Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
We stare at each other for a few long seconds.
“I’m clarifying that you don’t have the hots for Flip, right?”
I make a cringey face. “Oh, God, no. I mean, he’s a nice guy, but no thank you to the nightmare that would be running into the endless string of women he’s been with. I feel bad for him and the girl he eventually falls in love with. His regrets hole will be deep and horrible to climb out of.”
“Okay. I didn’t think so.” She blows out a breath. “And it’s not Dallas, right?”
“No. It’s definitely not Dallas.” Besides, I’m pretty sure Dallas has a hard-on for Hemi that rivals her hate-on. Sometimes I catch him looking at her the way I look at Hollis.
“I figured that was unlikely. Dallas is afraid of clowns, you know.” She says it like he’s committed an unforgiveable crime.
“Clowns can be creepy.” I’m with Dallas on this one.
“I guess,” she says grudgingly.
“You really can’t stand him,” I muse.
“I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. I’ve known him a very long time. He’s habitually late for every endorsement campaign. I tell him to be there at least an hour earlier than required so he isn’t ridiculously late every single freaking time.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“It’s part of the job.” She drops her voice to a whisper. “It’s number fifty-five, isn’t it?”
I nod.
She slaps the table. “I knew it!”
“Shh!” I flick her in the arm. “Keep it down.”
“Sorry. So are you two like…” She makes a circle with her thumb and finger and pokes the index finger of her other hand through the hole.
I shake my head.
“But something is going on?”
I shrug. “I think so. But it’s so complicated.”
Hemi’s back straightens, and she pales. “This has been going on for some time? You’ve had a crush on him for years.”
Suddenly I understand Hollis’s conflict in a way I didn’t before. “Wherever your head went, that’s not what’s happening here. He’s always, always been nothing but appropriate with me. He’s tried to stay on the right side of the line. But it’s like…I opened a door, and we both stepped through it, and now I don’t know if we can ever close it again. And I don’t want to, but I worry he’s still several steps behind me.”
She exhales a relieved breath and nods. “He’s a good guy. A little bit of a black cloud at times, but I never picked up on any vibes between you until this season.”
“You mean after the BDF.” Batdick Fiasco.
Hemi shakes her head. “No, I mean since last year in the beginning of the season, when you started interning with me.”
It’s my turn to straighten. “How do you mean?”
“It was little things. I caught him looking at you like…he was seeing you for the first time.” She gives me a small, empathetic smile. “It makes sense. You were dressed for business. You’re smart, savvy, a natural in this industry. Everyone saw how competent you are. Him included. He’s watched you turn into this self-assured, ambitious woman.”
“It’s messy.” I rub my bottom lip.
She nods. “It is.” She taps on the edge of the table. “Look, I’m not saying this to make things harder, but I want to be honest with you. If I were in your shoes, I would be careful. Dating players is highly frowned upon. Head office takes it very seriously. I know you don’t want anyone to think your dad is the reason you get the assistant job and that’s one of the reasons you’ve stepped in and taken over the gala. Proceed with caution, okay? The heart wants what the heart wants, but I would hate for you to have everything blow up in your face. Just because I know how hard you work, doesn’t mean everyone else is going to see you for who you are.”
“Why do you two look so serious?” Rix slides onto the empty stool and cringes.
“You’re sitting down rather gingerly,” Hemi observes.
“I actually bruised my ass, and not for the reason you think,” she says before either of us can interject. “I was climbing on the counter to get something from the top shelf, and I literally fell, but I knocked one of those giant Post-It paper blocks on the floor in the process and landed on top of it. It really freaking hurt. Hurts. Still.”
“I told Hemi about the situation.” Keeping it to myself has been a pain in the ass anyway. Hemi is like a vault. Do I feel a little bad that Tally, Shilpa, and Dred don’t know the details? Yes, but I think less people knowing is better for the time being.
Rix’s eyes flare. “Did something else happen while we were away?”
“Something else? So things have happened?” Hemi is back on alert.
“I knew something was up. Spill the beans.” Rix makes a go-on motion.