AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“In the flesh,” she drawled. “Ruby and I decided to meet for lunch and get the scoop from you all at once.”
Brie exited the coffee shop and slipped her arm through mine, urging me to walk and talk.
“Emma is with her,” I told her, and she stopped suddenly, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she hit the FaceTime button. When the screen filled with their faces, Brie stuck her hand in front of me and waved.
“I see it’s Ms. Hyde joining us today,” Brie teased Emma.
Emma stuck her tongue out at Brie, showing off the silver barbell with diamond studs on each end that went through her tongue. She also had a diamond micro-stud in her left nostril, a silver hoop in her right eyebrow, and rows of different color studs up the shell of each ear. But that wasn’t always the way she looked, which was why Brie made the Ms. Hyde joke.
When Emma was at work, she went by Emmaline, removed all the earrings except one pair, took out her eyebrow and nose piercing, and switched out the tongue barbell for a clear stud. She wore pantsuits, subtle makeup, and put her hair in twists on the back of her head. The transformation was a little freaky. Like Dr. Jekyll becoming Ms. Hyde—hence the teasing.
“Miles was in town today,” Ruby said smugly, and Emma threw her a dirty look.
“Awww, did you get to see both of your brothers, Em?” I asked sweetly.
“Rhys is not my brother, and I’m hanging up now.” Miles and Emma were twins, but they had a step-brother—Rhys—that drove Emma insane with his “constant disapproval” of her life choices. The four of us were all from Clover Springs, a small town in Tennessee. I always believed she had a little crush on him, but the one time I suggested it, she told me I was crazy and laughed so hard she fell out of her chair. I still believed she was in denial but kept that to myself. Besides, I didn’t want to remind her that Rhys was indirectly one of my bosses since he was the co-owner of CM Creative.
“Wait,” Ruby said, and the phone shook, probably when she wrenched it out of Emma’s hand. Then she smiled at me again and pushed some of her reddish-brown hair out of her sparkling green eyes. “Congratulations, you two. I’m so excited for you.”
“Thanks, Ruby. You guys will have to come down to Miami and celebrate with us.”
“I wish,” Ruby snorted. “I barely had time to go to lunch today. Speaking of”—she glanced down, presumably at her watch—“I need to get back.”
“Congrats, ladies!” Emma yelled from somewhere off-screen.
I laughed and blew Ruby a kiss before hanging up.
Brie and I started walking in the direction of our apartment, but after a block, she took a sudden turn. “Girl, we need new wardrobes.”
“Brie,” I sighed. “Neither of us has the money to go on a shopping spree.”
“Didn’t Mrs. Bergen tell you? Our hiring bonuses don’t come on our first paycheck. We’ll get them on our first day.”
As I chewed on that, I mentally went through my entire wardrobe and cringed. I did need better clothes for a place like CM Creative. And our start date was only two days away…
Finally, I threw my hands in the air and chirped, “Let’s do it!”
“Yessssss!” Brie pumped her fist in the air, grabbed my hand, and dragged me toward the shops.
