“Yes, but we just–”
“Not asking because I want to get back together with you.” She handed Harlow her card back. “Isshesingle?”
“Samantha…”
“She is,” Samantha concluded with a nod. “Just tell me you’ll finally admit your feelings to this woman you’ve loved since college and that you won’t hurt anyone else by bringing them into this thing you’ve created, and I’ll give youtwentyroom credits.”
“Ten is fine,” she replied, shoving her card back in her wallet. “I’ll pay for more if we need them.”
“Okay. Your loss in more ways than one, Harlow. I’ll get you a badge. You need to scan it whenever you come in. Don’t lose it. Replacements cost extra. The rest of the info is in the welcome packet that I just emailed you. You’ll need to reserve conference rooms on the site or in the app, so make sure you do that. They fill up fast.” Samantha then picked up a badge with the name of the place on it and swiped it before handing it to Harlow. “Here you go. Don’t lose it.”
“I get two reminders not to lose it?”
“Yeah, because I don’t want to have to deal with you needing another one. And you only get one per paying customer, so don’t ask for an extra for Larissa.”
“Fine. I won’t lose this one. Thanks,” she said. “And I’ll stay away, if that’s what you want. I’ll keep Larissa away for you, too.”
“Okay. Good.”
Harlow nodded and left the building. Walking down the street to her car, she thought about how she’d gotten this idea to rent the rooms and hadn’t exactly told Larissa about it yet, but she felt like Larissa would be fine with it. She’d only just thought about the space and the fact that she knew someone who worked there while on her way home from work earlier, so she’d tell her when she got home. She didn’t mind putting two hundred bucks on a credit card if it meant that Larissa would have the professional space she needed for this.
Conducting those interviews at Larissa’s house wasn’t really an option, and while the campus had places they could probablyuse, this seemed like a better idea since this didn’t technically have anything to do with Larissa’s dissertation or school program. Now, they would have a room and, according to her ex-girlfriend from five years ago, complimentary water and coffee with the option to buy snacks. Harlow had seen those behind the lobby desk, but Samantha had worked for that company for the past six years, so Harlow had been there a few times and knew most of the rules already.
“Hey, I have news,” she said when she walked into the house and dropped her keys into the decorative dish that she’d bought Larissa about three years ago after hearing her complain about not having a place to put her keys.
“You have news?” Larissa asked, sounding like she was in the kitchen. “I’m making dinner. Is pasta okay?”
“What isinthe pasta?” she asked.
“Nothing. It’s just in boiling water right now.”
Harlow laughed and walked toward the kitchen.
“I meant, what are you making with it?”
“Oh, a sauce.”
Harlow laughed again and walked over to the stove to see a pot with pasta boiling and a pan with red sauce next to it.
“I have sausage or ground beef. Do you want either?”
“Meat sauce? My favorite.”
“I know. I’ll throw it in a pan. Shouldn’t take too long, but I just put the pasta in. What’s your news?” Larissa asked and moved to the refrigerator, where she bent over to pull the meat out of the bin at the bottom.
Harlow tilted her head to take in Larissa’s ass, which she had done numerous times throughout their friendship and no longer felt guilty about it, even though she probably should.
“I rented you a space today.”
“You didwhat?” Larissa asked.
Harlow moved her head back into place just as Larissa stood and looked at her. She’d gotten a lot better at avoiding detection whenever she stared now. When she’d first started doing it, she’d been caught a few times, but she’d smiled, and Larissa hadn’t ever said anything, probably because she hadn’t thought that Harlow had been checking her out. She’d been wrong.
“I rented you a space with Samantha. Well, at that co-working place she still works for. I got a membership for the month, and it comes with the conference room rental. They have options, and I know you’re booking interviews already now that you’re getting applicants, so we should look tonight, probably after dinner. Do you want a room with a big conference table, or one of the smaller ones?”
“Sorry. You got me a membership at your ex-girlfriend’s company? A co-working place?”
Larissa pulled a pan out and set it on the stove.
