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“Why? Because you want to transform into something else?”
Feeling my face flush under the new attention and the direction this conversation is taking, I distract myself by pretending to rummage through my very empty drawers.
“Do you need some supplies? I can take you down to the supply room. They have everything down there.”
“Sure,” I say over my shoulder as I close the bottom drawer.
“Where is all your stuff?”
“I decided not to bring much for my first day.”
She narrows her eyes at me, studying me carefully. “Are you planning on staying?”
I hesitate, trying to figure out where she’s going with this. “Um…yes. Unless I get fired on the first day.”
Via pushes her glasses up her nose, looking away as her shoulders tense ever so slightly. Her unspoken words sit heavily on my chest.
“Go ahead. Say it.”
Her eyes shift to mine. “Say what?”
“Whatever it is you heard about me.”
She crosses her arms, looking completely offended. “Nope. I don’t do office gossip or drama. Especially when it comes from the mouths of two-faced bitches who have nothing better to do with their time than discuss Greg’s love life. Gross.”
I smile, hoping to hell I just made a new friend. “I like you.”
“Good, because I like you too.”
Her confession takes me by surprise, and I glance over my shoulder at Via, watching her grab a piece of paper as she scribbles something down. It’s nice to have a potential friend on day one. Some might call this hope, but I tend to label it delayed disappointment.
I’m going to count this as a win for now.
CHAPTER 18
ZOE
“So, what’s your story, Zoe?”
Via bites into her burger as a giant piece of tomato falls onto the foil wrapping in front of her.
“No story.”
She rolls her eyes at me, chewing and shaking her head. It seems that my two-word answer didn’t satisfy her. In an attempt to give myself more time to think, I take a bite of my burger. Via’s eyes widen, signaling her impatience for my response, but I just laugh and take a sip of my soda.
“Should have taken a smaller bite.”
We’re sitting in a crowded cafeteria in the building next to Bloom, which happens to be close to the Rubin Museum of Art. Via claimed the food here is much better than Bloom’s, so we walked over for lunch.
Outside, in the midst of January, snow softly falls while busy New Yorkers stride briskly, unaffected by the cold, or anything else, for that matter. In this city, everyone is always on a mission, and the city itself never seems to rest. It appears that leisurely pursuits are not the norm here, or maybe they are and I simply haven’t experienced them yet. Aaron mentioned that he plans to take a day off soon to show me around Hudson Yards and give me a tour of New York City.
“Earth to Zoe. Dish, girl,” Via says before stuffing a handful of fries into her mouth.
I shrug. “Honestly, not much to tell.”
“I don’t buy your bullshit. Sorry.”
I take another bite out of my burger, even though first-day work jitters have robbed my appetite today. I don’t bother stopping the groan as the smoky goodness and fresh flavors of the burger burst in my mouth. Via was right; this might be the best burger I’ve ever had.
