Page 17 of Meant to be Mine

Me: Fine. Yes. I’ll help you. But I am not fetching your coffee.

His response was immediate. Ten emojis in a row. A party popper. A trophy. A raised fist. A star. Something that appeared to be a dancing woman in a red dress. Two more party poppers. A face with hearts for eyes.

Not a single word. Just that unhinged parade of tiny images. But it was that last one I was dwelling on like a fourteen-year-old girl.

I was probably going to regret this.

But in that moment, I didn’t care. I was light as air and looking forward to spending the next month with him.

7

DREW

Iwas on the sales floor, checking out things with my eyes on the door. We weren’t technically open yet. That’s why I was hanging near the front. I wanted to see her and be able to let her in. That’s it. That’s why I was pacing back and forth. I opened the door, keeping my foot in it, and looked up and down the sidewalk. Nothing.

I was stressing out. When I proposed the idea, it seemed like the perfect solution. I wasn’t so sure anymore. I knew she was capable. That wasn’t the issue. She had always been sharp and steady and completely unbothered by the things that were supposed to rattle her.

She wasn’t the problem. The problem was me. At the beach club I’d spent half the walkthrough trying not to react to her. One cross-eyed face and I’d nearly lost it in front of Walter, who already thought we were unhinged. This was work. My work. The store I was responsible for, the event I had two weeks to pull off, the brand that had my family’s name on it.

And I’d invited my best friend to be right in the middle of all of it.

Genius, Drew. Real stroke of genius.

“What are you doing?”

I turned around. Edith was standing six feet away with a tablet in one hand and an irritated expression.

“Minding my own business,” I said. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve opened that door four times in the last ten minutes. You’re letting the cold air out.”

I stepped away from the door. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Who?”

“My assistant.”

Her brow shot up. “You hired an assistant.”

“Just following orders from you, Edith.”

“How did you find someone so quickly? I didn’t see you interviewing people. I didn’t even have anyone bring in an application. Are you lying?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Is this one of your attempts at humor?”

“I’m not lying and it’s not a joke.”

“No one finds an assistant in less than twenty-four hours,” she said. “Did you just hire someone at random?”

“She’s my best friend,” I said. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. She’s been teaching on the east coast for a few years but she’s home for the summer. I asked her to fill in and she agreed.”

Edith stared at me like she didn’t believe me still. “You best friend.”

“She’s incredibly smart,” I continued, because I wanted to get ahead of whatever she was about to say. “More organized than I am. She’s got good instincts. She was at the site meeting with me yesterday. She took notes, gave specific feedback, helped me work through the menu logic. And I trust her completely, which is not something I can say about a stranger I’d be interviewing right now.”

I waited for Edith to look impressed. Or at least mildly approving. She didn’t look either of those things.

“How convenient that the perfect assistant just happens to be your best friend who showed up out of nowhere the same day I told you to hire someone.” She tapped a finger to her lips. “What are the odds?”

“It’s not a coincidence, it’s good timing.”