11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven

S am pushed back from her desk, standing and rolling her stiff neck with a quiet groan. She glanced at her phone, tapping the screen again to check the time.

Jess was supposed to have arrived a while before. And when that time had passed, she’d texted her asking if they were still on to meet.

But now a full hour had gone by and—nothing.

Sam swiped her phone open, tapping on their message thread.She opened her contact and clicked the call button, holding the phone up to her ear.

It rang a handful of times before playing the automated voicemail.

Sam let out a breath, pulling the phone away to end the call.

Although Jess had mentioned how busy she’d been with work that week, it still wasn’t like her to bail on plans. Especially without saying anything.

She clicked the call button once more, holding it back up to her ear as she tried to quell the slight unease in her chest.

The phone rang a few times, and just as she was about to hang up, the ringing stopped.

Sam paused, waiting. “Jess?”

The line was silent for another moment before Jess cleared her throat on the other end.

“Yeah,” she answered, her voice quiet. “Hey. Sorry.”

The worry in her chest eased slightly with the sound of her voice, but it was instantly replaced with fresh concern.

“Hey,” Sam said. “Are we still meeting today?”

“What?” She could hear a shuffling on the other end of the line before Jess muttered, “Shit. I didn’t realize what time it was.”

Sam nodded to herself as she leaned back against the edge of the desk. That worked out. She’d felt out of it all day, her body aching with exhaustion. Even just spending the day at the office had left her completely drained.

At least now she’d have more time to work on finishing up some of the last minute tasks on her list for that day. Maybe she wouldn’t have to be up half the night working and could go to bed at a decent hour for the first time that week.

“Sorry,” Jess continued, clearing her throat again. “I was going to text you. I—” She paused, as if hesitant. “I’m not feeling that great. Can we reschedule?”

Sam swallowed against the slightly aching rawness in her throat. Maybe she’d picked up whatever Jess had gotten.

“Yeah, of course,” she answered. “What’s wrong? Do you need anything?”

Jess fell quiet on the other end before she said, “No. That’s okay. Thanks though.”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, hoping she would change her mind. Even if it wasn’t her place, she couldn’t imagine not helping her when she needed it.

“Yeah,” Jess said, her voice finally sounding a little softer. “I’m okay.”

Sam nodded, tapping her thumb against the side of the desk. “Well, call me if you change your mind, okay? Is—” She paused, chewing on the next words as they left her mouth. “Liz going to bring you food or something? She probably already knows, but there’s a place off Fourth street that has good soup and stuff for when you’re sick.”

Jess was quiet for a long moment. Long enough that Sam pulled the phone away to make sure the call hadn’t ended.

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll check it out,” Jess answered softly. Then she cleared her throat. “And—sorry about missing the meeting.”

Sam shook her head, walking to the other side of the desk and sitting down in the chair. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, having already forgotten. “Just make sure you get enough rest and all that.”

Jess fell quiet again before she mumbled. “Yeah. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Kay,” Sam answered. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

She pulled the phone away, setting it on the desk beside her open laptop. It was just barely past lunchtime, so there were still a few hours left where the offices would be open. If she hurried over to Liz’s office, she could probably catch her before she left for the day and they could finish up the last of the project. Which would work out better, anyway. Then they’d have everything finished ahead of schedule, which would definitely impress Howard.

It might even impress him enough that he’d want to give the final green light and send over an official offer.

Sam packed her bag up, shooting Liz a text to let her know she was on her way.

***

“Hey,” Sam said, knocking lightly on the edge of Liz’s door as she stepped into her open office.

Liz glanced up at her, and right away she could make out the slight redness in her eyes. She sniffled lightly, rubbing a hand across her nose.

“Hey, come in.”

Maybe Liz had picked up whatever sickness Jess had.

Sam ambled in, keeping a few feet between them, just in case. The last thing she needed was to get sick and miss out on a few days of work.

“Are you sick too?” Sam asked, setting her backpack on the floor as she sat down in the chair across from her.

Liz looked up at her, brows wrinkling. “What?”

“Whatever Jess has. She said she wasn’t feeling good. Had to cancel our meeting earlier.”

Liz’s lips pressed into a thin line. She let out a small, unimpressed hum. “Surprised she didn’t tell you, with you guys being such good friends and all.”

Sam stiffened slightly at her tone. “Tell me what?”

Liz looked up at her with a hard stare. “We broke up.”

Sam blinked, cocking her head. “What? Why?”

Liz shook her head with an exasperated sigh. “Same stuff that made us break up the last time.” She paused, rolling her eyes. “And the time before that.”

Sam nodded slowly. She knew things between them hadn’t been perfect, but they also didn’t seem bad. Or at least, not from the outside.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“It’s fine,” Liz said dismissively, wiping a hand across her nose. “Its happened before and we got back together. We just need another break to realize how much we want to be together.”

Sam nodded, but kept quiet. Hearing things like that from the person Jess was dating—or had been dating—felt wrong. Even if she and Liz were friends in the past, Jess was more than that to her. Jess would always have her loyalty. No matter how much time had passed.

Liz’s phone buzzed on her desk. She reached for it, holding it up to her ear. “Hey,” she said, leaning back in her chair.

Sam pulled her laptop out of her bag, flipping it open in her lap.

“Yeah,” Liz mumbled into the phone. “Jess and I broke up. Again .”

Sam glanced up in time to see her roll her eyes.

“Let’s go out. I want fun and drinks. Lots of drinks.”

Sam pulled up the string of notes on her computer as she tried and failed to tune out the conversation.

“That’s perfect,” Liz said, smiling into the phone. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”

Liz released a heavy breath as she hung up and set the phone back on the desk. “So, this is the last of it, right?”

Sam cleared her throat. “Yeah. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“Good,” Liz muttered. “No offense, but I’ll be happy when this is all over.”

Sam gave her a tight smile. “Me too.”