“Really?” I sipped the heavenly coffee. “Tell me more.”
As she explained her plan, I focused not on those tempting lips leaving a raspberry-colored stain on the white mug but on her ideas and arguments. Bridget was smart and had years of experience. I could learn a lot from her if I let go of my pride.
We could be excellent partners at work.
And maybe outside work too, if I executed perfectly on the dangerous plan forming in my mind. There was a reason I’d become a CEO at age thirty-four.
26
I LIE MY FACE/OFF
Best friend?
Cole:My brother. He’s the person I trust the most.
Bridget:My college roommates, Tessa and Justine, are my best friends, but now we’re part of a larger group of friends. It includes some of their boyfriends.
BRIDGET
Standing on the sidewalk outside Barb’s Bar, I took a deep breath. I was late, as usual, and should’ve rushed in, raining kisses and apologies on my friends like always.
But my secret made tonight different. More than anything, I wanted to tell my friends what had happened in Costa Rica, but Cole and I had agreed not to tell anyone. It was the smart thing to do.
Still, I hated lying. It was why I’d ducked my family since I’d gotten back. I’d claimed it was because I was busy catching up on work and implementing my ninety-day plan, but the truthwas, I couldn’t hide what had happened with Cole from my sisters.
I wasn’t sure I could hide it from my friends, either, but if I didn’t show up to Margarita Wednesday, they’d burst into my place and figure it out even though it had been over a week since Cole had slept over. Lucie would sniff out the fancy coffee beans or the hand cream he’d forgotten in the guest bath. It was probably expensive, and I should return it to him, but a dab of the heavenly-smelling stuff at the base of my neck helped me drift off to sleep the way nothing else did.
While I was still imagining the weight of a pair of muscular arms around me and the scents of coffee and vetiver—I hadn’t even known what vetiver was until I read it on the ingredient list of his fabulous hand lotion—the door opened. Tessa leaned against it and said, “Are you coming inside, or are you reimagining the paint scheme?”
“Are Danny and Lucie ever going to fix it?” I nodded at the peeling green paint on the door that clashed with the orange neon sign.
“Apparently, they risk offending the regulars if they change anything, including the name. So it all stays.”
“Maybe they could attract a new clientele if it were a little less…dive-y?” I stepped inside.Keep it light and focused on everyone else, and you’ll never have to actually lie.
“Are you saying you’ll donate your marketing expertise to make it a hipster hangout?”
I scanned the ancient, water-stained tables and beat-up chairs, the chipped hexagon tile floor, the dark wood bar that was polished to a shine, and the vintage beer signs hanging on the walls. I could feel my heart rate slowing with every clink of a glass and every gruff greeting from Danny’s cousin at the bar. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
She chuckled. “Come on. We’re over here.”
The gang was seated at Lucie’s favorite booth in the corner, and the margaritas were flowing. “Bridget!” Lucie stood and wobbled.
I rushed around to hug her and save her from falling on her ass. I kissed her cheek, and I could almost taste the tequila on her skin.
“You’re late,” she grumbled. “We had to start without you.”
“I’m sorry. I had to?—”
“Work late. We know, we know.” Lucie flopped onto her chair and squinted to focus her bleary eyes on me. “How’d your big deal presentation go?”
I sank into the chair next to her. “Great, mostly. We shared it at the staff meeting on Monday. The only thing is…” I grimaced. “Everyone seemed to think it was Cole’s idea even though we both presented it.”
“Jesus Christ on a cracker with shit pâté!” Lucie slammed her hands on the table, making the glasses rattle. “I fucking hate that.”
“Me too. But they liked the idea. That’s what’s important, right? We’re going to save the company and our customers so much money.” Cole had shown the most beautiful charts where the expense lines went down and the profit lines went up, up, up. I supposed that was why everyone thought he’d come up with it.
“It’s not a great precedent to set,” Tessa said, “but if you’re okay with letting him take the credit…” She shrugged.
