Chapter 18
18
Natalia
senior year
“Marquez.”
Hayden greets me as his index and middle fingers come up to his forehead in a small salute. I dangle the small souvenir I brought all the way from New York City on my fingers in front of him.
“What’s this?” he asks.
“A little gift from the Big Apple,” I say as he takes the keychain with the shiny I Love NY written in the middle encased in cheap plastic. “Per your request.”
He turns it over, examining the gift in his large hands with an appreciative smile.
“You got this for me?” he asks, looking at me with bright eyes.
I nod. “Don’t feel too special,” I add. “I got one for Mr. Khan too.”
We both eye our teacher sitting at his desk at the front of the classroom picking his teeth using the end of a mechanical pencil. We both grimace and turn back to each other.
“No, you didn’t,” Hayden teases.
“You’re right. I didn’t,” I confess.
He shakes his head, reaching for his backpack and taking the zipper of the front pocket in his hand. He uses his fingers to separate the ring on the keychain to thread it through the pull tab before letting it dangle. He smiles proudly, grinning before setting his backpack on the floor.
“Thanks, Marquez,” he says softly, his smile never faltering.
“You’re welcome.”
“You better be careful, or I’m going to think you actually like me,” he says, leaning toward me while speaking in a low voice.
I give an audible pshh sound. “Never.”
Hayden nudges my arm with his elbow as Mr. Khan places his pencil on his desk and stands in front of the classroom.
present
“So it’s either the cartoon hamster or the cartoon rabbit.”
My brows cinch together, my lips pursing as I consider my choices. I look from my computer screen back to José, who’s waiting patiently for my answer.
“Why does it have to be a cartoon anything?”
He sighs. “Because the developer wants the design to match her brand,” he answers, defeated.
We’ve spent the last hour deciding on an appropriate logo for a computer hardware company that manufactures hardware geared toward women in the gaming industry. While a lot of the equipment screams cute and feminine with pink keyboards, headsets with cat ears, and RGB backlit monitors, it feels a little out of place to use a cartoon animal as the selling point for the entire marketing approach. Not to mention the sexist appeal to it. What, just because it’s cute and fuzzy looking, only women will buy this stuff? I feel like they need to branch into different colors and designs to cater to every woman’s taste. But that’s José’s job to discuss those discrepancies with the developer while addressing their marketing angle.
I throw my hands in the air, defeated. “I guess I’ll go with the hamster then. It’s less distracting. The rabbit’s ears are way too obnoxious.”
He nods. “Oh, by the way, Mark set up a meeting tomorrow morning with Kirby-Barton Tech about the new DDR5 RAM prototype they’re developing. I guess they have a big presentation, and Mark wants both me and you to be there.”
“Okay,” I say, slightly distracted with a new email in my inbox.
“I’ll get the coffee if you get the bagels in the morning,” he suggests, an eager tone replacing the serious one we had talking shop about meetings and tech.
“Sure,” I say. I smile at him as he exits my office before turning back to my monitor. When I look back at my inbox, I see the new email that caught my attention.
My eyes land on the familiar name attached to the email.
From: Hayden Marshall [email protected]
To: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
Subject: Wedding Venue
Hey Marquez,
Just thought you might want some info on the wedding venue. I attached a link and the wedding website for Ashton and Carly.
Hayden
A quick smile quirks my lips. How did Hayden even get my work email? And a wedding website? What the hell is that?
From: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
To: Hayden Marshall [email protected]
Subject: Re: Wedding Venue
Should I be concerned as to what a wedding website is? And just as equally concerned about your stalker abilities considering the stealth involved in finding my email address.
Natalia Marquez
Dern Tech Solutions, Inc.
His response is instant.
To: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
From: Hayden Marshall [email protected]
Subject: Re: Wedding Venue
The bride and groom are a little intense. But the website should answer any questions about the wedding, if you have any. Like dress code and location.
And don’t be too impressed. It’s nothing but a quick directory search and remembering that your last name ends with a Z not an S.
Hayden
I scroll up to his previous email and click the link to the website. My office fills with the shrill music of “Chapel of Love” by The Dixie Cups with a montage of a very happy and attractive couple filling the screen. I quickly lower the volume before glancing over the links categorized in alphabetical order on the left, all lined with everything from dress code to hotel options to gift registries. Hayden wasn’t kidding when he said his friends were intense. I click on the link for attire: black tie. Oh god, I don’t even have an outfit that would fit the bill.
To: Hayden Marshall [email protected]
From: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
Subject: Re: Wedding Venue
I guess I should put away my playboy bunny costume since it’s black tie. Should I ask the butler to fetch the fine jewelry instead?
Natalia Marquez
Dern Tech Solutions, Inc.
To: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
From: Hayden Marshall [email protected]
Subject: Re: Wedding Venue
YOU HAVE A PLAYBOY BUNNY COSTUME?! Fuck black tie, wear the costume. In fact, fuck the wedding. We’ll have our own party. Amazon Prime ships next day if I order my captain’s hat and silk robe within the next two hours and thirty-nine minutes.
Hayden
I giggle. Martha, Mark’s secretary stationed right outside my opened office door, turns her head toward me. When I glance up at her, she gives a soft, polite smile and returns to clacking at her keyboard.
To: Hayden Marshall hmarsh08@ gmail.com
From: Natalia Marquez [email protected]
Subject: Re: Wedding Venue
While I would love to see your friends ridicule you for the rest of your life for showing up to a formal event with a playboy bunny on your arm, I think I should save the costume for another night. I think Halloween might be a tad bit more appropriate.
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll make sure to dress for the occasion.
Natalia Marquez
Dern Tech Solutions, Inc.
I return my focus to my work. A new email from Mark pops up on my screen with the subject: Kirby-Barton Meeting. I open it, reading over the details and taking notes to prepare for the meeting tomorrow morning. I’m going over the meeting’s itinerary and counting down the last hour until I leave the office when my phone buzzes on my desk. When I check my screen, I see Hayden’s name light up on it.
“No, Hayden,” I answer with a smile. “I will not wear the Playboy bunny costume for you.”
I peer up and see Martha still at her desk. She glances at me but doesn’t smile this time. Instead, her lips purse together as she eyes me with one brow cocked. I stand and close the door to my office before walking back to my chair.
“Oh no,” he answers. “I smothered those dreams the second I realized how ridiculous I would look in a captain’s hat. I think Hef was the only man in the world that could pull that look off.”
“Referring to one of the world’s biggest misogynists as ‘Hef,’” I comment sarcastically. “That sounds promising.”
He chuckles lightly from the other end. “Actually, I was calling to ask a favor.”
“Another? Marshall, you better make it worth my while,” I tease.
“More lemon tarts?” he asks, a pouty plea trickling through his offer.
“I’ll do anything,” I offer, feigning desperation. “I’ll wear the damn bunny costume to the wedding.”
Another chuckle. “I was wondering if you could go with me to pick out a wedding gift.”
“Oh,” I say.
“Yeah. I mean, I could go off the wedding registry, but I thought it would be more fun if I got them something personal.”
“I thought the whole idea of a wedding registry was to pick out a gift the couple wants,” I say, nudging my phone between my ear and shoulder as I distractedly scan over Mark’s email.
“I had another idea.” There’s a small pause in our back and forth. “Do you have any plans after work?”
“A bag of teriyaki beef jerky and season four of New Girl , which I’ve seen about eleven times.”
“So you’re free?”
“I’m free.”
“Great,” he answers. “I’ll meet you in front of your building at five.”