Page 39 of Saved By the CEO

And then he smiles. An actual smile.

A siren goes off somewhere in my head. Red lights flash. Alarms blare. A man on horseback rides through town, ringing a bell and shouting warnings to the villagers.

Dimples.

He has dimples.

ELEVEN

I’m in the cafeteria again, having lunch with Josh. I almost buy soup, then remember the lanyard incident and grab a prepackaged salad instead. I secretly hope people notice. It looks so healthy.

I spear a piece of lettuce with my fork and take a bite.

I look like someone who does yoga while eating this salad. I look like I wake up at five thirty every morning to go for a run before work. I look like I have a fourteen-step skincare routine and use a jade roller.

I touch my cheek.

Does my skin feel smoother already? Am I experiencing the benefits of healthy living in real time?

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Hm?” I glance over at Josh.

“You were staring at me and touching your cheek.” He points at his own face. “Do I have something on mine?”

“Oh.” I drop my hand. “No.”

I reach for my energy drink and take a sip of sugary goodness.

Josh makes a face. “Those are actually really bad for you.”

“Really? I had no idea,” I say, and take a deep gulp.

Down the hatch, bitches.

Before Josh can lecture me about artificial sweeteners or whatever, one of the architects, Megan, drops into the empty seat across from us. “How are the lovebirds?”

“Oh, we’re n?—”

“We’re great,” Josh says, putting an arm around the back of my chair.

Oh. Okay.

Megan smiles and begins unpacking her lunch. She’s brought a homemade salad and a bottle of kombucha.

Performative hoe bag.

“You really are so cute together,” she says, unscrewing the cap on her nasty drink. “Have you made it official yet? Like, with HR and stuff?”

My brain stalls.

Literally,whatis going on? We’ve dated for, like, a second. We are not getting married.

“Not yet,” Josh says easily, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.

Yet?

Megan changes the subject and starts talking about a documentary she watched the other night. I nod and make interested noises while tuning her out.