“She’s just curious,” Jas pipes up, taking his coffee from my hands as Halle and I take our seats.
“Well…if you must know…” I lift the cup of caffeinated goodness to my lips and pretend like I can’t see them both scooting their chairs closer to me. I feign indifference and turn to face my computer, continuing my sentence in a low tone. “I caved and agreed to casual, nonexclusive sex.”
The evil twins gasp.
“You broke your rule?”
“She broke her rule.”
“I broke my rule.”Why did I break my rule?Because he has an award-winning penis and gives out orgasms like he is Oprah fucking Winfrey.
“Then why aren’t you like…all de-stressed and jolly?” Jasper asks, but with a hint of knowing.
“Because…because, I haven’t…well, I haven’t actuallybrokenthe rule yet.” I click open on my emails and find a meeting request from Chris for 9:30 a.m. I check the time and note it is 9:27 a.m., so I quickly chug the rest of my coffee before grabbing my laptop and standing.
“Wait, where are you going, we aren’t finished,” Halle scolds me.
“Well, I’m finished. You nosy Nancys should maybe actually get some work done,” I whisper back and head for Chris’s office.
Daniel and Liza are already seated, and I hate myself. The meeting isn’t for another three minutes, but I’m still late because I’m not the first here.
“Lovely of you to join us,” Dick-bag Daniel chides, and I give him my bestI hope you choke on a vat of bleach and burnsmile and take the final remaining seat in front of Chris, who looks moderately frustrated as he scrolls on his phone.
“Okay, I’ll make this quick.” Chris straightens in his chair, discarding his phone and giving the three of us an annoyed look, like he’d rather be anywhere else. “You know we are rebranding with the merger, Karvelas Media is the company running the show, and we are also taking on their consulting services so that we can ensure the transition is good for both our business and our image. Not that matters of business are any of your concern,” he reminds us, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes, “but the recommendation to split the imprints and label a current editor to run it was their idea. As such, we are going to let them have a say in the final decision. We want the person picked to be the most beneficial for the brand and the business as a whole. Obviously, you three are the likely choices.” He gestures to us, and without looking, I know Daniel has a dumb-ass look on his face. I have to bite my tongue before I tell Chris not to give the fool an ounce of hope.Obviously,this position is already mine, I just need to go through the corporate rigmarole to get there.
“Keep up the great work, and I’m sure the best person for the job will be selected. I want to assure you that your jobs are safe even if you’re not selected to run the new imprint. The gala event in a few weeks will be a great opportunity to mingle with the Karvelas Media team. Their CEO, head of sales, and head of design will also be attending.” Again, I have to push down my physical reaction, because I nearly fist-pumped. That means the decision of my future is essentially in the hands of my best friend’s Greek sex god boyfriend; his idiot best friend, the sex pest; and Ava. I have this in the bag.
“How come you’re telling us this?” Liza questions quietly.
“Well, I need you three to behave.” He levels that look specifically to me and Daniel, and I nearly drop my jaw at being lumped in with him. “And because you’ll be seeing their team around the office a fair bit over the next couple of weeks and I need you to each make a good impression. God forbid they choose someone like Brandon.” He chortles in a quiet voice and a shiver rolls through the room. Brandon is fine. He mostly works with nonfiction writers, and though I have nothing against nonfiction, Brandon is a wet blanket in human form. Nobody wants him to be the boss of anything, lest he ruin the entire brand with his dryer-than-the-desert personality.
“Okay, well…dismissed.”
“That could have been an email,” I mumble to myself as we make our way out of the office.
“Might as well give up now, Garcia.”
“Not on your life, maggot,” I hit back to Daniel.
“Are you two going to be children about this or actually behave like adults?” Liza sighs, closing Chris’s door behind us. Daniel and I look at her with matching looks, and then I fix my face. Like I need to be on the same level as him, I am above this. I am above them.
I narrow my eyes at Daniel, who just smiles, and we each turn and head back to our desks.
“What wasthatabout?” Halle whispers when I slump back into my seat.
“Just the promotion. Apparently, us three are in the running.”
“Oh gee, thanks for the recommendation, Chris.” Halle pouts.
“You didn’t even want the job?”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.” She waves a hand, and Jas and I both giggle at her.
“Well, it was just a formality, I’m sure. There is no way I don’t get that job.” I shove down the little spark of anxiety that is trying to unfurl its way up my spine. There is no world where I don’t get this promotion. I won’t even let the universe hear the thoughts. It will happen. This is mine.
“Obviously,” Jasper agrees, but he and Halle make eyes.
“Hey!” I shout at them and level them each with a look, lowering my voice. “Cut that shit out. That jobismine. I won’t hear otherwise.”
