Page 28 of Book Club Confidential

“Thank you,” Kate said. “Do you know which post is getting tons of response?” she asked. “The photo of me and that hot bartender from the rooftop the other night. The one with terrible lighting, where I have a double chin and look like a blond ghoul.”

Tessa laughed. “You could never look like a ghoul.”

“Have you seen it?” Kate challenged.

“Yes,” Hallie answered. “I took that photo.”

“I thought you two looked cute,” Tessa said. She didn’t need to see the photo to know Hallie never did Kate dirty, and Kate always looked like someone from a Renaissance painting.

Hallie curled her narrow body onto a high-backed barstool in her kitchen and unwrapped a ruby-red sucker. “I’m looking at it now, and you look like a goddess. The guy was okay.”

“The guy was hot,” Tessa said, swinging her feet onto the cushion at her side.

Kate tipped her head back and silently screamed at the sky. When she finished, she rubbed her forehead with perfectly manicured fingers. “Well, the result of our meet-cute was tragic. I’d ask him to take the photo down, but that seems incredibly vain and would likely start people talking.” She dropped her hand away from her face and puffed her cheeks. “Maybe that photo is why people are unfollowing me,” she said.

Hallie pulled the sucker from her mouth. “I’m sure it’s a coincidence, and you’re probably only noticing any of this today because you made some changes and you’re convinced it’s going to be your downfall. Vicious cycles and all that.”

“That’s not the right term,” Kate said. “Regardless, this is why I should run when strangers ask for a picture with me. They will put anything online.”

“I took that photo,” Hallie repeated. “It’s not bad.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “He was so unfairly good looking too. Now whenever he sees this picture, he’ll remember me as the monster who broke his camera.”

Tessa smiled. “I like when you’re dramatic like this. It makes me feel better.”

Kate’s frame sagged into a pout. “What’s going on? Did something else happen at the office?”

“Oh, you know,” Tessa said. “Xavier assigned the Lilacs and Lace account to Peyton, his new right-hand man, protégé, and VP of accounts. No big deal. Then he told Peyton to assemble a team for the big pitch, because he’s basically our second boss now.”

Hallie faked a gag. “He came straight to you, didn’t he? Now you have to work with him on an account that should be yours.”

“No!” Kate gasped, then frowned. “Wait. Yes? Why are you shaking your head?”

“I declined Peyton’s request to join his dream team,” Tessa said. “And it felt incredible, but in hindsight, it will probably make things worse for me. Everyone heard Xavier tell him to pick a team. Also, I’m not sure wearing dresses and heels to the office is getting me the respect I wanted. It felt like rebellion at first, but now I’m spending too much time thanking people for the compliments.”

“The agony,” Hallie said. And she returned the sucker to her mouth.

“I’m not complaining about the nice things they say,” Tessa clarified. “It just wasn’t how I expected to feel. Maybe I’ll give it another few days, then find a middle ground between femme fatale and pantsuits.”

Kate shook her head. “Keep wearing whatever speaks to you each morning. Personal fashion is freeing.”

“Yeah,” Hallie agreed. “Everyone will get used to the new look soon.”

Kate’s sad expression returned. “Some people just aren’t fans of change. They get antsy anytime anything different happens. Then they go running for the hills.”

“Humans like predictability,” Hallie added. “It’s like a survival instinct from the Neanderthal days hidden in our DNA.”

“Makes sense,” Tessa said. “Kind of.” She smiled. “We became unpredictable today, and people were caught off guard. I’m sure that’s all it was.”

Hallie pointed her sucker at the screen in agreement.

“I loved your post about our book club and personal challenge,” Tessa told Kate.

“You’re the only one,” Kate said.

“Untrue.” Hallie tapped her screen. “I just liked it too.”

“Great.” Kate rolled her eyes. “I want to support you in this thirty-day challenge, Tessa, but if the mass exodus of my followers continues, I have to go back to strictly posting my usual aesthetic.”