“Harper!”
The last voice I would like to hear right now is Cosmo’s, but of course he’s barreling over to us, beaming at me like an old friend.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, stopping beside us before checking his watch and letting out a forced laugh. “The one time you’re early for work and you don’t work here anymore. Classic!”
“Hi, Cosmo,” I say warily. “I’m here to… uh… see Ryan.”
“Fantastic! I hope you’re in discussions to work on another piece for us. Any ideas you have, send them over to Ryan here—” he slaps Ryan on the back, causing him to flinch “—and I’m sure we can get them in, no problem!”
“I’m quite busy now, so—”
“Oh yes, the podcast. Excellent stuff. Any freelance features, though, send them our way. We pay competitively, as you know, and we could use some celebrity angles.” He sees someone behind me and grimaces. “I have to go. Rebecca is over there and we have a publishers meeting in a minute. Nice to see you, Harper, and remember, we’d love to have you writing for us again. Name your price.”
He scurries off toward a smartly dressed woman standing by the building who waves him over, a stern expression on her face.
“I can’tbelievehim,” I utter, watching him go.
“He’s a piece of work,” Ryan agrees, looking irritated.
“He really is. They need to give you his job. ASAP.”
The corners of his lips twitch. “What were you saying before he interrupted? Since I started working with you atNarrative,” he prompts, his gaze fixed on me.
“Yes, that was it. Okay, since you started working with me atNarrative,I have had certain feelings toward you. Strong ones,” I admit, my cheeks burning. “At first, I thought they were feelings of dislike because, you know, we clashed quite a bit and you’re a nightmare for someone like me to work with and because of our history—it was a big jumble of irritation in my head.”
“Okay,” he says slowly.
“But then I realized, they weren’t feelings of dislike, they were the opposite,” I explain nervously. “You said that you were crazy about me, right from the start. Well, I think I’ve been crazy about you, too. And IknowI’m crazy about you now. I have missed you so much. When everything was awful, I wanted you there. And now that everything’s finally looking up, I want you there. I want you all the time, to be there through everything. You’re the most thoughtful, lovely, best person I’ve ever met.” I hesitate, before adding, “And I love you.”
Because, hey, might as well be completely honest.
His lips part in surprise. He’s about to say something when that most unwelcome of voices comes booming at us once again.
“Ryan!” Cosmo calls out, approaching us speedily. “Sorry to interrupt, but Rebecca would like you to join us in the meeting as well. I’ve said you’re busy talking to one of ourstarfreelance writers—” he winks at me “—but she’s insisting. She wants to know about the… direction of the magazine.”
“I can’t,” Ryan says firmly. “We’re in the middle of an important conversation.”
“Ah, I’m afraid I have to insist,” Cosmo presses, sucking a stream of air in through his teeth. “Perhaps Harper would behappy to rearrange. In fact, how about we take you for lunch, Harper, eh? We can discuss fresh ideas!”
“That’s okay, thanks,” I say, horrified, before turning to Ryan with an encouraging smile. “You should go. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, we were… we need to talk,” he says, his eyes wide with panic.
“It’s fine, honestly. This meeting sounds important for the magazine; you shouldn’t miss it. We can talk later.”
“But—”
“It’s okay,” I assure him. “Go ahead.”
He looks visibly distressed, but Cosmo doesn’t notice.
“There you go, we’ll rearrange. Come on, Ryan, can’t keep them waiting.”
“Harper, we’ll… we’ll talk,” Ryan promises as Cosmo urges him to go.
“Yeah.”
They head toward the building, and I turn to see Ryan glancing over his shoulder at me. I suddenly remember something important.
