I rubbed Katy’s back to calm her and glanced towards Zola, trying to gauge her reaction. ‘Zo?’ I asked. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think we should figure out who it is by ourselves.’ I could see the cogs working in her brain. I’d always admired how clever she was, constantly thinking ahead.
‘We have brought so much drama to the office in only a few days. We don’t want the polis interviewing all Jimmy’s staff on top of everything else. He will think he’s employed a bunch of absolute zoomers!’
‘So, do I ignore this, Ella?’ Katy questioned. ‘And live in complete fear?’
‘Fear?’ Zola laughed. ‘Of what? A giant pink penis coming to attack you? You’d normally gobble that up!’
Katy looked unimpressed. ‘Of someone wanting rid of us. This is blackmail, Zola.’
‘I know, I’m sorry.’ Zola hugged her. ‘It’s just so childish! Look, not a word of this to anyone, not yet anyway. We’ll figure it out, OK?’
‘OK,’ I agreed, feeling jangled and out of sorts.
Why would someone want us gone so badly? Why would they go to this kind of bizarre extreme? Jesus, I lovedGossip Girl, but this kind of drama was way more intense when you didn’t have a house on the Upper East Side and a friend-slash-evil-mastermind like Blair Waldorf in your corner.
Eventually, the car pulled up outside Flirtify and we all got out, heading into work together, where we were determined to keep our heads down and our eyes and ears open for any glimmers of who had it in for us.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ella
A few more days passed, and Katy didn’t receive any new messages. Yet she remained in constant panic, suspecting anyone who smiled her way in the Flirtify office spaces or asked her anything work- or life-related. In the group chat, she speculated about who might be the secret texter with the terrible photo editing skills. Zola, meanwhile, had stayed relatively quiet about her own suspect list, her mind preoccupied with Curtis. She hadn’t mentioned him much, except for the odd ‘wanker’ remark, but I’d heard her bawling down the phone a couple of nights ago. I didn’t know how to make her feel better, because I was going through the same shit with Philip. Every night, I watched his new girlfriend’s stories on her socials and read the thousands of comments saying how happy they looked, what an adorable couple they made. And they weren’t wrong. Philip seemed relaxed, carefree. I wondered if he even gave me a second thought.
The app was progressing well, despite our drama-packed days. The disastrous interview went live on Apple News, and a few American TikTokers shared highlights, seemingly excited and onboard for the launch. Over a lunch of the most generously filled smoked salmon bagels I’ve ever seen, Zola had informed us that the male data was almost all downloaded; now we just needed to add the right tabs and info for each. In Glasgow, we reviewed men ourselves; in New York, Fee and Jimmy had hired two thousand students, paying them each fifty dollars to review as many men as they liked. With over a month until Thanksgiving, everything was on track for launch.
I headed to the office with my coffee and sat at my desk. My friends were already at their stations. Britney preferred working with the PR girls and coming to me with a brisk update at the end of the day. That arrangement worked better. She didn’t have to see me, and I didn’t have to look at her miserable mug. Since the nasty text on Katy’s phone, I’d been careful around her, keeping a low profile to avoid sharing any information she could use against us.
It was just after three when Fee knocked on my door, smiling with a small box in her hands. ‘I brought you this, they’re homemade,’ she said, blushing. ‘Blueberry muffins.’
‘Oh, thank you!’ I grinned, pushing my chair out from the desk. ‘I didn’t know you baked.’
‘Oh, it’s just a hobby. Helps me de-stress. I boxed one up for Zola and Katy, too.’ I felt instant guilt at the thought of Fee baking her husband’s one-night-stand muffins and lowered my head. She wandered into the room and glanced about. ‘You really need to make this office more welcoming!’ She laughed at the bare walls and pristine furniture. ‘Do you have anything cheerful you could bring? Some photos, maybe?’
I shrugged. ‘We’re not staying long enough, so I guess it didn’t occur to me,’ I said before delving into the cake box.
‘You may find that you like it here, you know. The land of the free and all.’ She smiled warmly. ‘What’s in Glasgow for you?’
I paused. ‘Well, I have my flat,’ I said, then laughed.
‘No hot Scottish man to come home to in that flat?’ She tilted her head curiously.
‘Not anymore.’ I wondered whether her brother had talked to her about me; after all, they were asking very similar questions.
Fee sat on the corner of my desk. ‘Girl, they ain’t all that.’
I agreed, finally picking up one of the muffins, which was still slightly warm. ‘Have you and Travis been together a long time?’ I asked, nibbling the sides.
‘YES!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Since college. It’s been an age! Jimmy was his best friend, you see, even back then, and he was thrilled when we started dating, of course.’ She giggled. ‘There was always something special about Travis. He calmed me; he really saw me. And I’d never had that before.’
I looked at her, wondering why Travis would cheat on such a beautiful, genuine woman. Even if her muffins were a wee bit dry, she seemed perfect.
‘What? Too corny?’ she asked, noticing my silence.
I shook my head. ‘No – just the right amount of genuine emotion. Is it weird I’m jealous, though? I don’t think I’ve ever felt entirely myself with any man. Probably not even with my parents. Yeah, I guess I’ve only felt my true self with Zola and Katy actually,’ I admitted.
‘Well, nowI’mjealous!’ She smiled, small dimples appearing on her cheeks. ‘I don’t have many girlfriends. Not enough time. I’m either with Travis, at work, or baking.’
