“I saw you two interact. No, I’m not surprised.”
“Well, we’ve been on a few accidental dates. But the problem is, he’s just—” I push my fingers against my temples, out of breath. “Fittinghimself into my world. Will comeshere,to Austin, and works for me. He does favors for me. He fixes personal problems for me. It’s not right, it’s notfair.”
“Maybe fixing things for other people is his love language?” Eugenia prompts. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be fair.”
He’d said the same thing:Not everything has to be fair, Josie. Most things aren’t.
“I want it to be fair,” I whisper. “And I feel guilt that it isn’t.”
“Then make it fair,” Eugenia proposes. A realist, like Cami or Gio.
“I. Can’t.”
“Why not?” she asks.
“Because Revenant matters more. Ithasto.”
The guilt swallows me from both sides.
I haven’t been giving my full attention to Revenant since I ran into Will—hence my overcompensation over the past few weeks. Sure, it’s just a business, but we all profit share. These employees are depending on me tocare.To put in my best effort.I’mdepending on me to care, to not give up what I started. I love this company. I want it to succeed, to get B Corp Certified, to be meaningful to the customers.
But even amidst being distracted by Will, Istillcouldn’t match the care he showed me. Contact solution, a shoulder to cry on, a distraction, a consultant, a quiet companion to keep me company when I had classes to take but felt lonely. I haven’t intended to be selfish, but that’s what happened. Will Grant has molded himself into my world because I don’t have the time or energy to be fair with him.
“I can’t have it all,” I whisper to Eugenia. “I think, maybe, I’vebeen killing myself with work as a subconscious reminder of that reality.”
She considers me, chewing on her lip. “Then I guess I can’t either.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I want to be like you when I’m older,” she says, measured and precise.
I blink twice and immediately backtrack on my admission. “Wait. I’m not saying nobody with my type of job could ever be in a relationship.”
“You’re just saying I’d have to make sacrificesyou’renot willing to make.”
I cock my head. Is this a trap?
“Eugenia, you should date if you want to,” I say with extra conviction. “Like I said, I genuinely wasn’t interested in a man for a long time until now. I know you have a crush on that other intern. The freckled kid who always comes by your desk. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you giving him your smiles.”
Her face freezes. “I do not give him my smiles.”
“Eugenia, you do, too.”
We glare at each other in a standoff.
“I can’t get romantically involved with anotherintern,” Eugenia says. “I have a plan for my future, and no boy, no matter how much I might like his freckles, is getting in the way of it. Didn’tyoubreak up with your boyfriend after college?”
“How did you—”
“It’s on Reddit.”
My eyes narrow. “What else about me is on Reddit?”
“You lie about being a vegetarian. You refuse to do press. You and Cami aren’t best friends anymore and actually hate each other. You don’t have any social media accounts because you got canceled in high school.”
I flinch. “So, nothing nice.”
“Since when has anybody put somethingniceon Reddit?”
