Free Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1 by Magnolia Smith

dissatisfied with your career or wondering what could’ve been with him ?”
    I snatched the card from her. “It’s not about him, it’s about me and doing what makes me happy.” I placed the card back on the mantle. “I am not going to call him, don’t worry.”
    She shook her head. “How dare he, after all this time?”
    I know. It had been 24 months since I’d last seen or heard from him. Part of me felt the exact same as Charlotte, angry and marveling at his audacity. But another part of me wondered what he meant when he wrote that he wanted to “reconnect” and he “hoped to see me soon”. It didn’t matter though. I was over him. Well and good.
    “Look, I want to cook, full-time.”
    “Perfect. You work for a cookware company.”
    “We sell industrial cookware for public schools, prisons and military bases.”
    “Same difference. You’re still in the industry, and you make great money.”
    “There’s more to life than money.”
    “Cooking can be your hobby.” She gave me a suspicious look. “And no more thinking about him .” But then she smiled sweetly. “It’s for your own good, you know?”
    And on that note, now was the perfect time to switch gears and tell Charlotte my news. “You probably don’t want to hear about the promotion Sam offered me. The timing of his offer is impeccable.”
    I filled her in on the details, how my boss’ wife was in the National Guard and constantly deployed, leaving him with their three kids and how he wanted to take time off, with me in charge and with a hefty pay raise.
    “You’re seriously considering not taking the promotion? Thirty thousand more than you’re already making is nice .”
    “But I don’t want to do this anymore. Pulling my hair back into a chignon, sitting at my desk and shuffling papers. You know this is not how I envisioned my life, not before Jamaica, at least.”
    She made a face. “You don’t have to wear your hair in your mother’s schoolmarm bun if you don’t want to.” She shook her head as if she felt sorry for me. “Do you know how many entrepreneurs fail? Selling cupcakes, cookies, beignets or whatever it is you think you want to do is risky. And foolhardy I might add.” She shook her head. “You’ll end up regretting your choice.”
    “Look, I know all about regrets, okay?” My thoughts went briefly to Jamaica. “I will never again do anything as stupid as following my heart or finding my passion.” I flopped into a chair, suddenly depressed. “Don’t you think I’ve learned from my mistakes? I mean, look where following my heart got me.”
    Charlotte frowned and shifted in her seat.
    “Before Jamaica I was prepared to run off to New York and attendculinaryschool. It probably would’ve been a folly, just as my mother predicted. Obviously, I can’t be trusted to make sound decisions about my life.” I could feel a lump forming in my throat. I would not to cry.
    “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.”
    “No, you’re right. I have displayed poor judgment in key areas of my life. I’m not taking that chance again, certainly not with something as important as my career.” I stood. “He did me a favor falling off the face of the Earth, wouldn’t you say? With him being such a flake and me being blinded by his pretty face, sculpted abs and big muscles, it would’ve been a disaster I didn’t see coming.”
    A deep V formed on Charlotte’s brow. “Where are you going? A Hunger Games marathon is about to start. I thought you wanted to watch?”
    “I’m going to go cook. I found a new recipe for low-carb beignets I want to perfect.” I could feel her eyes on me as I walked into the kitchen.
    “But I thought you just said—”
    “I said I’m not quitting my job!” The words came out harsher than I meant. I took a deep breath to soften my tone. “Like you said, that doesn’t mean I can’t have a hobby.”

Chapter Eight
    I didn’t see my supervisor, but I knew he was close in our maze of