Lily pipes up, “And if you all didn’t know, men do not make up half of Friends of Flavor viewers. More like thirty percent. Meaning women are seventy percent. Maybe worth looking at who’s really getting alienated.”
Wellokay,Lily. For someone who spends so much of the time off in her own mental universe, she sure knows how to pop back down to earth and spit facts when needed. Other than the sounds drifting in from the kitchens and the hall, it’s quiet. No one even bothers trying to talk Aiden onto our side, I assume because his opinion doesn’t matter when we have Geoffrey Block, CEO, involved. I watch the hard expression on the older man’s face as he slowly flips through the proposal again, though I don’t think he’s reading it. He’s probably just stewing on how all the feeble womenfolk of the office somehow managed to paint him into a corner.
Finally, after what feels like hours but has probably only been minutes, Geoffrey Block, CEO, looks up with a pinched scowl on his face and speaks. “Let’s go forward with the new show. Margie, Aiden, schedule a time to get together with the ladies and figure out next steps. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to step out and make a couple of calls.”
Once he leaves, Aiden follows close behind him, leaving the rest of us on our own in his office. There’s a beat of silence before the celebrating starts. All of us cheer and hug. Even the ever-stoic Katherine is clapping with a wide grin on her face.
I register with some surprise, after everything that’s come to pass this week, that I am truly so happy. And despite how it felt in the midst of the saddest of pity parties, I was never alone. I have a pretty strong team backing me up.
This team of badass coworkers. My team of supportivefriends, Nat and Clara. The team of my family, who love me unconditionally and who I owe a phone call or two.
My team with Benny, if there’s still a chance for us.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I give Katherine a hug. She hesitates, then wraps her small arms around me in a crushing hold. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn she has the same workout regimen as Benny.
“Don’t thank me,” she says. “You deserve it. We all deserveit.”
“Nice job, Camden,” Margie says with a small smile, patting me on the shoulder as I release Katherine. “Glad we’ll have you around a while longer.”
My brain is a bit too scrambled by the excitement of the past twenty-four hours—and especially the past twenty minutes—to parse her meaning, so I just look at her with my brows knit together. “What? I’m not—I mean, Benny got the fall internship.”
Now Margie looks at me with confusion. “Pardon? I just meant that I expect we’ll be keeping you around for Feminism with Flavor at least. No one’s been selected for the internship spot yet, though I know Aiden and Geoffrey have had their eye on Benny. They have him doing his own livestream on Italian cooking today, starting any minute now. I believe their story is that they’re testing a new format and everyone will do a livestream on a specialty of theirs at some point, but between you and me, I think it’s a kind of a solo screen test for your costar.”
I’m reeling from the “we’ll be keeping you around” bit and don’t have time to process it before Katherine leans in. It’s theonly time I’ve ever seen her in eager-gossip mode. “Mmhmm, and from what I’ve heard, Benny’s been reluctant to do it without you.”
I freeze, my mouth gaping. He…They…What?My eyes flit back and forth between the two women, as if one of them is gonna throw out a “just kidding!” any moment now. When they don’t, my heart starts to beat even faster.
He doesn’t want to do his live show without me. He was never taking the fall job without telling me. He still wants me around. He might still wantme.
The churning in my stomach that’s been pretty consistent for days is now more like the exciting kind, the all-my-dreams-might-be-coming-true-at-once kind. Lily, Teagan, and Nia join our circle, looking totally unsurprised in a way that suggests they’re also aware of my current relationship predicament.
“Maybe you should go check on him,” Nia says with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Calm his nerves,” Teagan adds, her eyes wide and innocent, but she’s not fooling me.
But I’ve been fooling myself, right? It’s clear I completely misinterpreted things. All they offered Benny was one solo live show, one he’s apparently not thrilled about. What hewasthrilled about, however, was finally working up the courage to talk to his parents and let them know he plans on staying in Seattle. Staying withme.And he just wanted me to be excited, too.
Even the small, prideful part of me that wants to be mad at the ways he called me out, how he didn’t totally see myperspective, knows that he was more right than wrong. He’s been trying his best since the start. I still have my own damage, my own shit to work through. But maybe I was too hasty in thinking I’d have to do it without him. I have another teammate, if I’d just let him be one.
The L-word. It’s there again. Poke, poke, poking at me.
“I—I should go find him,” I say.
All five women nod with an enthusiasm that would be funny if my mind wasn’t already with somebody else right now. I turn on my heel and dash out the door.
Once I’m in the empty hallway, though, panic seizes me. An endless scroll of what-ifs and worst-case scenarios threatens to unravel in my head. I shoot off a frantic text to Nat and Clara.
Reese:SOS y’all were right about Benny, there was a big misunderstanding between us, mainly my fault, he’s done his best and I really want him back
Natalie:How is this an SOS!!!!!
Clara:yes! this is the best news
Reese:But what if I screw it up what if he doesn’t want me anymore what if what if what if
Reese:Can we 3way call please
Clara:don’t think you need to. you know what to do, you’re not going to screw it up, trust your instincts you smart and beautiful girl
