Chapter 8
Lila
Lila: Mr. Vanilla is a jerk.
Zara: What happened?
Lila: I attempted to seduce him. Well, kinda.
Zara: Already? What?
Lila: I figured, why not shoot my shot right away?
Zara: I take it it didn't go well?
Lila: Let's just say I'm no longer interested. I will never flirt with that jackass again. I will make my money and then leave as soon as I can.
I slip my phone into my handbag as I walk into the large conference room, feeling slightly embarrassed and a little nervous.
I am utterly annoyed with myself and even more annoyed with Max Spector.
I still can't believe what he said to me. I am mortified and feel like the biggest idiot on the planet. I shouldn’t have come on to him.
I did not feel empowered.
I did not feel sexy.
In fact, I felt like a fool. I am going to kill Zara for making me think trying to seduce Max was a good idea. It was evident to me that he was not interested in me whatsoever.
"Over here, Lila." I hear my name, and I look around the crowded room. I spot Skye sitting at the back, next to a girl with long, dark hair. I make my way over to them, and Skye beams at me, a twinkle in her green eyes. "How's it going?"
"Just brilliantly," I say, rolling my eyes as I take a seat. "Hi." I look at the brunette. "I'm Lila."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Juniper."
"Is today your first day, as well?" I ask, though suddenly I realize I've heard her name before.
"No," she says, shaking her head. "I've worked here for a couple of weeks. I work for one of the partners."
"Oh, which one?" I ask. "Actually, I think I know. I met them this afternoon, I believe. Not Kingston because he's looking for someone, but the other guy, what was his name? Remy? Remington?"
"Remington Parker," she confirms, nodding. "He's the bane of my existence."
"Oh?" I ask her as she fumbles with her thick black glasses. They are way too big for her face and kind of make her look like an owl.
"He is the sort of boss that makes you not want to work."
"Oh, so he's just as great as my boss." I start laughing, the sound filling the room a bit too loudly, so I quickly stop.
"Who's your boss?" she asks, curious.
"Max. Max Spector."
"Oh." She grins with a nod. "Yeah. He's just as bad as Remington."
"So, did you get a job yet, Skye?" I don't want to tell her about the conversation I'd overheard between Max, Remy, and Kingston.
"I have an interview with Kingston Chase in a couple of hours," she says. "He's another one of the partners. It was supposed to be before lunch, but for some reason, it got pushed back, but they told me I should attend this meeting just in case I was hired."
"Oh, okay, so you think you'll get the job?"
"I don't know," she says. "But they said with my qualifications, it looked like I was a shoo-in."
"Oh?" I ask her in surprise. "I didn't realize you had great qualifications. Have you worked at a law firm before?"
"Does it look like I've worked at a law firm before?"
"I don't really know what to say. Is there a look for having worked at a law firm?"
"I think she means like me," Juniper says with a self-deprecating smile. "Dowdy."
"No, no, no, I didn't," Skye says quickly.
"It's fine. I know I'm nerdy." Juniper lets out a deep sigh and adjusts the bun on the top of her head.
She's wearing an oversized white shirt and a long, ugly gray skirt that does nothing for her body.
Her glasses are too thick for her face and her hairstyle is not doing her any favors.
Add to that the fact that she's not wearing any makeup, and you could almost believe she didn’t even try to get ready this morning.
"I know that I'm a bit of a plain Jane," she says.
“I just… I am not one of those women that ever learned how to do makeup and stuff, you know? "
"Hey, I can teach you any time of day," I say with a small smile.
"I'm not an expert, but one summer, I went into six different Sephoras and had them do makeovers, pretending that I was going to buy the makeup.
I mean, I bought a lip gloss. Anyway, I know tricks and tips if you want me to give you a makeover someday. "
"Oh, that would be really nice," she says, pushing her falling glasses up her nose again. "I've always said that I wanted to have some incredible makeover, but it's just never happened, you know? I guess I'm just too busy working here and trying to write."
"Oh, what do you write?" I ask her. "Newspaper articles?" I don't know why I imagined her as a “Dear Abby” columnist.
"I want to be an author," she says shyly.
"Romance books?" I ask her eagerly.
"No, no," she says, shaking her head and looking down. "Well, kind of."
"What do you mean, kind of?"
"I write fantasy with a little romance. I guess they call it romantasy now." She looks up and blushes slightly as she turns her face to the side. I can tell from her profile that she's actually quite pretty. She'd be beautiful if she wanted to be.
"Oh, I don't know that I've read much fantasy," I say honestly.
"But I love romance books. In fact…" I lower my voice and look around the room to make sure no one's listening.
"I kind of told Max about it, and I kind of embarrassed myself.
" I don't know why I’m bringing it up to these two women I don't really know, but even though I've already told Zara, I feel like I need to talk about it again.
"You told your boss that you like to read romance?" Juniper looks surprised. "Why?"
Skye is laughing loudly, and I haven't even answered.
"What's so funny?" I ask her.
"You and that Max, there's just something about the chemistry you have that I find hilarious."
"We don't have chemistry. He thinks I'm an idiot.
Trust me. I have so much to tell you two, but I don't want to say it here in the conference room, just in case they have listening devices or something.
But let's just say I may or may not have come on to him and had it blow up in my face.
" The rejection still stings in my heart.
I felt like I was slapped when he dismissed me so casually.
"No way…" Skye looks shocked. "I was just joking. So, are you guys going to hook up?" She gasps suddenly. "Wait, don't tell me it's already happened." I stare at her for a few seconds and shake my head slowly. Does she really think I'm that easy?
"He's not interested," I say, blushing and looking down at the table.
"Are you kidding?" Skye looks surprised. "I could see the way he was looking at you. He's totally interested."
"Well, he may have been interested when he offered me the job, but then he got to know me." I grimace. "But that's the story of my life. I'm a bit too much for most men."
"Aren't we all?" Skye says.
"I haven’t dated in several years," Juniper adds with a frown. "My best friend says it's because I'm always writing and reading, but I feel like the characters in books are just so much better than real people."
"I know what you mean," I say. "But there's nothing better than real-life experiences." I suddenly have an idea. "Shall we all go out for a drink after work? Are you girls down?"
"I’m down!" Skye nods eagerly. "But you knew that already."
"What about you, Juniper?" I ask the brunette.
"Um." She bites down on her lower lip. "I was going to go home and make lasagna and try to write a chapter of my book."
"Nope," I say, shaking my head. "We're going for a drink."
"Well, maybe one drink. I don't really drink that much because alcohol goes to my head, and I kind of act a little bit weird and—"
"Juniper," I say, "do you not want to have fun?"
She nods. "Okay, fine. I'll go with you girls. It sounds like it will be a good time."
"It will be great," I say, and let out a deep sigh. "I’ve only been here a couple of hours, and I don't even know if I'm going to have the job for very long either, but this whole experience has been worth it just to meet you two. I've been wanting more girlfriends for such a long time."
"Me too. It's so hard to make friends in the city." Skye nods.
"I know," Juniper says. "I have one really good friend, but that's about it. I've had a hard time making friends since I graduated from college."
"Yeah, I get that," I say. "My best friend, Zara, is in the city, but she just got engaged to this gorgeous guy, and now they're living together, and you know what that's like.
" I wave my hands in a goodbye and wrinkle my nose.
"They spend most of their time together now, so it'd be nice to hang out with some single girls. " I pause. "We are all single, right?"
"I am as single as the day is long," Skye says, laughing.
"And I'm as single as Cinderella was when she went to the ball on that dark, gloomy night." Juniper's voice is sweet, and I laugh.
"You really are a writer, aren't you?"
"I want to be. I'm just not published yet, but maybe one day," she says hopefully.
"But it will never happen if Remington has anything to say about it.
I will never be able to finish my book with the constant amount of work he gives me morning, noon, and night.
" She leans forward and lowers her voice.
"Sometimes, I just want to tell him to do it himself. "
"So, why don't you?" I ask. "If he's such a jackass, you should let him know how you feel. If Max tries to work me like a horse, I will let him know that he's the only ass I see in the office."
Both Skye and Juniper laugh, and I grin at them as my heart warms. I already know we're going to be great friends. The three musketeers of Chase, Parker, & Spector.
"I wish, but I'm not brave like you are, and I would be scared witless to let Remington know what I think. Plus, he barely knows that I exist."
"What do you mean he doesn't know that you exist?"
"I think he sees me as some kind of robot. I don't even think he sees me as a woman," she admits. "He even got me to send flowers to three different women last week," she says, shaking her head. "He's such a dog."