Girl Get Rid Of That Jerk by Melissa Johns

If it weren't for Kate and her ridiculous antics, he wouldn't have heard Allie's voice today at all.

...

Steve's idea of a solution was simple: assign someone to keep an eye on Kate 24/7, just to make sure she didn't try to run off again. Other than leaving the country, she could technically go wherever she wanted-but it was always under watchful eyes.

Honestly, it was exactly the same as what Allison had done. The moment Allison caught wind of Kate's escape plans, she set up surveillance too.

...

Carolyn hadn't seen Joshua in over a month-ever since that brief moment at Grandma Emily's funeral. She never missed a single friend gathering, always hoping for a chance encounter with Joshua. But every time, she went in hopeful and came back disappointed. He never showed.

She tried to tell herself it made sense. After all, both his grandmother and father had just passed away. Who could blame him for not being in the mood to hang out?

She knew all the reasons, but not seeing Joshua seemed to make her miss him more—every single day, the feeling just got heavier, until it was impossible to ignore.

At first, she'd text him every couple of days, just a short message or two. He never replied. Eventually, she stopped sending them. Instead, she started asking mutual friends about how he was, where he'd been lately.

What she heard only made her more restless. Other than going to work, Joshua was apparently spending most of his time at a private hospital owned by Owens International. That's where Allison was recovering.

time she went, he wasn't there. She could never figure out his schedule, so all she could do was show up

it was just bad timing, or if Joshua already knew she was trying to see him and was avoiding her. Whatever the reason, a whole month went by and

she just couldn't help herself anymore. She decided she'd go straight to the Fisher family estate

...

Owens Legal Services.

was heading out for the day. Allison stayed behind, like always, working late

knock at

said, flipping through a contract she was reviewing as

working late every night. You just got out of the hospital are you trying to wear

barely glanced up, her voice cool and steady. "Working till ten isn't that bad. I go home, shower, go straight to bed. Doesn't really

candle

head, a helpless smile on his face. "You really

something,

me," Watson

to invite

vel