“Wow, erm…” I eye her. “You ran out of foundation and had to borrow your sister’s?”
She gasps, her eyes wide. “Is it obvious?” She snatches a tiny mirror out of her purse and strains to see her face and neck. “Oh, no.”
“Julia, stop!” I laugh, despite myself. “You look pretty. I was only teasing.”
She drops the mirror and gives me the stink eye. “You’re such a rock-licker.”
“What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s a snail that’s always lying on rocks and crawling over them. That’s what the kids call it. Rock-licker.”
“And you know these kids, how?” I frown.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you before you brought up the damned foundation!”
I press my hand to my mouth to stifle my laughter. “Sorry.”
Julia flips her hair. “Anyway, I have a date this weekend.”
“Oh, my goodness, that’s amazing!”
“Yes!” She clapped her hands, her eyes bright. “He’s a dad. Two kids. Absolutely adorable.”
“I’m so happy for you.” I lean across the desk and hug her.
“Yeah. I have to replace you since you’ll be leaving me.”
“Aw, really?” I withdraw to take her face in. Her eyes are sad. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah.” She waves a hand. “I’ll just go back to how things were before you.”
“No.” I tweak her cheek which earns me a frown. She’s very particular about her makeup. “You’ll have the new PA to bond with I’m sure. No one can resist your sunshine personality.”
“New PA?” Julia scoffs. “Like that would ever happen.”
What? My brows draw together. “Why, I thought Chance would have a replacement lined up by now.”
“What are you talking about a replacement?” She lifts her mirror, takes in her features, and smacks her lips. Satisfied, she fits the mirror back into her purse. “There’s no replacement.”
“Um, what?”
“What?”
Ugh. I sigh, placing my laptop on the desk to relieve my arms. “Someone has to do my job when I’m gone, don’t they?”
Julia looks at me like I’m crazy. “No, not really.” She shrugs. “I’ll handle part of it and Chance will cover the rest.”
“Um, no.” I squint. “How can you say that? There was a PA before me. Surely, you’re going to want to go back to that.”
She shakes her head. “Where are you getting this from? I and Chance have been managing just fine. There was no PA.”
“No.” I shake my head. “He told me himself that there was a PA and he wants me to cover for them since they left. He needed me to work for three weeks then he’d get a permanent replacement.”
“Babe, no. Why did you think I fell in love with you the second you reported in? You relieved me from work I’ve been doing since forever. There’s been no one else.”
“But he told me.”
For the first time, her brows furrow. “Maybe you heard wrong?”
