with a loud thud. “You can still fix this with her. Get on your goddamn knees and beg for her forgiveness if you have to.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Luke groaned. “Fuck, I’m such an idiot.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying,” Mark said. “Where are you going?”
Luke had jumped up and headed toward the door. “I’m going downstairs to talk to Jane.”
“She’s not here today,” Mark said.
“What? Is she sick?”
Mark shook his head. “No. She cc’d me on her email to Kyla. Her foster mother is in the hospital, and she asked for a personal day.”
Luke swore loudly and yanked his phone from his pocket. He dialed Jane’s number and cursed again when it went straight to voicemail.
“Did she say in the email what hospital?” he asked.
“No.”
“Shit.” He thought for a moment before googling the number for the care home. He waited impatiently as it rang twice before Bev answered.
“Bev, it’s Jane’s boyfriend, Luke.”
