“Good morning.” My voice comes out a bit squeaky, so I clear my throat in an effort to correct its high pitch. I set the coffee on her desk and step back.

She turns to look at me. “Good morning, Chloe. Thank you for the coffee.”

“Of course.” I nod. “How was your trip?”

“Productive. I don’t particularly enjoy LA but there’s only so much you can do with a phone call.”

“Totally. Okay, well, I’m going to—” I motion to leave, but she turns from her computer, settling her full attention on me.

“How was your weekend?” she asks.

That question doesn’t usually cause so much anxiety. The extent of my time away from work is spent reading or perusing bookstores throughout the city. Sometimes my neighbor, Todd, and I drink wine and play cards. Or the rare occasion Jules can convince me to go out with her.

“Um, you know, it was good.” I can feel my face heating.

“Is there anything you wish to tell me?” JoAnna asks, setting her coffee aside. This must be serious, JoAnna lives for that first sip of her coffee every morning. Alarm bells are going off in my head. She knows. My thoughts immediately jump to Barrett. Did he tell her anyway? Even after I fulfilled my part of our deal? What a no good, double crossing—the sound of footsteps in the hallway distracts me from cursing Barrett in my head. A moment later said double crosser walks through the door. When his hazel gaze meets mine, my heart starts galloping in my chest. His pressed charcoal suit fits every inch of him. In contrast to the bags I feel weighing down my face, he looks well rested and that only serves to annoy me more.

“What is it that couldn’t wait, Mother?” Barrett asks, detaching his eyes from mine and putting his focus on JoAnna.

“I wanted to talk to both of you.” She laces her fingers together in her lap before lifting her gaze. Her eyes move between me and Barrett, before settling back on me. “I received a phone call this morning.”

Oh, God. She knows.

“JoAnna, I’m so sorry,” I say, trying to fight back tears. “I know it’s not okay, but I can explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain,” she says simply. “I know everything.”

That’s it? She doesn’t even want to hear what I have to say?

“I won’t say I’m not surprised, but these things happen.” She shrugs, then her lips drop into a thin line. “However, I did not like hearing about this from Eileen. She’s already been impossible to live with since she took over the ladies’ tennis club chair position so this only made her ego even bigger.”

I have so many questions. How would JoAnna’s friend, Eileen Minton, know anything about this? It was supposed to be between me and Barrett.