Free Kiss a Frog (The Book Club Series 1) by Scarlett Jade

softly.
    “So now you know the sordid truth about perfect little Abby, and you can hold it over my head for the rest of my life. Go ahead, laugh. Make fun of me. I just know that’s what you’ve been waiting on. For me to be down so you could kick me.” Abby sniffled, throwing her hands wide.
    “Look, the only kicking I’m apt to do is muff kicking, but I would never kick you when you were down. We’ve been friends forever, Abs. What are you going to do?” Lily leaned forward and touched Abby’s knee.
    “If I lose my job I’ll lose my apartment and my car. I’m so in debt it’s ridiculous,” Abby wailed.
    “Move in with me!” Laura piped up.
    “No, I can’t. Because he threatened to make you lose your job too,” Abby moaned.
    “Then you two could move in here with me,” Lily offered.
    “Lily, no offense but your place is tiny,” Laura murmured.
    “So what? We could make it work. Abs, do you really think this jerk is going to try and get you canned?”
    Abby shrugged, one chubby shoulder slumping back down as she groaned and rubbed at her snot covered nose. “I don’t know. If I talk, yes. But I can’t just keep working for him and pretend like everything is kosher and we didn’t have hot, passionate sex on top of the copy machine…and his desk…and I sucked him off while he was on the phone with a client. My God! I loved him,” she wailed again.
    Lily looked over at the still horrified Laura and winced. “Wow, Abs, why didn’t you tell us?”
    “Because I knew deep down in my heart I was wrong, and I couldn’t tell you. I just couldn’t. But I am now.” Abby sniffled, snot bubbling from her nose.
    Lily reached onto the side table and pulled two pink tissues from the box. “Okay, we’re going to figure this out. You guys can always crash here until you find new jobs if it comes down to it.”
    Abby lurched forward suddenly, and Lily found herself smothered in a hug. Abby’s snotty face pressed into her shoulder, and she tried not to gag at the viscous slippery feel against her skin. “I love you,” Abby wept.
    “I love you too.” Lily patted Abby’s back. “Please get off me, you’re snotting on me.”
    Abby sat back with a hoarse laugh and took the tissues, blowing her nose loudly. “Okay, sorry.”
    Lily grabbed more tissues and grimaced as she wiped the snot off her skin. “How hard would it be for you guys to get a new job?”
    Laura sipped at her coffee and blew out a slow breath. “Not too hard, I guess.”
    “Put in applications and just find another job.”
    “You’re right,” Abby murmured, wiping her eyes again. “I can find another job. He’s not the only show in town. He won’t talk because he doesn’t want to lose his wife, and I don’t want to hurt her, especially with her being pregnant. That’s not fair of me. I knew he was married, and I went along with it. Well, no more. Tomorrow I’m telling him I quit, and if you’re serious, Lily, I’ll move in with you. Laura, you’ll have to be on the watch for a job too. I’m so sorry I messed everything up.”
    “I really wanted to find something else anyway. I’m so sick of advertising for men’s deodorant it’s ridiculous.” Laura giggled.
    Abby smiled a watery smile. “I love you guys!”
    Lily found herself jerked into another wet, snotty hug. “Love you too. Ew, snot in my hair…”
     

Chapter Eight
     
    The Date (Part One)
     
     
     
    Lily had been so engrossed in Abby’s drama, waiting with bated breath to hear the outcome of the showdown with the boss that she’d forgotten to tell them about her raise. Ah well, it’s a secret I can keep. Abby had quit her job and would be moving out of her ultra-expensive apartment within the next few weeks if she couldn’t find a job in time.
    Friday morning, Lily dressed quickly for work. Carefully she folded her black dress and tucked it into a bag, followed by her glossy black heels and a chunky yellow necklace. There wouldn’t be time to come