Trainwreck 2 (Trainwreck #2) Read Online Free

dizzied me. My mind was mush. What was I going to do? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Ari out of my head. Or quell my hatred for Catherine. I couldn’t think straight. Let alone think at all.
    The phone rang and I answered. “Boys’ toys.”
    “Saarah, tu aimes les fleurs?”
    The rich, sultry voice on the other end sent a shudder zigzagging through me. Ari! Even though I didn’t speak French, I knew what he was asking. My lips quivered.
    “Yes, they’re lovely, but I’m very busy right now and have to go.” I spat out the words and, with a trembling hand, hung up the phone. My heart was heavy, my stomach in knots. I stared at the flowers and then at the cheerful photo I kept on my desk of my mother and me taken the year before she fell ill. I felt ill; I knew what I had to do. I had no choice. Tears brimmed in my eyes.
    The phone rang again. With hesitancy, I answered it.
    “ Saarah , that was rather rude.”
    “I’m sorry,” I muttered.
    “Do I have to give you another good spanking?”
    Instead of responding to his unnerving question, I blurted out, “I can’t see you tonight.” Or ever , I thought as my heart plummeted.
    I slammed down the phone.
    The phone rang again. My heart stammered. I let it ring without answering it. It stopped.
    Then it rang again. It was even harder this time not to answer it. Desire fought the despair that tore through me. In my heart, I knew I was making the right decision. With my mother about to lose the federal grant covering her experimental cancer treatments, there was no way I could afford to lose my job. It wouldn’t be easy to find another one. Jobs were hard to come by. Even Ike’s Tikes had recently initiated a series of cutbacks; I was lucky I still had mine and knew that heads were still rolling.
    After the third attempt to reach me, Ari gave up. I guess he went by the saying: Three strikes and you’re out . I was at once relieved and terribly sad. I busied myself with Catherine’s assignments, but had a hard time staying focused. All I could think about was my Trainman. My gorgeous, sexy, insatiable Adonis who had made me feel like no other man had. Another wave of depression swept over me. Overnight my life had become a real-life West Side Story. Maria couldn’t have Tony; now I couldn’t have Ari. Nothing good was going to come out of this relationship. A tear escaped my eyes. I quickly wiped it away when Catherine née Cassandra shot out of her office a little before noon.
    Her eyes clashed with mine. “I want your file of boys’ toys concepts on my desk by the time I return from lunch. And remember, those flowers are to be gone. All of them.”
    Holding her monstrous Chanel bag over her arm, she marched down the hall to the elevators. I stared wistfully at the flowers gracing my desk, the red roses from yesterday and the exotic assortment from today. I inhaled deeply, allowing their rich, intoxicating aroma to rush up my nose and arouse every part of me. I began with the roses. One by one, I tossed them into my wastebasket. I pricked my thumb on a thorn and yelped as a droplet of blood fell to my desk. Oh, how love hurts! Tears streamed down my face.
    “Chiquita, qué pasa?” It was Fernando.
    I stopped tossing the roses and burst into sobs. “It’s over,” I choked out, meeting his concerned eyes. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
    “Oh, pobrecita!” He came around my desk and gave me a big hug. It made me feel a little better, and I was grateful that my usually inquisitive friend didn’t pry. I couldn’t explain what was going on to him even if I weren’t bawling. Grabbing a tissue, I blew my nose and gazed longingly at the flowers. “Fernando, these flowers are too beautiful to throw out. You keep them.”
    “Are you sure?”
    With a sniffle, I nodded. “I’m sure. I’ll help you bring them to your desk.”
    Each taking a vase, we padded down the hall to his cubicle. After setting the flowers down on his desk, Fernando offered