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stooped to his level.”
    “Says the man who just threatened to kill the idiot.” She raspberried him.
    “I don’t think this is the birthday present Derek was expecting.”
    “Today’s his birthday?” She cringed.
    Lamont must have been online and waiting for her to respond because a minute after her reply posted he came back with another nasty retort. The back and forthwas getting attention too, even though Derek had yet to respond to Lamont’s barbs. Titans players, Pirates players, her family, and a multitude of other random folks joined in on the calamity. Not to mention fans of Phoebe who thought Charisma was the catalyst for their breakup. She was angry that she’d fallen into that place of pettiness again. Could she have ignored his slight? Yes, but he’dbasically said she was being passed around. It was hurtful, and she just couldn’t let it slide.
    An hour quickly passed in the online battle, and Charisma, Jared, and the rest of the staff were so engrossed in the digital fight, no work was getting done.
    It had gotten so bad that even Morgan had gotten into the fray. So glad my cousin is safe and happy now. Making better choices. #ReedGirlsRock .
    Charisma’s cell phone was pinging like crazy, but she didn’t want to answer it. Especially the calls from her mother. Instead she responded to Lamont’s latest jab.
    Sounds like someone still has sour grapes. #ImOverYou.
    Suddenly a comment from none other than Derek popped into the timeline, sent to Lamont.
    Apparently no one ever taught you how to treat a lady. No wondershe left you. If you want to go a few rounds, give me a call. I’ll meet you at the Titans stadium. #RealMenDontHitWomen
    Derek rarely commented on social media, so that sent everyone into a tizzy. He definitely didn’t live his life online and it was kind of refreshing to see. The hashtag #PiratesVSTitans began to trend, with people posting comments about who would win in the fight, Derekor Lamont. Players from both teams offered to show up at the fight and turn it into an all-out brawl. Someone asked if Seth were coming out of retirement to join in the fun. It was getting out of hand. All she’d wanted to do was to defend herself from Lamont’s heinous words, not start a war. Now she was in the middle of it all, looking like the instigator.
    The office collectively held itsbreath waiting for Lamont to make the next move. But instead of continuing the jabs, his posts began disappearing. They let out a collective sigh of relief and finally went back to work. Jared was still fuming, but she convinced him to funnel that energy into designing something great. Charisma was just about to close the site when she got a notification that she had a new follower. It was Derek.She smiled and returned to work.
    The rest of the afternoon went by in a whirl. She was so immersed in perusing a Web site for new stemware for the Slap Shot that she didn’t notice Jared was standing at her desk until he cleared his throat and made her jump. She looked up to see that he was holding gift-wrapped boxes and bags.
    “Hey, Jared. You startled me. What’s that?”
    “I waswalking past the reception area when these arrived.”
    “Ooh.” She looked at the packages wrapped with big red bows. “What did you get Autumn? I’m sure she’s going to love whatever it is.”
    “These are for you.” Jared grinned.
    She furrowed her eyebrows. “For me? Are you sure?”
    “I don’t like to flaunt my public school education, but I know how to read, and the card says ‘To Charisma.’”
    She reluctantly rounded the desk and retrieved the card. Who could have sent her gifts? Lamont was out of the question. It could have been an attempt from her mother to get Charisma to talk to her. She opened the card to find a note from Derek.
     
    Sorry about the purse. I hope this makes up for it.
    Derek
     
    Charisma smiled. It was a nice gesture, considering theday she’d had. Too bad the man didn’t listen.
    “They’re