"What do you mean you were fired?" 

"Exactly that." 

Celeste lifted her hand and gave Scarlett a firm, tight slap across her cheek. "I should have known. You are nothing but an insolent fool." She spat.

Scarlett, grabbing her cheek began to laugh. "Seriously Celeste? Insolent fool? Perhaps you should have cross checked the facts before sending me to him like that." 

"What facts? You've worked for Jason for years and he's been with Jessie for months, you are supposed to know and do better!" Celeste yelled.

"So what? It doesn't count if I never spoke to me and if he never knew I even existed." Scarlett huffed angrily. "You were the one that told be to back off and keep my head down, so wh-"

"And I was right. You would never have lasted till this time if I had allowed you with him." Celeste spat. "I was wrong about you."

"Well you are his mother why don't you do it yourself?" Scarlett spat back.

Celeste brows went up in surprise. And Scarlett knew she made a mistake, she stepped backwards and mumbled an apology.

"You really are getting out of hand Scarlett Bae."

"You know what? I shouldn't say sorry, you screwed this up. If you hadn't told Jessie that you were Jason's mother I would never have had to throw her out, and he would never had fired me." She shook her head.

"He can not know! If he does then it's all over, everything I have worked for for fourteen years."

"I think you should take your chances, it's better he hears from you than Jessie. If you tell him you can control the situation, the story." 

"No! Jason cannot know I'm alive, and Jonathan cannot know that Jason is also my son." Celeste insisted. 

"Then just your luck that they are both in love with the same woman." Scarlett said.

And Celeste glared at her, "don't try to be smart with me."

"It not being smart, it's called honesty. Perhaps you can give it a try." Scarlett said. "I'm out of here. I should at least take care of myself, since you won't do it."

"I wasn't the one that hurt you, why should I care?" She scoffed. Eyeing the bruises on Scarlett's arm.

"Where I'm from, parents take responsibility for their children's actions. But then again, I can't exactly call you a parent, can I?" She said walking away.

**************************************************

"You're back." 

"We both are, where's Jessie?" Jason asked, walking in after Paul.

"She went in for a nap." Katherine responded and Jason nodded, walking out of the room.

"Jason told me you were still here, how are you feeling after yesterday?" Paul asked.

Katherine pursed her lips and sighed. "About the note? Your dad?" He clarified.

And she nodded slowly, just remembering that she had that problem also. "Uh... I haven't really given it much thought."

Paul's brows narrowed. "Really? I thought you'd be elbow deep in thought about it." He stated. 

"Yeah well, something else was on my mind." She sighed. "You've been... scarce." 

He sighed as well, how was it that now he was even standing before her the only thing he thought of was how perfect her lips felt aganist his. 

"I've been wanting to talk about last night." Katherine started and Paul panicked. 

What if she wanted to speak about the kiss? What if she didn't like it? What if she was going to say she hated it or something? What did he even really think about the kiss? Why was he even so stuck up on the kiss? For goodness sake it was just a kiss! But it didn't feel that way at all, did it? And he felt depraved and disgusting for thinking about Katherine like that. She was his oldest friend, basically family and all that was one his mind was wonder. Wondering how a kiss could make him so disoriented and how the rest of her would taste.

"About the kiss? I th-"

"It was a mistake!" He blurted out before he could stop himself and Katherine froze. "Never should have happened, I'm sorry. It was my bad, should have thought before twice kissing you like that." He stated scratching the back of his neck nervously. 

"It wasn't as if you had a choice. I mean, we um... we would have gotten caught if not for the kiss." Katherine said slowly, walking over to him.

"Yeah well, still... it's you. I should know better than to kiss you, you're not-"

"Not what?" Katherine asked all the breath sucked out of her lungs.

"Not... we don't have that kind of relationship that's it. You're my best friend, I shouldn't be kissing my best friend, that's gross." He laughed softly. Smacking her upper arm playfully. 

Katherine stumbled a few steps away, scattered and shattered. He thought it was... was gross that he kissed her. There were just friends, they didn't have that kind of relationship. Tears bit at the sides of her eyes and she had to bite down on her lips to stop the life threatening sob that threatened to spill from her lips. 

"Besides you have a boyfriend, it wasn't right." He continued speaking and for the first time she just couldn't listen to a word from his mouth! She was completely shattered, broken, finished. Gosh she was a fool! What did she expect? What could she expect?! She wanted to scream, she wanted to yell but she also did not want to be that pathetic girl that lashed out at the man that just rejected her. And she hated him, she hated Paul so much that it burned her insides. She hated him so much she loved him. Shutting her eyes she shoved back the tears, shoved back the devastation and turned to face him. She needed to say something to him, preferably words. Words that weren't coated with tears and hurt then she would get as far away from here and scream as loud as her voice box would allow. 

"Okay okay Paul, I get it. I have a boyfriend, we are friends and kissing me is gross. No need to write a list of what a horrible mistake that was." She spat. Even then she was unable to keep the malice out of her tone.

Paul looked taken aback. "I never said kissing you was gross." 

"Yes, you did."

"Okay maybe I did, but I meant it as two best friends kissing is gross no-"

"We are two best friends Paul, so if you want to clarify any further?" 

"That is not what I mean, Katherine that is not what I mean." Paul groaned. How had he managed to take this from desirously awkward to straight up rude. He felt like a jerk... he was a jerk.

"You don't have to explain yourself, it was a stupid idea to have even brought it up." Katherine said her words snappily close to each other. "I have work tomorrow I have to go." She said pushing past him to leave the room.

"I'll take you."

"No!" She yelled, flinching away from his touch. "No, I'm fine." She said quickly walking away.

Paul ran his hands through his hair in frustration. How the hell had he managed to fuck this up?