Rule number 50 in the handbook. Make them believe you share something in common. It encourages people to let their guards down.
“We Army brats have to stick together,” Daniel said.
Shit.She hadn’t revealed that her family was Army.
His heart began to hammer within his chest as he waited for her to call him on his mistake. His entire body wilted with relief when she continued smiling the kind of smile that told Daniel she was mentally staging the Instagram selfie that would announce their new relationship.
Damn. He’d caught a lucky break with that one. He would have to be more careful.
Her ringing cell phone saved him from having to endure any more of this conversation. She looked down at the screen and said, “I have to take this. Enjoy your first day on the job. And if you need anything, I’m right over there.”
She pointed toward her desk, and Daniel caught sight of another of his new coworkers—Jessica Lui, UCLA grad, owner of a budding homemade soap-making business—giving him serious eye action.
Unlike Morgan, Jessica already had a spot on his potential asset list. Not only did they have the connection of their Asian heritage, but she’d also been a member of the development team that launched Trendsetters’ WiMax software. It had been over a year since she’d been a part of the team, but it was still worth building an alliance with her.
Maybe an office romance wasn’t off the table. Whatever it took to get the job done.
***
“Are you ignoring me?”
“I’m not ignoring you. I’m working.” Samiah glanced up at the camera on her computer screen and shot her sister an exaggerated smile. “See. I’m still here.”
“Stop smiling like that. You look like a deranged serial killer. Have you checked the view count today?”
“If you keep bringing up that stupid video, you’re going to turn me into a deranged serial killer.”
“Just look at the view count!” her sister shrieked. The giddiness in her tone was so uncalled for, but then Denise thought the response to the video of her fight with Craig was something Samiah should be excited about.
“Again, I’m working,” she said. “I don’t have time to look at YouTube every five minutes, and to be honest, I don’t care how many views it has.”
Lie.
“Over eight hundred thousand,” Denise said, not catching Samiah’s not-so-subtle hint to drop the subject. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits a million by the end of the night,” her sister prattled on. “Oh, and I heard that sushi place is getting inundated with reservations. The three of you should be given your own special table there. You’ve put that place on the map.”
“It was on the map even before that video went viral.”
“Well it’s not justonthe map now, itisthe map. Maybe they’ll name a sushi roll after you! Hey, don’t roll your eyes,” Denise said. “It could happen.”
The doorbell chimed and her sister’s face froze on the screen. A moment later, she reappeared, sporting a huge smile. “Sorry, my phone automatically switches to the doorbell app whenever it rings. Guess what’s being delivered?”
“Lunch?”
“The baby’s crib!” The unmitigated joy on her face triggered the first genuine pleasure Samiah had felt since Saturday. “I need to let the delivery guys in. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Wait!” Samiah stopped her before she could hang up their FaceTime call. “I had to listen to you go on and on about that stupid video for the past twenty minutes, andnowyou want to disconnect? No! I want to see the crib too.”
“Not until the nursery reveal,” Denise said. “Besides, it’s still in a box. The delivery guys have to assemble it.”
“Fine. But text me a selfie of you standing in front of your microwave with the time showing once they leave. I want to make sure they don’t murder you.”
Her sister rolled her eyes. “No moreForensic Filesfor you. And I know it’s my fault,” she added before Samiah could speak. “But maybe you should take a break from it.” Denise was the one who’d forced her to sit through an all-day marathon of the true-crime show. Now she was hooked.
“Love you, honey,” her sister said.
“Love you too,” Samiah returned before ending the call.
She tried to focus on the presentation she was set to deliver at lunch, but thoughts of the escalating view count on that damn video continued to grab at her attention. A couple more minutes ticked by before she gave up the fight. Minimizing the window with her presentation, she opened the browser and went to YouTube.
