Iwasted the weekend away at home, mostly in bed working on a collection of short stories I’d written a long time ago. I didn’t exercise or go out for the salad bar. The hours ticked away with mug after mug of hot tea and thetap-tap-tapof the keys on my laptop.
By the time Monday came, I’d resolved myself to the fact that Layton took my apology for what it was worth and moved on.
From what? I didn’t know.
I ran, showered, and took the subway to work. There was a newfound pep in my step from working on my stories, and I was early enough to grab a latte from the corner coffee shop. The streets of New York looked like a movie on fast forward—people rushing in and out, cabs honking, heels and loafers pounding the pavement.
Pushing through the revolving door of our building at Twenty-Seventh and Fifth, I noticed a pretty big crowd by the elevators.
“Hey, Sully, what’s going on?” I stopped by the security desk, setting my latte on the counter while looking for my ID badge.
“Celebrity in the building.”
“Oh?” I snapped my ID card on the front of my jacket.
“Yep, blond, skinny ... aren’t they all? She’s got a movie out right now.” He snapped his fingers, the corners of his eyes crinkling while he was deep in thought. “Seven sins of something or other. That’s it!”
“Of course,” I mumbled and all the pep evaporated from my step.
I sipped my latte on the elevator and made my way to my office, avoiding the cubicles of the entertainment department. They were all aflutter, and I wasn’t in the mood to break my current mood.
I shut my door and after settling in at my desk, I pulled Lucy out of my bag. While I was scanning my e-mails, my phone rang.
Larissa. Of course.
“Hello,” I said into the phone, knowing full well who it was.
“Charli, how are you?”
“All good down here. Getting ready to request some photography for September already.”
“I’m going to pop down, one sec.”
That’s the thing with Larissa, she flitted around here, inserting her touch on everything. Her fun-filled, live-every-moment-to-its-fullest philosophy breathed life intoBubblePOP, and she loved what she did.
I didn’t always.
“Hey.” Larissa peeked in and smiled broadly, looking like she just stole the last K-cup from the kitchen. “Katie is here today!” She actually fist-pumped the air. “You went to theSeven Sinspremiere, and we need someone to sit down and ask her some questions and write it up. Can you? Sounds like you’re working ahead anyway.”
“Um, sure. I don’t really do Hollywood interviews, though.”
“It will be good for you. Show your breadth. Showcase all your pizzazz. You can handle it. Let’s say, thirty minutes in the conference room?”
“I’ll be there.”
What was I going to say to my boss?I don’t have any pizzazz ... because I’m not sure I like this job?
I didn’t think so.
OrI don’t feel like it because I had a connection with this guy, and I don’t know how to handle that in relationship to my career and my past. I’m such a loser.
Nope. I was going to down my coffee, interview Katie with a confident smile, and go home and curl up alone in my bed.
