Shattered Heart (The Hart Series) by Ann Stewart, Stephanie Nash Read Free Book Online

eyes moving from me to Janice, then to
Autumn, and back.  “Right…so, where are we going?” 
    Moving her index
finger between the two of us, Janice shows her feisty side, the one she doesn’t
show too often.  “WE are going out to eat.  Sorry Autumn, can we do it another
day?  Elyssa and I need to discuss some personal things.”  Autumn shrugs and
backs away, but not before appreciating Oliver from the back, not really leaving
the group.
    Oliver opens his
mouth to plead his case with Janice, but looks at me with pleading eyes.  “Oh
come on, Janice.  Can’t I tag along?  I promise to be on my best behavior.” 
Oliver stands back with a pout.  I giggle at his ridiculous attempt to win
Janice over and at his obvious attempt to ignore Autumn as she stands, batting
her long fake lashes at him.
    “You know she
has a boyfriend, right?  You think he would be happy about you making googly
eyes at her all the time.”  My eyes widen at Janice’s forwardness.  Of course
she knows about my relationship with Alex; however, she’s not quite up to date
with the events that have transpired since he left.  She knows nothing about
how I’ve ignored his phone calls and texts or about my impromptu trip to New
York.  Dang.  I really have been neglecting our friendship.  The heaviness in
my heart right now is probably the first sign that I should confide in her,
even if it’s just little bit. 
    To prove a
point, Oliver leans towards us with a sly smile, “I guess you’ve been out of
the loop, Janice.  Ely’s…well, she’s not with him anymore.  So no one should be
upset about my googly eyes.”  Oliver stands confidently, straightening his tie
and brushing off imaginary lint from the lapel of his jacket.  He looks handsome
in his business digs, but they don’t suit him.  He’s like a monkey in a suit; I
fight the urge to throw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt at him daily.  
    Janice’s mouth
drops in shock as she quickly turns her head in my direction.  I can see it in
the way she’s looking at me, the full weight of what Oliver just spewed. 
Janice puts two and two together and correlates my moods from the past few
weeks with my recent relationship status change. 
    “WE are
definitely having lunch alone today.”  Janice glowers before huffing in
Oliver’s direction as she strides back to her desk. 
    Normally
Oliver’s smugness wouldn’t bother me, but right now I want to slap the smile
right off his face.  It’s irritating as I catch him watching Janice walk away. 
He really had no right to talk about my personal business.  “She doesn’t like
me very much, does she?” 
    “She’s just
being my friend and looking out for me.  And, if you were doing the same, you
would’ve kept your mouth shut.”  Turning back to my computer I try to avoid any
further conversations with him.
     “Well, she
might not care for me, but I can see she’s a fan of your ex.”  I turn my head
in disbelief that he hasn’t walked away, and watch his mouth straighten into a
thin line as he glances in Janice’s direction.  “But it doesn’t matter anymore,
right?”  Oliver sighs in exasperation and pushes away from my cubicle wall.
    ~~~~~
    I miss you.
    Three
uncomplicated words.  Three words which cause an ache so deep inside me I feel
like I’m having a heart attack.  The last thing I expected to see adhered to my
front door is a bright yellow Post-It note; let alone those seemingly three
simple words written in Alex’s impeccable writing. 
    Today has been a
disaster.  After getting nothing accomplished during my lunchtime talk with Janice,
and trying to work through my dull afternoon, I was just starting to think I
couldn’t feel any worse.  But now?  Now, I’m gutted.  I used to be a breathing,
tangible human being.  But with seemingly simple words like I miss you, I’m a
hollow shell of what I once was.  He misses me…even after everything I’ve done
to him, he misses