“Okay, go ahead, Mr. Lewis,” I said, slightly giving in. “Take all the time you need to break the news to your secret weapon.”
“Really? You mean that?”
“No.” I set an alarm on my phone. “You have until tomorrow morning.”
TWO
ANDREA
Mr. Lewis
I know you’re off today, but I have some good news to share with you. Can you come in?
If you’d told my eighteen-year-old self that by twenty-five I’d be living in my little sister’s apartment and still chasing an unfinished master’s degree, I would’ve laughed in your face.
Then again, back when I was high on optimism and a little delusion, I probably would’ve said, “How is that even possible? I worked my way through college at Sweet Seasons and graduated two years early. Make it make sense.”
Knowing what I know now, some equations just don’t add up—no matter how many times you run them.
“Everly!” I called for my sister. “Have you seen my light gray suit?”
“Huh?” She stumbled out of the bathroom. “What’s gray?”
“My lucky suit.”
“Lucky?” She leaned against the doorframe. “You planning to get laid in a business suit?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes. “Mr. Lewis just called me in for a private meeting. He says he has big news, and I think it means?—”
“He’s finally making youan executive!” She smiled. “I told you he wouldn’t care whether you finished that degree, but um, I don’t have your lucky suit.”
“I always leave it hanging behind here.” I motioned to the pantry door. “Are you sure you didn’t accidentally move it?”
“Here it is!” Her best friend Lisa—myotherroommate—rushed into the living room. “I forgot to return it when I borrowed it last week.”
“You borrowed my suit without asking me?”
“Uh, yeah, because you would’ve said no.” She handed it to me. “I wanted to impress this lawyer guy I met on Tinder, and guess what?”
I didn’t dare ask.
“I got laid!” She smiled. “You were a huge part of it, thanks.”
“Please tell me you took my suit off before having sex.”
“The pants? Yes. The jacket, no.”
I bit my tongue to stifle a groan.
You can move out once you become an executive. The moment you become an executive…
To prevent myself from giving her a lecture she wouldn’t remember, I rushed into the bathroom and shut the door.
Peeling out of my pajamas, I took the quickest shower of my life.
Then I put on my makeup and went light on the mascara. This meeting mattered too much to risk streaks.
The last time he asked me to meet him this early, it was to present me with a five-thousand-dollar bonus.
