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Saturday afternoon, Stacey and I head to the yoga studio. She doesn’t want to let me out of her sight any more than she has to. Plus, Stacey loves yoga too.
    We end up next to a statuesque young woman who looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place her. We strike up a conversation with her after class, and she’s a great person. Candy is funny, smart, and she reminds me of somebody, but again, I can’t quite figure out who it is.
    We all go out to dinner, and Candy can’t seem to relax. She keeps looking over her shoulder like someone is going to come after her at any moment. After a glass of wine, she calms a little bit and tells us she’s been hurt badly in the past. I assume she means by an ex-boyfriend, and I can identify with that. Her paranoia also makes me feel a little better about my own. I’m sure I’ve been looking over my shoulder the whole night as well.
    Josh keeps calling me, but I’m still refusing to talk to him or even answer his text message. Even if I didn’t hate him, it would still be safer this way. Still, I can’t keep my mind from drifting back to his body and the way he makes my body feel.

Chapter Fourteen
    Josh
    I don’t know what to do without her. I’m terrified that something has happened to her, and I’m furious too. Maybe she left because I told her I loved her. How could I have been so stupid? I knew that the moment I opened myself up to a woman, she’d destroy me. That’s why I’ve always fucked them and then left them alone. There is no way to get a broken heart when you refuse to let them get too close to you. I never believed that Zoe would break me, but here I am losing my mind without her.
    The good news is that Clare is a great assistant. She’s keeping me together and making sure I still look good for the partners. While it’s true that I own this law firm, they could still vote me out if I appear incompetent. Then, they’d either have the option to buy me out or make me a silent partner. It’s part of the deal we made when I was still in law school and they weren’t one hundred percent sure that I could handle running the firm.
    Clare comes into my office looking as solemn as I feel. She tells me that we need to discuss something and asks if I have a few minutes.
    “I’ve found some discrepancies in some of the ledgers. I took a look your budget like you asked, and there are several major issues. Look up the entries from every Tuesday for the last few months.” She says quietly.
    “Jesus Christ. Where is all of this money going? The partners are going to lose their minds.” I say and run my hand nervously through my hair. I’ve got to keep it together in front of Clare, but this is bad.
    “I don’t know, Mr. Allen. I’ve been looking for it, but so far it seems to have fallen into a black hole. The account the ledger shows the money going into isn’t real, and after that there is no trail.”
    “Thanks Clare. Can you keep looking? I mean, in addition to everything else I’ve dumped on you. I know it’s a lot, but I assure you that I’ll pay you well for your time. Out of my own pocket.”
    “Yes, Mr. Allen. I’ll get back on it now.”
    “Thank you, Clare. And, let me know if you hear anything from Zoe.” She nods and heads back out to her desk.
    When I’m pulling into my driveway, I see a young woman sitting on my front steps. As I take off my helmet, I realize it’s just Cadence.
    “Why are you sitting outside?” I ask her and try to walk past her into the house.
    “Stop Josh. I want to talk to you outside. If we wait until we get inside you’ll just blow me off.” She says and puts her hand on my chest to stop me from walking past her.
    “The answer is no. Whatever it is. Just no.”
    “That’s not fair. I have new friends, and I want to go out with them tonight.” She says and stamps her foot.
    “That’s definitely a no. How do you know it’s not a trap dad is setting?”
    “Oh my God, Josh. It’s not a trap. And, I’m