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"Let's get going then."
She let Max set the pace, which was pathetic. After a mile, she overtook him and listened to him strain to catch up. After two miles, he fell behind several hundred yards and she took pity on him, slowing to a stop and waiting for him to catch up. Eventually he came to a stop in front of her, leaning both hands on the back of the bench as she stretched out her legs.
"What are you running from?" he asked after he'd caught his breath.
"Nothing," she said, her voice even. "I just needed to run."
He gave her a wry smile and also began to stretch. "What have you got planned for today?"
Oh, you know the usual, she thought.Purging my memories of Beau. If only it were that easy. "I'll be going into work later."
He raised an eyebrow. "It's your day off."
"I'm also the boss, so I don't need to explain myself to you."
Max lifted his hands up defensively. "Whoa. Chill, Vee. I was just asking."
Evangeline bit her tongue and looked away. "I'm sorry," she told him softly, then looked back in his direction. "I'm being a bitch."
He put down the leg he was stretching and studied her. "Yeah, you are, but there must be a good reason for it."
"It's nothing."
His hands hitched onto his hips, and she bit her lip to stop from laughing. "I've been told I'm a good listener."
She looked at him, weighing up his offer. Despite being friends, she was still his boss, and he was still her employee. If there was anyone she should be talking to, it was Natasha.
She cleared her throat. "I'm sure you are, but maybe later." Glancing at the time, she added, "It's almost eight thirty. We should be getting back."
She waved goodbye to Max at the corner of her block, then went back to her apartment for a shower. She washed her hair as quickly as she could, hoping to catch her best friend before she got bogged down with meetings and clients.
"Vee," her friend said, her voice muffled.
"Bagel?" Evangeline asked.
"With cream cheese," Natasha replied. There was an audible swallow. "You'll never guess who Chastity is dating now."
She rolled her eyes. "You meanalready."
"Same thing," Natasha said. "Anyway, you remember the guy from the bar."
"Which one," she drawled, running the towel through her hair.
"I don't know—the blond one, maybe?—anyway, she's dating him now."
"So who won the bet?"
Natasha snorted. "Neither of us. Anyway, that's not the reason you called me, is it?"
Vee put the phone on speaker and pulled some clothes from her closet. "No, it isn't. Have you got lunch plans?"
"Only with my best friend."
Evangeline smiled. "I'll swing by your office around twelve."
"Is there any reason for the date?"
Vee shoved her legs into some skinny jeans. LA humidity or not, she didn't give a fuck. Besides, everywhere you went nowadays had the AC cranked. "I need your advice."
