His Ex Called and He Ran, His Rival Called and I Ran Straight to Him Chapter 01

His Ex Called and He Ran, His Rival Called and I Ran Straight to Him Chapter 01

We were almost at the front of the supermarket checkout line when my best friend, Tanya Miller, suddenly said she had forgotten something.

My boyfriend, Felix Carter, turned around without hesitation and went with her.

“Hold our place,” he told me. “We’ll be back before you reach the register.”

When it was finally my turn, they still hadn’t returned.

I let one person after another go ahead of me, moving farther and farther back until I was last in line.

There was still no sign of them.

Every text I sent went unanswered.

By the time I carried three heavy bags filled with Tanya’s favorite snacks through the front door, the two of them were sitting on the couch, laughing in front of the TV.

The grocery bags hit the floor with a dull thud.

Felix finally looked over.

“You’re back. What took you so long?”

My throat tightened.

“I waited for you at the store the entire time.”

“Tanya’s period started unexpectedly, so I had to get her home,” Felix said casually, nodding toward the dining table. “I left you some takeout.”

I opened the container.

A few leftover chicken tenders.

Half a cold burger.

A dull pain twisted through my stomach.

I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Then why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t have ten seconds to send a text?”

Felix gave me an odd look and pulled out his phone.

His expression shifted.

Not to guilt.

To annoyance.

“My phone was on Do Not Disturb. I didn’t see your messages. Who would’ve thought you’d stand there waiting all that time?”

He frowned.

“Seriously, Olivia, why are you so stubborn about everything now?”

Fine.

I was stubborn.

Then I would stop waiting for someone who was never coming back.

I pulled out my phone and texted Felix’s biggest business rival.

[Mr. Ross, does your offer to hire me at triple my current salary still stand?]

The response came instantly.

[You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to ask.]

I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

Then I threw the leftover takeout into the trash.

Felix and Tanya were still laughing on the couch, their heads nearly touching.

In my own apartment, I felt like the guest.

Felix and I had been together for three years.

He had always insisted on waiting until marriage before taking our relationship any further.

He wouldn’t even stay overnight at my place.

Back then, I thought I had found a rare kind of man.

These days, a man that committed to waiting felt almost mythical.

Then Tanya moved in with me.

Three months later, and only two months after she joined Carter Group, Felix began showing up at my apartment every weekend.

He said, “Your childhood best friend is actually pretty entertaining. She’s sweet and innocent.”

“I’ve always wanted a younger sister to spoil.”

“And her mother helped your family years ago. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

First, she was like a sister.

Then, he was only being kind because she was my best friend.

Somehow, that turned into him spending every weekend here.

Felix used to keep his phone available twenty-four hours a day so he would never miss a business opportunity.

Now Do Not Disturb was apparently acceptable.

I looked down, removed him from my pinned chats and favorites, and walked into the bedroom to pack.

Ethan Ross had offered me triple my salary, a five-hundred-thousand-dollar signing bonus, and an oceanfront condo in Miami.

This two-bedroom apartment still had six months left on the lease.

Felix and Tanya could keep it.

Halfway through packing, the pain in my stomach sharpened.

Years of client dinners, business drinks, and irregular meals had left me with chronic stomach problems.

If I wasn’t careful, the pain came back fast.

I had planned to finish packing before I ate.

Clearly, that wasn’t going to happen.

I went into the kitchen, poured a glass of warm water, and searched through the bags of spicy snacks for the only plain breakfast roll.

Just as I started to open it, Tanya spoke from the living room.

“Olivia, could you not eat that one?”

I frowned.

“Why?”

Tanya hesitated and looked toward Felix.

He understood immediately.

He took the roll from my hand and pointed to a cartoon character on the wrapper.

“This is Tanya’s favorite limited-edition collaboration,” he said. “It was the last one on the shelf, and she’s been saving it.”

Her favorite collaboration?

I lived with her and ate with her every day.

I had no idea.

Felix did.

“Fine.”

I lifted the warm water and drank it all.

Felix noticed how pale I looked and reached out almost automatically, rubbing a hand over my stomach.

“Is it acting up again?”

“Yeah.”

Felix knew my stomach was sensitive but easy to settle if I ate something quickly.

Still, he returned the roll to the bag and opened a food-delivery app.

“What do you want? I’ll order something.”

Rain hammered against the windows.

The fastest delivery estimate was thirty minutes.

I shook my head.

“Forget it.”

I went downstairs and walked through the rain to the corner deli.

When the clerk handed me a hot breakfast sandwich, she smiled.

“This one’s on me. But could you do me a favor?”

“Ask your roommate whether her boyfriend’s company is recruiting at the University of Miami this spring.”

I stared at her.

“Her boyfriend?”

The clerk nodded, openly impressed.

“Yeah. They came in together the other day, holding hands the whole time. They looked adorable.”

“Your roommate’s lucky. Her boyfriend is handsome and obviously loaded.”

“You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t before,” I said.

“But I do now.”