1. Annie #2
“Yup, but I’m not worried. Greg and I are meeting him in a little for lunch,” I say, fidgeting with a pen.
“Oh, a him. Maybe he’ll be hot. And single.”
“Cassie, I’m—”
“Married to your job, I know, I know,” Cassie interrupts.
“No, I was going to say I’m not looking for anything. My last relationship was bad enough.”
Cassie hums in agreement.
Dan Barnes seemed like a sound decision when we started dating.
I was in my second year of college, nineteen years old, and ended up meeting him in the library.
He was studying to become a lawyer, and had deep brown eyes I fell for immediately.
Pair that with his smooth words, perfectly groomed dark brown hair, and rotating wardrobe of henleys… I was doomed from the start.
A year into our relationship, we moved in together.
We were in love. Or maybe it was only me.
For holidays, he would bring me to visit his family and they always welcomed me as one of their own.
Between his two siblings, I bonded with his twin, Kiley, the most. His older brother, hot as he might have been, was never particularly nice to me.
Dan did a lot of shitty things the last year of us being together, one of which was telling me I’d never make it as a publicist.
That was a little over a year ago, and I haven’t dated anyone since.
My entire memory of our relationship is like a stain that won’t come out, no matter how many DIY methods I try.
No amount of meditation or one night stands have healed that wound, so I’m stuck with this mindset that I have to prove myself to everyone.
I let Cassie know I’ll text her later to get her off my back and to stop her from interrogating me. My mind can only take so many questions at once, and the Barnes family is the last thing I need to be thinking about.
There’s a knock on my door. I hope it’s not Greg. I swivel back around in my chair as a familiar redhead pokes their head in.
“James,” I greet my one and only friend at the firm. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have lasted through Greg’s bullshit. They’ve worked here for over a decade and have been teaching me all they know.
“Heard about your meeting with Greg.” They grimace, then slump in a chair in front of my desk.
“From who?” I bet it was Nancy. She works at the front desk and is always stalking calendars and trying her best to overhear conversations she’s not a part of.
“Nancy,” James confirms.
Fucking Nancy.
I nod in response, then say, “You don’t happen to know who my client is, do you?”
James shakes their head. “Not a clue. No one knows, which is surprising because Greg likes to brag on the big clients we land. So, maybe your client needs minimal help with the press?”
“Maybe,” I drawl as my focus lands on a band on their left hand. “Um, James, what is that?” I point to the new jewelry.
James brings their hand to their face, as if the ring has always been there and I’m reminding them of the fact. “Oh, this thing?” Twisting their palm to face them, they give me a better look at the golden band slipped on their ring finger. “Todd and I eloped this past week. Just the two of us.”
“I should scold you for not inviting me since I am the one that set you up, but I kind of figured when you two were ready, you would elope and not tell anyone.”
“Ah, yes, I remember you introducing us like it was yesterday,” James says, crossing their arms as they lean back in their chair, a smile blooming on their face.
“We were both at Flora...” I start.
“You were with Cassie, and I was there by coincidence.”
I smile, remembering the memory vividly. “Todd had just brought me my muffin, you walked over, I introduced you, and you slipped him your number on the way out.”
James chuckles. “Oh, right, that is what happened. What can I say? I can’t resist a man in glasses.”
“He always wore those damn glasses, even though they were fake.” I shake my head and laugh. Before Mary, Todd was my favorite barista. He quit a few years ago to work as an event manager at some company I can never remember.
“That’s accurate. But I didn’t care, I fell in love with him anyway.”
“And you didn’t invite me to the wedding...” I tease.
“It was an elopement, Annie. The only other person there besides the officiant was my mom.” We both laugh at that. “Anyway, we’re hosting a party this Saturday and we expect to see you there.”
“It depends.” I shrug, looking at the papers in front of me from this morning’s meeting.
“You can take an evening off, little bird. You don’t need to overwork yourself.”
Little bird. James has been calling me this since I started and they’ve taken me under their wing.
“Easier said than done,” I say with a thin-lipped smile.
“Too bad. I’ve already told Todd you could go.”
“Of course you did.” I try to glare at James, but I can never be mad at them.
They’re too nice to me and they’re lucky I love them.
James stands from the chair, grabbing their bag they previously set on the floor. “Maybe you can bring your new client. Give yourself a neutral place to spend time getting to know them.”
I tell James I’ll think about it once again, not being able to commit to something like that when I don’t know who my client is in the first place. They wave me off and leave me alone in my office to get work done prior to this meeting.
For the next few hours, I catch up on emails and local news.
Calls from vendors blow up my phone, wanting to send me updated material for their fall and winter specials.
Reporters reply to my inquiries, but I send them to my voicemail so I can deal with that tomorrow.
I don’t get up from my desk until Greg finally pings my computer and tells me we are leaving for lunch in ten minutes.
Here goes nothing.