“Mosquito,” Mallory says.
“Oh, Aubrey, now you’re going to blow up. Did you bring your Benadryl?” Ilena opens her bag. “I knew I shouldn’t have switched into this small purse. I think I took out my pill case.”
Mallory reaches for her own sailcloth clutch. “I might have that aloe lotion.”
“It’s okay,” Aubrey says, despite the bite on her thumb already swelling to the size of a blueberry. “I’m okay, really.”
They mean well, but it’s this type of stuff that sometimes makes Aubrey, seven years their junior, feel like a toddler. They’ve always treated her as something that might break. And she’s let them.
“Hey, hey, y’all!” Noreen approaches with a cheery smile and a round, wooden tray full of drinks.
Mallory looks up from her clutch and claps her hands. “There she is. My favorite assistant in all of assistant-dom.”
Noreen’s blond ponytail bounces as she hands another sparkling wine to Mallory. “How nice. Y’all deserve some ‘me’ time.” She slips on those kid gloves and gives an empathetic nod to Aubrey.
Originally from Dallas, Noreen Parra made her way to AIM via Smith College, starting with the same web design rotation on Aubrey’s team that now belongs to Kai. Mallory swooped in and nabbed Noreen to be her executive assistant before the rotation even ended.
Aubrey has never asked if Noreen likes it, same as Mallory never asked if Aubrey minded.
“Beaut of a spot, isn’t it?” Noreen shuffles her white-sneakered feet against the grass as she passes strawberry mules to Ilena and Aubrey. “Great for celebrating today’s valuation! Two point two billion? That’s just...” She shivers, and one of the thin straps of her flouncy white sundress slips off her shoulder. “Ooh, wait, y’allhaveto do this! My family’s tradition is to callon Lady Luck for something new by paying homage to something old. Good thing my mom baked her famous chocolate pecan pie before my first day of kindergarten instead of her muesli muffins. Had a slice every first day since, wearing a pair of overalls just like when I was five. And that includes the day I walked through the doors of AIM. So clearly, it works! Y’all should come back the night before you go public. Water view, strawberry drinks, and each other!”
“Don’t forget the giant pink bird,” Ilena says flatly.
Mallory narrows her eyes. “It makes a statement.”
“And what statement is that?”
“We’re fierce.”
Ilena cocks her head. “And that’s the reputation you want for AIM?”
“Yes, because it’s not just AIM’s reputation, it’s ours. WeareAIM. We are three women running what they used to call a unicorn company until all the unicorns were slaughtered by founders embezzling or lying to investors or testifying in front of Congress. The level of scrutiny on the tech world now... and for us? A thousand-fold. The number of female-owned-and-run companies traded on Wall Street can fit in the palm of my hand. So, yes, fierce flamingos it is. They can survive the harshest of conditions. They can even drink boiling water, did you know that?”
Noreen nods. “And they can stand in a lake as it freezes and scoot away unscathed when it thaws.” Her eyes float to each of them. “They also live in flocks. They do everything together. And I meaneverything.” She gives a sexy bat of her eyelashes. “Squad goals, am I right?”
Aubrey’s eyes widen.Did she just tout “squad goals” for group sex?
Mallory’s smirk is mirrored on Ilena’s face. Aubrey wants toreach out and grab this bond between the three of them and let it erase everything else.
“Oh, and, Mallory?” Noreen says. “The restaurant’s general manager just told me that our rental fee doesn’t cover dung cleanup. Alpaca or any other kind.”
Ilena frowns.
And the moment is gone.
“No worries.” Noreen twiddles her fingers. “I’ll handle it. Now, how ’bout I round y’all up when it’s time for the toast?”
Mallory lifts her sparkling wine in thanks, but Aubrey, welcoming the distraction, says, “Or you could join us.”
Noreen balances the tray in one hand same as she balances everything at AIM. She’s the kind of nice that you think must be put on. No one actually wants to bicycle to work in the rain to test out AIM’s “Move, Don’t Snooze!” challenge or grind five different beans for the coffee bar or send reminders to turn off your video when you take your Zoom meeting into the toilet. If AIM gave bonuses for being a team player, Noreen would be retired by now.
“As lovely as that would be...” Mallory says. “I think we forgot that splinter warning on the Jenga?”
Noreen flattens her palm against her chest. “My oversight, Mallory. I’ll see to it faster than small-town gossip. Holler if you need anything.”
Like a trip back in time to before everything began to change? Aubrey’s gaze travels between her two best friends.
“Don’t you look at me like that,” Mallory says.
