Here goes, game on. I need to do a few more edits on my article, and then I can send it over.
"Erin, did you see the email from Chelsie?" Aly says excitedly. "I'm so nervous. I just sent over my work."
Bre lets out a snort from her desk. Seriously, why does she have to be so rude?
Aly notices and makes a face. "How about you, Bre? Are you ready for your interview?" she asks sweetly.
Bre finally looks up from her phone. "Of course I'm ready. I've been doing this a long time, unlike some people."
Ouch. This is awkward. Although I'm sure this is how it's going to be around here from now on. Stiff competition and we're all battling it out for the same five positions.
"Erin, you're probably feeling pretty good. You have the best chance out of all of us to get it," Aly says.
I'm not sure what she means by that. Bre looks over and gives me a puzzled look.
"Why would you say that?" I ask defensively. "I have no better chance than anyone else."
"Sure you do," she replies. "Aiden is on the interview committee, and you're dating him. That's a huge deal."
Bre raises her eyebrows at me. I fold my arms and glare at Aly. She's starting to get on my last nerve, and with my patience wearing thin, I will be less inclined to defend her all the time. I guess Bre didn't know about Aiden being on the interview committee. She has no reason to be mad at me, though. It's not my place to announce that.
"I don't mean anything bad by that," Aly says, backpedaling. "It's just nice to have a friendly face on the panel. I'm relieved to know him as well."
It's too late, I think to myself.
"I just found out, too, but it doesn't mean anything," I reply. "There's a whole panel making this decision, not just one person."
Bre and Aly don't say anything else, so I go back to work. When I open my file, I notice that something is wrong. About a quarter of my article is missing. My heart starts to sink. What happened to my ending? I start to panic. Did I not save the final copy? I was up so late, maybe I didn't save it. I'm going to cry. I look through all my recent documents, and sure enough, the ending is missing.
"No, no, no," I exclaim.
It will be fine, I tell myself. I put my head down on my desk. I can come back from this. It's just the ending.
"What's the matter?" Bre asks.
"Do you still have that ice pack? I may need it."
* * *
What a mess. I have edited and changed my article about four times and something is still missing. When everyone leaves the office for the day, I'm finally able to concentrate. I take a few minutes to text Will about dinner on Friday. How could I do this? Am I just getting careless in my old age? I've never lost a document, especially something with this kind of importance.
I start to daydream about my day from hell. It started out so fantastic. Now I'm hanging out with Will on Friday and have a date with Aiden on Saturday. This is really out of character for me. I'm certainly not one to juggle different men. Although the only reason I'm going to dinner with Will is to keep my mother off my back. I would say that's a pretty legitimate reason. I'm starting to wonder if Aly did look at my phone while I was out dealing with Bre's issues. If she did, then she obviously saw the texts from Will. So, that would mean that she thinks I'm going out with another guy. I probably should say something just to keep anyone from jumping to conclusions. I did mention it to Aiden and he didn't seem a bit phased by it, and it's not like we are exclusive or anything, so really, I can do what I want. I do need to make it clear that I have no desire to see anyone else though. Not that I owe her any kind of explanation, but what if she said something to Aiden?
Here I go again, daydreaming about my personal life. These distractions are going to completely ruin my career. Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, but still, I need to focus. Wait until I tell Mya about my busy weekend.
I'm suddenly startled when I hear a noise. That's strange—it's after six p.m. Everyone should have left for the day. I consider hiding under my desk, but I don't have enough time. I grab a stapler, because I'm sure a stapler is going to keep a killer away. My heart starts to race as I hear someone come around the corner.
It's Bre. We both scream when we see each other.
"What the hell, Bre? I almost hit you with this." I fall back into my chair.
"You almost hit me with your stapler?" she asks sarcastically. "Scary."
Why is Bre here after work hours? She's rarely here during work hours. This is very weird. In fact, this whole day has been weird.
"What are you doing here?" I ask her.
She looks uneasy, and I can tell she's up to something.
"I just forgot to take care of something." She sits down at her desk and tries to look busy.
I turn my chair to face her. I silently wait for her to see me staring at her.
She turns toward me. "What? Is there a reason that you're staring at me?" She has obviously forgotten that, after working with her for years, I know she would never be at the office after hours. Except maybe if she forgot her phone. Which would never happen.
"No reason. I'm just surprised to see you," I say nonchalantly.
She looks mad, actually more like furious. "Why? I work here, too."
I can't believe this. Does she really want me to get into this with her? Her being defensive makes me more suspicious of her.
"Never mind." I turn back to my computer and try to ignore my curiosity. She sits at her desk and tries to look busy. I get the impression she's waiting for something.
"So, are you here this late every day? I know you live for this place, but you need a personal life, too," she asks after a while. I want to give her a smartass reply but resist the urge.
"Not usually. I had an issue come up that I had to work on, so I really had no choice but to stay." I erase another two sentences in my article. I really don't need the distraction of her being here.
"What happened?" she asks curiously.
I might as well tell her since I'm not making any progress on my work anyway. I explain to her all about not saving the ending of my submission.
"Hold the phone," she says, leaning back in her chair. "You, Erin Taylor—star employee—deleted the ending to one of the most important articles of your career. It's not possible."
What does she mean by that? I've never thought of myself as a "star employee."
"It is possible, and I'm not even close to being the 'star employee.' It was a mistake, happens all the time." I take a sip of my water. I really wish it was wine after the day I've had.
"Not to you," she says adamantly. "Seems a little weird to me."
Here I go again…engaging in another one of Bre's distractions.
"Anyway, how long are you planning on staying here tonight?" she asks.
I give her a curious look. What is she up to? She's obviously trying to get rid of me.
"I don't know. I really want to try to get this done," I say, pointing to my computer.
She doesn't say anything. She checks her phone and then gets up to leave. "I better go."
A few minutes later, she's gone. I'm so confused. This has to be one of the weirdest days of my life. I think it's time for me to go home.
CHAPTER NINE
I have no motivation to go on this date tonight. It's been one of the longest weeks ever, and I'm pretty sure that a night curled up in front of the TV is really what I need.
After many hours of working, editing, and even some crying, I finally sent in my submission, so now I just wait to find out if I get a callback for an interview. Bre has been acting so strange the past few days. The day after she startled me after hours she pulled me aside and practically begged me not to tell anyone that she was here late. Maybe she's afraid for her reputation, or maybe she was truly up to something, and I foiled her big plan. When I asked her what the big deal was, she got really defensive but never gave me a straight answer.
In the meantime, supposedly she and Harry are going out this weekend.
I keep meaning to ask Aiden about it, but I keep forgetting.
All of a sudden, Aly is walking around the office like she owns the place. She's a completely different person from when she first started. Everyone has noticed how she's really starting to kiss up to Chelsie. I want to tell her that she's not going to get very far with her since Chelsie has nothing to do with the interviews, but it's not my place. She's made it pretty clear that she doesn't think she needs me anymore, and that's fine.
I finally called my mom back after conveniently avoiding her for several days. I knew I couldn't put it off any longer. She was so happy to hear about Will and I going to dinner, you would have thought I'd announced my engagement by her level of excitement.
So here I am, getting ready for a night out that I want no part of. Tomorrow night will be a completely different feel. Aiden confirmed our date, and luckily, there was no mention of a possible double with Bre and his brother. If that ever comes up, it might be the one and only date I turn down with Aiden. On the other hand, I've never seen Bre in action on a date, but I imagine it's quite entertaining.
I'm completely ready and waiting for Will to pick me up. I walk to the window to see if I spot him pulling up. There's no sign of him yet, so I look out over the view that I love so much. I really think San Francisco is one of the greatest cities in the world. Granted, I've never been to Paris, at least not yet, but my heart belongs to San Fran. When I found this apartment, I knew I had to live here no matter how rent poor I would be. The knock on the door wakes me from my daydream. I take a deep breath and head to the door.
* * *
My stomach hurts so bad, and not because I'm sick, but because I can't stop laughing. Will is absolutely hysterical. As soon as he picked me up, he started off by making jokes about stopping to pick up our mothers on the way to dinner. By the time we arrive at the restaurant, I totally forget that I'm on a date I don't want to be on.
"So let's make this one of those official annoying setup dates and give each other the rundown of our lives," he says, taking a piece of bread out of the basket. "And since it was my idea, you get to go first."
I roll my eyes. "Well, I was born here in the San Fran area. As you know, I have one brother and a delightful mother. I graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in journalism. I've been at Strike a Pose for two years. I love hamburgers, and I have a horrible TV addiction. That's it. I'm incredibly boring." When I finish, he's pretending to have fallen asleep. "Ha, ha," I say, banging on the table. "Your turn."
"Hmm…okay, my family is originally from Southern California. I grew up near La Jolla. I have three sisters, and my mom is also delightful. I studied pre-law at UCLA but then changed my major because I realized how much I hated law. So now I run an office equipment company, and I'm considering legally changing my name from Wilbur to Will."
We both laugh, and I tell him all about how Eric was teasing me about his name at the birthday party. Will really has a great attitude, and he even makes fun of his own name. After dinner, we head down to Pier 39. I hardly ever come down here. It's nice just to enjoy the sights of our awesome city. I'm having a great time except that, as the night goes on, I'm starting to feel guilty. I'm having such a strong attack of conscience that I decide to spill the beans.
"I have to tell you something."
He gives me a curious look. "Okay, but why do you suddenly sound so serious? I thought we were having fun and joking around here."
I'm not trying to put a damper on the night, but I feel like I should tell him about Aiden.
"I just want to be honest," I say.
He nods his head. "Go for it."
I tell him all about Aiden and our date tomorrow night. At first, he doesn't say anything. "I can't believe you would do this to me—go out with me tonight and then turn around and go out with another guy tomorrow night."
Whoa. I wasn't expecting that at all. I thought we were just out together to shut our moms up. Now I feel even worse. I really do like Will as a friend, and I would never want to hurt his feelings. I'm just about to apologize when he cracks a smile and then starts laughing. I'm speechless. I don't believe this. He was totally kidding, and here I am about to grovel for forgiveness.
"That is really mean," I say, punching him on the arm. "I really just wanted to keep things open, and you pretend to give me a guilt trip." I crack a smile. I'm feeling relieved that he wasn't really upset.
"I'm sorry," he says, trying to act serious. "I might as well be honest with you, too. I'm also kind of seeing someone. We aren't exclusive or anything, but we have been out a few times."
We both start to laugh. "My mother is going to be heartbroken," I tell him.
"So is mine," he agrees. We smile at each other, and he pulls me in for a hug.
"Can we hang out again soon?" he asks.
"Hell yah," I exclaim. "You're a blast. My best friend lives in Florida, and my work friends are about to kill each other. I need all the friends I can get right now."
When I get home, I change quickly and then curl up on the couch with a huge fuzzy blanket. I actually had a great time with Will. I don't have feelings for him, but I know that we will end up being really great friends.
* * *
"What do you mean you will be great friends?"
My mother did not waste any time to call me and find out all about my night with Will. I was trying to sleep in, but I knew that she would keep calling until I answered.
"We had a great time together but not in a romantic way. I'm sorry to disappoint you." I still can't believe I'm having this conversation with her.
"Well, you obviously need to go out again if you had such a great time together. Sometimes these things take time."
I know she means well, but I'm trying to give it to her straight. "Mother, I'm sure we will hang out again, but it will be one hundred percent platonic. But if it's any consolation, I'm glad you introduced us."
She's quiet. "That's not a consolation in the slightest. Honey, I'm just worried about you. You need to get out more," she says softly. "Although, now that I think about it, most of the greatest love stories begin with friendship. So, perhaps that's a sign."
I glance at the clock. I could stop this nonsense if I just told her about my date with Aiden tonight. But I know that would totally open a huge can of worms that I'd rather not have to deal with.
"In fact, your father and I began as friends, so that should show you that you should never count anything out."
I throw my head back. Who is this woman? She must have conveniently forgotten that she and my father just divorced. I'm about to remind her of that little fact, but I think I've disappointed her enough for one day.
"Mom, I promise that I do have a social life," I assure her. "But right now I'm just really trying to focus at work. There's a lot of amazing opportunities coming up soon."
I figure I at least owe her some good news after I shattered her heart.
"In fact, I just submitted an article that's being reviewed for a five-week project overseas." I'm waiting on the edge of my seat to see if she shows any enthusiasm for this job.
"Aren't you the slightest bit curious as to where the project is?"
"Where?" she asks flatly.
Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but that's okay.
"It's at our sister magazine in Paris," I say excitedly. "Of course, I haven't gotten the job yet, but I think I have a pretty good chance."
Once the news of Paris registers, she becomes very interested and even mentions that she should come visit me while I'm there. My palms start to sweat at the thought of that. I rush to get off the phone before I make the mistake of telling her what I really think of her coming to Paris.
I think I might be psychic. For as long as I can remember I usually get a weird feeling when something bad is going to happen. Right now, I think I'm going to cry. Just when I'm about to get into the shower to start to get ready, I get a phone call from Aiden. He called to tell me that he thinks he has food poisonin
g and has to cancel our date. I try to pretend not to be, but I'm so disappointed. The paranoid side of me thinks he's just canceling on me because he doesn't want to go out. I know that's not true. The nurturing side of me offers to come over and take care of him. He makes it clear that I would not want to see this side of him. As soon as he references the bathroom, I tell him to forget my offer. So, it looks like a long night of binge watching TV is ahead of me.
"Tell me all about your magical night with Will." After my date cancellation, I call Mya to give her the lowdown of the date, and hopefully she will make me feel better about Aiden canceling.
"I wouldn't call it magical, but it was fun. He's hysterical," I say as I take out a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Ice cream is totally acceptable after your date cancels. I really think they should put that on the label. I may Google them later and write a letter with this suggestion. "And guess what. He's also been seeing someone else, so he's busy trying to please his mother just like me."
I haven't gotten to the topic of Aiden yet, but it's coming.
"Do you want me to call Margie and tell her to get off your back? You know that she will totally listen to me."
This is true. Mya has known my family for a long time, and she may be the person to talk some sense into her.
"Nah. I think she'll get over it in time. I haven't told her about Aiden yet either, so that should help. I know she just thinks I'm hopeless when it comes to relationships and that I sit home on Saturday nights eating ice cream and watching TV."
I glance down at my half-eaten pint of Cherry Garcia. Well…crap.
"What's happening with Aiden anyway?" she says, laughing. "Are you ready to bring him to Florida to meet me yet?"
I wish. How amazing would it be to take a trip with my boyfriend to see my best friend? I start to daydream about us riding rides at Disney World together. Walking through the park, holding hands under the fireworks. Ahhh…
"Hello?" Mya asks loudly. I totally zoned out envisioning a fabulous Florida vacation.
"Oh yeah, I'm here," I say finally. "I told you before that we aren't ready to take any vacations together yet, but when we are, you'll be the first to know. I wish we were together tonight, but since he's sick, he's spending his Saturday night on the toilet."
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