23. Trina #3
Scarlett purses her lips, and her shoulders shake with repressed laughter. She definitely heard that.
It takes a lot of effort, but I break eye contact with Casey to see Imani, clutching my arm with her jaw agape, clearly trying not to stare at Scarlett.
“Yeah,” I say, amused. “Let me introduce you.”
“Oh. No. That’s okay. I’m sure she’s busy,” Imani insists, but Scarlett breaks away from the group to start walking over to us.
“Never too busy to say hi to a fellow author.” Scarlett extends her hand to Imani, who shakes it with no little amount of trepidation. “It’s nice to meet you, Imani. I was hoping to run into you.”
“Me?” Imani squeaks. “You mean, you know who I am?”
I carefully detach myself from Imani’s other hand and move out of the way to allow her to have this moment. I step up next to Casey, leaving a healthy distance between us. But he takes a step closer, heat radiating off him as his arm comes close to brushing against mine.
“Of course I know who you are,” Scarlett says warmly. “Casey can’t shut up about you. Your book sounds amazing.”
Imani shifts on her feet, obviously trying to get it together, but she’s still looking at Scarlett with stars in her eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Scarlett smiles. “Congratulations on your deal. You couldn’t ask for a better editor to work with.”
Ryan clears his throat, and Scarlett rolls her eyes. She shoots a glare in his direction. He winks at her, and she turns her attention back to Imani.
“Don’t mind him,” she says drily.
Ryan steps up and extends his hand. “I’m Ryan Whitlock, senior editor at Anastasios Press. It’s really nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Imani shakes Ryan’s hand, but her eyes keep shifting back to Scarlett.
“We were just on our way to lunch,” Scarlett chimes in. “But let me give you my contact information. This can be a lonely gig. If you ever need anything, I’m more than happy to help.” She leans in as if to tell Imani a secret. “Especially if you want to complain about your editor.”
“Hey,” Casey interjects. “I’m right here.”
“But never your agent,” I joke.
Scarlett rummages in her bag for a piece of paper and a pen. “Never your agent. She’s the best in the business.”
“This is… Wow. Are you sure?” Imani is clearly still starstruck with her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide.
Scarlett grows serious, lowering her voice and taking a step toward Imani.
“It’s no secret what happened to me, so I’m going to assume you know all about it.
” She pauses, and Imani nods. “I don’t know if it would have been better for me if I had an author friend who had been there before to lean on, but I imagine it might have been.
I’m not trying to scare you, but sometimes the success everyone wants comes with some unintended consequences.
Don’t hesitate to reach out, okay? Seriously. ”
Imani swallows, then nods again. “This is so kind of you.”
Hastily scribbling her information on a piece of crumpled scrap paper, Scarlett smiles softly. She hands it to Imani, who carefully tucks it in her purse.
“Lean on Trina, too. She’s as loyal as they come. You got a good one there.”
Ryan throws an arm around Scarlett’s shoulder and squeezes. She folds into him, almost as if they’re sharing a private little moment. My heart aches with how happy I am for her, for Ryan…even for Imani, who is still watching Scarlett as if she hung the moon.
“This is so sweet, I have a toothache,” I mutter.
“Not every day you meet a bestselling author,” Casey mumbles back.
Until now, I’ve done my best to avoid looking at him, assuming that if I did, I’d find him still watching me with the same intensity he had when we got off the elevator.
I’m not strong enough to resist that, especially now as I watch Scarlett and Ryan share a moment, and a not-so-small part of me wishes I could have that, too.
Someone who I could share the worst moments of my life with—to lean on.
But with the little inside joke, I can’t stop myself from turning in his direction.
He’s looking at me with an uncharacteristic softness, a teasing smile on his lips.
It’s such a tender look, filled with so much emotion that I’m disoriented for a moment.
The hallway fades, and it’s only us. Only him. And I can’t catch my breath.
His gaze searches mine for a second before his brows pinch slightly together. “You okay?”
No.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I manage. I’m always fine. If I keep repeating it, maybe it’ll be true.
He doesn’t quite look like he believes me, but he nods. “Talk later?”
“We’d be stupid to continue this and pretend like it didn’t change things.”
“Is it so bad if it did?”
The last time we talked, we got recklessly close to admitting things that have so far been better left unsaid. And no matter how much I might want what my friends seem to have, I still can’t shake this fear.
My mom was taken away. My aunt never really wanted me. Even worse, she lied to me and my mom. I can’t trust anyone who is supposed to be close to me. Maybe I’m better off alone.
If I invite Casey into my life any more than I already have, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay. And that scares me more than anything else.
But I can’t say any of that right now. Maybe not ever, but definitely not in the hallway of the press offices with other people right there.
“Sure,” I choke out.
“Um,” Imani starts cautiously. “So, what now?”
Casey breaks eye contact. The hallway snaps back into focus. It’s only the three of us there now—Scarlett and Ryan must have left. I couldn’t say when that happened.
Luckily, Casey doesn’t seem as affected by any of that as I am, so he jumps right in, leading Imani to a small conference room where two people from publicity are waiting with cameras.
He has Imani sit in front of a few papers that have been laid out on the table.
There is some repositioning and rearranging of the lights in the room before Imani signs the contract to the soundtrack of clicking camera lenses, beaming from ear to ear.
Casey somehow ended up on the other side of the room from me, and he watches Imani with pride. When he doesn’t look at me at all, I wonder if his placement in the room was by accident or by design, or if I’m just being paranoid about the whole thing for no good reason.
After the little photoshoot, publicity leaves us and we make our way to Casey’s office.
He and Imani talk about her book, and I chime in when I feel the need, but by-and-large, I’m still finding it difficult to focus.
Especially with the knowledge that, the last time I was here, Casey fucked me right up against the wall behind me.
When they both seem satisfied with everything related to her manuscript, we say our goodbyes and I lead Imani back out to my car. No sooner do the doors shut does she swivel in her seat to face me.
“Is there something going on between you and Casey?”
I should have seen this coming, but I sputter on a cough anyway. “Why do you ask?”
She shoots me an incredulous look. “Are you serious? Were you just in the same room I was?”
Waving my hand as if to clear the air of her words, I shake my head. “We go way back.”
She hums, unconvinced. “I have a lot of old friends, but none of them have ever looked at me the way he was looking at you every time he got the chance today. You might not realize it, but that man is in love.”
“Love?” I can’t help but yelp, as if the word burned me. As if I want to back away from that flame as far as I can before it hurts me even more. “No, no, no. Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve been…working closely. That’s all.”
“Sure. ‘Working.’” Imani puts air quotes around the word.
“Look, it doesn’t bother me if you two are seeing each other.
I don’t know what the rules are about that sort of thing, but whatever you’re doing resulted in a great deal for me.
As far as I’m concerned, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I just think you should have your eyes open about it, is all. ”
As if that’s all that needs to be said, she turns back to face the front and buckles her seatbelt, the click punctuating the entire conversation. Like she hasn’t just given me something to chew on for the entire ride back to her hotel.
I start my car and pull out of the parking lot, almost glad to leave the offices behind me. But I am going to have to figure some shit out, and fast. Imani won’t be the only one to notice something between us. And, right now, I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not.