“Sit,” Trina commands. When my gaze snaps to hers, her expression is neutral, but there’s a concern flickering behind her hazel eyes.

I clear my throat, trying to keep myself from spiraling even further. “I’m not a dog,” I say, but I drop into the nearest chair anyway.

No sooner does Trina sit in the chair next to me and grab a bottle of water for both of us does the door open.

“Trina McBryde, it is so good to see you,” comes Casey’s booming voice. I haven’t heard it in years, but it’s the kind of voice you don’t forget. Deep and rich, like a warm blanket. It’d be comforting if I weren’t so jittery.

Trina jumps to her feet, and they embrace with him angled just enough so he doesn’t see me. A woman enters the room after him. She has pin-straight black hair framing the bronze skin of her face, and she is wearing a bright yellow pantsuit that complements her features beautifully. I’ve never seen her before, but she smiles warmly at me.

“You must be S.J. Falmouth.” She extends her hand, and it takes me a moment to remember that’s my name here, at least until Casey gets a look at me. “I’m Esmerelda Chavez, one of the publicists here at Anastasios Press. But everyone calls me Meri.”

I stand and shake her hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Meri.”

“And this man who has apparently forgotten his manners is—”

“Oh, fuck,” Casey curses. When my gaze snaps to him, he’s staring at me slack-jawed with pinched eyes. He does not look at all happy to see me.

Stupidly, I give him a little wave. “Hi, Casey. How are you?”

“You two know each other?” Meri asks with a forced politeness, clearly trying to salvage the situation.

He drags a hand down his jaw and turns his head toward Trina, though his eyes linger on me. “I knew you were acting weird. I wish you had told me,” he grinds out, ignoring Meri’s question.

“Surprise!” Trina wiggles her hands in a sort of jazzy motion, the bangles at her wrists jingling with a cheeriness no one is feeling. “S.J. Falmouth is actually Scarlett Frye! Which is why we wanted to meet to discuss marketing.”

“This is…” Casey trails off and finally drags his dark eyes away from me. They land on Trina, and not in a kind way. “This is not good.”

She furrows her brow. “Why not? I mean, I know you weren’t expecting this, but everyone loves a comeback, right? And I thought you said JMP doesn’t really check up on you all over here, so…”