“Rosie, you haven’t pitched in a month.” Wellthanks,Captain Obvious.
“‘Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.’” I hear Halle and Jasper choke on their laugh as they try to remain stoic and silent, while blushing Chris finally makes eye contact and looks thoroughly chastised as I quote the prolific writer Voltaire.
“Right, well next week then.” He turns to address the room, “HR is making announcements the following week.” I don’t miss the timing on that statement, or the almost pleased look Dick-bag Daniel throws my way from across the table. I roll my entire soul along with my eyes.
The meeting wraps up and we file out back to our desks, and strangely, we all manage to knuckle down and get an ample amount of work done. I get so lost in my latest edit that I hadn’t realized most of the office had emptied and it was almost dark out.
“Shit.” I pull out my phone to a string of messages.
23A Sluts
Addy:
You on your way Rosie?
Casey:
Ordered you an espresso, see you soon!
I completely forgot that we were all meeting at Bozzelli’s. We hijacked the boy’s usual catch-up this week and moved it to Bozzelli’s. There was some sporting game with a finals event…or something, so Pucks was going to be full of meatheads. The guys weren’t impressed, but thankfully Addison and Casey wear the pants in their respective relationships, so when they say jump, those little pussies say,How high?
I flick a confirmation text back and quickly pack up my desk. Halle and Jasper are still hunkered down at their desks too.
“Right, I’m out of here. Don’t stay too late. Put your back out for orgasms, not the patriarchy.” I tap Halle on the shoulder as I exit and hear their answering snickers as they go back to work.
Thankfully, Lucas’s bar was on the same block as my work building, so it is only a quick walk, meaning I can obtain some relatively fresh air before I seclude myself inside again. The streets hum with traffic and the sense that everyone has somewhere extremely important to be as the sun sets over the buildings and that dusk spring breeze tosses my curls around.
“Rosebud!”
Ugh.“Pest. How lovely.”
“Don’t get too excited now.” Of course Caleb has managed to arrive out the front at the same time as me. “The night is only young.”
“Please tell me you’re not so pathetic that you were waiting out the front for me?” I breathe in exasperation. Giving him barely a glance, I continue to stroll past him and into the bar. Ihear his quick steps as he jogs to catch up and walks in pace with me.
“You’re not that special, I’m afraid. Just excellent timing on my part.” His cool, easy charm flows, like not a thing in the world could ruffle those feathers. Perhaps that’s why I never disliked his company as much as I pretended to. Attempting to get under his skin and playing this snarky back-and-forth was actuallyfun.It was a distraction from my crappy days, and not to mention, extremely entertaining.
We settle into our table, everyone already here and with a drink. “Where’s Stella?” I ask across to Lucas, who Ithinkis her closest friend…I still haven’t quite nailed her down yet.
She kind of merged with the group about a year ago, when she started working for our friend Lucas as the front-of-house manager at the bar where we’re currently sitting. I’ve seen and spoken to her sporadically on my nights out. There is something hollow about her that always has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Not in a way that makes me think I should be worried about her, more like worriedforher. Some kind of instinct. Like I need to beon.Ready to grab her, and duck and run at a moment’s notice. Which is strange, because she also looks like the kind of woman who murders people in their sleep…while smiling.
“Stell is working tonight, you’ll see her around.”
“Drinks?” Caleb asks as he takes the seat next to me.Bold.
I throw him a displeased look over my shoulder, which just makes him grin wider.
“You worried you won’t keep your paws off me if I sit too close?” Good lord, he is insufferable.
“I’ll grab the drinks,” I groan. I don’t wait for their orders because, after all this time, I know them like the back of my hand, and I don’t care if they already have their drinks, nothing wrong with being double-parked.
“I’ll join you.” Caleb sighs next to me.
“You really don’t need to.”
“C’mon, what’s a little company among friends.” I couldn’t stop the eye roll if I tried. “So, what games are we playing tonight?” GoodGod,he sounds like a kid on Christmas morning.
“No games, pest. I just want to have a drink, go home, chat with Viv, and go to sleep.”
