Undeniably charming Brian Peña fell hard for cunning Lauren Garrett his senior year of college, but Lauren harbors a huge secret that could destroy everything they've built.
******
Never has a woman brought Brian Peña to his knees like Lauren Garret...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
📱 SISI B's big day! Congrats on your promo, guapo! 💙
📱 BRIAN Thanks, cielo. I'm nervous but stoked.
SISI Yeah? Well, no doubt about it—you're gonna CRUSH IT.
BRIAN Any messages today from Dougie or the super awesome, not shady at all neighbor upstairs?
SIERRA I ended up shutting down all my social media and Doug's blocked, so, nope. Since it's Thanksgiving, I'm off all week from work, and everybody's taking turns to keep me company. I was watching Euphoria and Jim ran in all panicked when there was intense fighting onscreen.
BRIAN LOL! Aww, he loves you.
SIERRA I know 🥺 Also that show is like his living nightmare. You should've seen his horrified face before I turned it off with all the family screaming at each other, and then one of the kids high AF running through rush hour traffic. So, did you get my surprise yet?
BRIAN Please be a strippergram. 🤞🏼 No, I'm walking across campus toward the office.
SISI Why didn't I think of that?!
B Dang! What is it then?
SISI 🤷🏼♀️ Have a great day!
Laughing to myself, I search through the gifs until I find that one of Regina Georgia saying boo, you whore beforeyanking the door open to the four-story brick building. I prop the glass door open with my back while texting Sierra again.
"Thank you, Brian!" My coworker Don sails through wearing a jaunty newsboy cap. Don is in his early sixties, and although pleasant to work with, checked out mentally here a few years ago. "Chilly one out there today, huh?"
I shake my head, snickering, and pocket my phone, just waiting for the next line that every day, a Midwestern American dad says. "Good morning. Yeah, it's freezing!"
"Wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the wind."
There it is.
Months have passed since Lauren and I reunited, and all aspects of my life are happier and calmer except for this wild stalker situation Sierra's fighting. Between Nick's family and the security they hired, I feel comfortable focusing on my first day at my new job and not worried about what's going on over there.
With a smile playing on my lips, I swagger into work Wednesday morning next to Don, whistling a cumbia rhythm. I worked my ass off to score this associate director promotion, and I'm secretly a little geeked to spend my first full day in my own office.
Warm cup of coffee clutched in one hand, I hitch the shoulder of my bag higher as we approach Abby and Frances in the hallway.
The late November sun still lazily rises in the background, barely reaching their kneecaps. Huddled together, they speak in hushed tones with their arms crossed while the corners of Abby's mouth curve down. Francie glances up first and clears her throat as if to catch Abby's attention while I unwind the scratchy scarf protecting my neck.
