Jace has an opening in the morning on December 14th then she will be out of the state for two weeks. Does that work for you?
Lisa
Onmy birthday? What am I going to do? Delay my chance because I want the full day to cry over the end of my twenties?
I take a deep breath, telling myself to wait at least five minutes before sending off a response.Why are you waiting? Like it will make them think you have options? Trying to wait to text back so you don’t seem too thirsty? This is a job, not a date. The fuck?
After arguing with myself in my head, I forget the five-minute wait and email her back.
That’s perfect. See you then!
Bri
My pace quickens with the rush of adrenaline. There’s only two blocks left to Junie’s office, where she will trade me her car for a ride to the airport and house-sitting while she’s on vacation. Such a difficult offer to accept.
It’s the final countdown in a few ways. I’m giving Keisha some space to be alone with her stupid husband before the baby arrives. She still seems thankful to have me around, especially when I’m doing laundry or picking up all the chores that have become harder while carrying around a watermelon in her uterus. With only a month left,they need to sleep as much as possible while they still can.
Liem and I haven’t been speaking as often as we used to. He says it’s because of work, but I’m not sure our last time together went well for either of us. I want to protect him, always, and doing that means I have to redraw the boundariesheput in place. Until I’m confident we will not repeat the past and hurt each other, I can’t entertain something more with him. Living with him, becoming his girlfriend, whatever it would be. He’s still my best friend, and I miss him.
I call him, and the phone rings and rings. When I end the call, his text comes through.
Liem: In a meeting.
He doesn’t text like that. It’s an auto-generated response. He’s too busy to write a sentence? I feel bad for him. And for me.
Finally, I arrive at the office, only to find Junie’s shades are down and her assistant is gone for the day. She’s meticulous about her privacy during tough meetings, so she must be in one that’s running late.
I sit in the lobby, waiting for her to finish up whatever she needs to do, watching the clock tick down. When more of the office lights go out, I feel awkward sitting alone in the dark. For a moment, I worry she left and didn’t tell me, but the light is still on inside.Let me go poke my head in and make sure she hasn’t lost track of time.
“Junie, are you—oh my god!” I close her door, but not before I see her sitting on her desk, legs spread wide for the tall, dark, and handsome male specimen between her thighs. I cover my gaping mouth, trying to process what I just saw. Junie’s getting some. Atwork.
After they finish up, they walk out of her office, exchanging a nonchalant nod like they just wrapped up a meeting. They may have wrappedsomethingup. Or not. I’ll find out.
Before I can say a word, she grabs me by the arm and drags meto the elevators. My face is stuck in anOoh, I know what you’ve been doin’expression.
She waits until we’re in the elevator on the way to the parking garage before she answers the first of my questions. “Yes, he’s my boyfriend.”
“What?” Sneaky link, I expected, but boyfriend? We’re using titles. “How? Who? When? Also, why?”
“His name is Sean, we’ve been seeing each other for almost a year, and—”
“Ayear?”
“Yes. Because he technically works for me until next week. He’s transferring to another department, then we’ll disclose our relationship after a couple of months.”
The elevator doors open into the garage. We walk to her car in silence as if the security cameras will catch all her secrets. The second we’re in the car, I need to learn more.
“You have plans,” I say.
“Yes, bitch. Did you think I’m going to Punta Cana by myself?”
“Oh my god.” I could cry happy tears if I didn’t have to drive. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There was nothing between us until there was. Then we decidedit wasn’t going to be a thing because itcouldn’tbe a thing, and now . . .it’s definitely a thing.”
“But a year?”
“We’ve only been serious for six months or so. We made it official right before you went to New York. Then there was your breakup, then Keisha’s baby news, all while I was focused on getting partner. Life was moving fast, and we were enjoying whatever we had in private. Sound familiar?” She means me and Liem.
