My heart thudded against my chest until I thought it would burst. Then I reminded myself a broken heart couldn't suffer additional damage. Ted was unlucky enough to be the first person I saw when I walked onto the second floor.

"Cami." He sounded surprised. His eyes slowly scrutinized my body from head to toe and returned to my chest. "We weren't expecting you back for another week or so." From his expression, he wanted to bury his face between my boobs.

"Are you speaking to me or my breasts?" You would think his head would snap up, but he just continued looking at my chest for at least another minute.

His voice went hoarse. "Cami, I missed you."

"Since you had the balls to tell everyone we were sleeping together, I'm sure you did. Since I know that's a lie, I can truthfully admit I didn't miss you at all." His face went red, which only gave me additional courage. "Please refrain from retrieving my personal phone number from HR as you threatened in your email. I would hate to have someone in their department fired because of you. Now if you don't mind, I have work to catch up on."

During my quiet tirade he looked up into my eyes for the first time. Yes, my eyes, which I refused to lower. He didn't say another word before slithering away. I went straight to my desk and turned on my computer.

"You go girl," Kathy, the woman who had the desk next to me, whispered.

I let a slight grin appear on my lips as I began looking through my email. I acted like what just happened was nothing out of the ordinary. A short message from Skylar waited.

Cami,

Don't worry about Ted the Turd. Save his email. If you have any additional problems with him, forward copies to HR. I'll set the boss straight. I met my husband while working a story. I can attest to the physical attributes of athletes and how irresistible I find them.

Lonely momma to be,

S

I gave my first full smile in almost twenty-four hours. A moment later, I buried myself in boring work. I tried to keep my mind focused and not think about my meeting at the end of the day with Miller and how much I would miss this place. I refused to allow even a spark of hope. I didn't deserve my job.

At lunch time, Kathy stood at my desk.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're joining me and my friends for lunch today." She had a clique of women friends from assorted departments at the paper. I'd never wanted to be part of her group. Though shyness was the key reason, my lack of funds was also a problem. I hadn't brought a lunch with me today because I hadn't expected to remain at the office I needed to eat.

"I'd love to," I answered with a smile and met her eyes. We walked past Ted, who was hiding in his office with his eyes glued to his computer screen. We didn't speak in the crowded elevator, but as soon as we were out on the sidewalk Kathy started laughing.

"I'm so glad to hear you didn't sleep with that weasel. I don't think any of us believed it, but you never know. He strutted around the office the entire time you were gone."

I had no idea where we were going until she stepped into a small bistro and I saw several of her friends waiting. Kathy introduced me and then told her group about my confrontation with Ted.

"I always thought Ted the Turd was a nice guy," I said after Kathy finished with the story.

This received a quiet round of applause mixed with laughter. I told Kathy's friends why I was back early and about my resignation. I didn't go into detail or mention Joel's name, just that I behaved inappropriately.

Paulette, a tall brunette with curly hair and a nice smile, was the first to put me at ease. "Well- I've seen pictures of rugby players and I can't blame you. The abs on those men are lickably sweet." She was a secretary for one of the upper managers and she went on to tell me she was a no-holds-barred, eye-candy aficionado.

They peppered me with endless questions about the players and their bodies. It was exactly what I needed. Skylar was usually part of their lunch group and she kept them up on the AAAAbs and Ass Alert. They were having a girls get together at Skylar's home on Friday night and invited me even if I no longer worked for the paper. My foray into the world of socializing was a success.

I spent my afternoon working and alternately staring at the bottom right-hand corner of my computer screen where the clock changed at a snail's pace. At four-ten Miller's secretary called and told me to head up. Kathy gave me a brief hug before I left the floor. I was shown immediately into Miller's office.

"Sit down and let's talk," he said as he waved me into a chair. I was barely seated when he tossed my resignation envelope in front of me. "You need to keep this. I'm pretending I never saw it." He picked up a stack of papers. "I emailed a copy of your articles to Bob Shirley. I rarely do that, but, quite frankly, you've taken a sport I know nothing about and made me curious. You captured the passion, love, and downright craziness of the game and added a personal flare."

He set the papers down. "Editing has it in their hands now and there may be a change or two, but we're running the entire series. There's one catch." He tapped his finger on my articles. "If this team makes it to the championship, you're going back for the final game." He held up his hand when I tried to speak. "There is a downside in all this. We don't have a place for you in the sports department. We aren't sure where to put you at the moment, but your talent is wasted in classifieds. Now you may say what's on your mind." He smiled. "If you dare."

There were so many thoughts spinning through my head. "The championship, I-"

"You're not getting out of this." I could tell by his expression that it was a closed subject.

"Thank you, Miller."

"That's what I thought you would say. It might be a few days, but you will be reassigned. I'm sure you have items to finish up in your current projects, so get that done. Good job, Cami. I look forward to future work from you."

I walked out with my resignation letter clutched in my hand and went straight to the second floor where I shredded it. Kathy gave me a large hug, and my fellow classified workers congratulated me.

My dream was finally coming true and I was completely miserable.