Page 537 of Manhattan Bossholes

We all broke into applause. Pride swelled inside of me, for what I’d contributed as well as how the team came together.

“Natalie’s idea to send the steamer trunks filled with samples to our influencer partners and celebrities who wear us means we’re dominating every FYP at the moment. The unboxing footage is unreal. Lucy Dubois did a try-on series and every single piece she featured is now backordered.”

I blushed. I’d stolen the idea from Beyonce, but no one seemed to care. All that mattered was that it had worked.

“Greta’s year 2000 vest has been a surprise standout,” Calliope continued. “And the number one seller? Any guesses?”

Everyone spoke at the same time.

“It’s Lavonte’s year 2012 reimagined velour track suit in Tangerine Tango! It’s everywhere!”

He jumped up and down and plucked at the orange sweatsuit he was wearing. “I knew it!”

I grabbed Lavonte’s arm and gave him a squeeze. “That’s so cool!”

He leaned closer to me. “Hey, we both know that the sweatsuit was your idea, you just didn’t have the time to execute it. Thanks for trusting me with it.”

It was kind of him to acknowledge that I’d been the one to do a quick sketch of the iconic staple. I would’ve loved to take on the full project, from concept to completion, but there were too many other responsibilities for me to worry about, so I let Lavonte run with it.

“Let’s have a big round of applause for our leader, Natalie,” Calliope said, gesturing to me. “She’s juggling, like, seven jobs at the same time—and smashing every single one of them.”

I ducked my head and waved both hands, embarrassed by the attention.

“We need to celebrate, so I’ve got a giant table reserved at Bread and Butter, starting now,” Calliope said. “Dinner and drinks are on Branson, so pack up your stuff and meet me there!”

The room filled with whoops, and everyone dispersed to shut down their laptops. I trudged back to my desk and plopped down.

“Hey,” Rhea said. “Let’s go.”

I shook my head. “Can’t, at least not for a while. I still need to get the paperwork going for Lorraine’s replacement, and then I have to go through some new resumes for Clint’s position.”

“Still no one yet, huh?” she asked. “Why don’t you step into his role for real? You’ve been doing an incredible job so far.”

I shook my head vigorously. “Oh, no way. This is not what I signed on for.”

“You miss it, huh? The hands-on design stuff.”

“So much.” I sighed. “But I’m doing what needs to be done so…” I shrugged.

“Well, you’ll be back to designing soon enough, don’t worry.”

I gave her a wan smile but didn’t answer. I still wasn’t sure what my future looked like, but I was positive that it didn’t involve managing other people doing my dream job.

The room cleared out in a flash, and I felt like I could finally exhale. I grabbed my phone and scrolled to my music. Definitely no Beyonce. I selected a low-key ambient music station that would be soft enough to help me focus. I propped my head on my hand and closed my eyes, letting the relaxing tones wash over me.

My arm slipped off my desk and I jerked awake. It was dark outside. How long had I been asleep? Fuck, I had so much to do, and I was starving.

The music cut off abruptly, and I wondered if my phone went dead. I grabbed it and realized that it was plugged in. Was it Wi-Fi problems? I pushed back from my drafting table as a loud buzz sounded from the speakers.

“The Rogue’s Rebuttal, by Erin Woodley,” a loud voice echoed around the room.

I frowned. How was my audiobook collection being broadcast? It wasn’t like I had the time to enjoy them, so I hadn’t touched my audiobook app in ages. And when had I purchased a new Woodley book? I’d never even heard of this one. I looked at my phone again and saw that it was still paused on the ambient station.

“Prologue,” the familiar narrator’s voice rang out. “A true rogue never apologizes for his sins. It was a lesson that I needn’t have been taught, as the heir to a vast shipping fortune. Plunder and pillage had been the way of life for my ancestors, until we finally stepped into a supposedly more genteel way of living. Still, though, the lessons of my pirate forefathers lived on within me, the first being, your reasoning is never wrong.”

I snorted. Billionaires were all the same, even the old-timey ones. I decided to let the audiobook keep playing.

“It was a woman who finally showed me the error of my ways. A woman unlike any I’d known before. A woman of grace and beauty, but more vexingly, a woman who didn’t bow to me.”