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Perks of being friends with same boss.
I settled back in my seat and waited for his next retort. But Sam didn’t reply. Not in the next second or sixty. Oh crap, did he take it seriously? Did he think that I would take advantage of my friendship with him?
Ping! New email. Never have I been quicker to hit the keyboard button than at that moment.
I never considered myself lucky. But having you in my life, now I do.
Those words. And a heart-eyes emoji at the end. He wasn’t fibbing around with that line. I know he wasn’t.
I typed back.
As do I… You made me feel alive again.
Maybe I should have sent a cute emoji too. Or maybe I shouldn’t have sent that without a second’s thought. The last time those words were spoken happened in that diner’s ladies room, after Sam and I didthethingwe cannot mention now that we’re friends. But it was the truth, wasn’t it? Sam did make me feel alive. Enough to take one off his book, be bold and tell him exactly that.
Sam replied back.
See you at 8… for once.
Eight? Oh, right. He was talking about work. We got a meeting at eight. The first one with Joe and the client about that collab project. Way to stir up a perfectly good morning.
Do I REALLY have to be present for this one?
I mean this was an introductory meeting and I was simply the Creative Director. They might not even discuss anything remotely creative-related. Especially since I had a hunch that it would be a long debate on just covering the basic stuff since Sam and Joe had a knack for agreeing to disagree on almost everything.
Unless you want a murder to happen, you will join me.
Ugh. I was so not looking forward to this. Not today or any other day. But especially today. Not when I was in such high spirits.
For the next half an hour or so until eight, I buried my head in work and didn’t dwell on the possible what-ifs that might come next.
At ten minutes to eight, it was time to continue my streak of showing up early. I picked up my laptop, phone and coffee cup and as I took the first step towards the door, my cellphone rang. I put my cup back on the table to free a hand and answer.
“Hello? Yes, Lucy speaking. Hi, Mr Thomas, good morning.” I eagerly listened to the man. “Wow, seriously?” Mr Thomas had just announced that he was officially my new landlord and that I could start moving in my stuff from tomorrow. “That’s great news. Thank you.”
Woo-hoo! I got it. My morning kept getting better and better. Oh, I must tell Sam.
Clutching my laptop and my phone, I jogged out of my office and went towards Sam’s. I caught him coming out just in time.
“I got the apartment. I got it, I got it!” I literally jumped with joy before Sam, taking him by surprise and making him flinch for a brief second.
“The one with the bright, mismatched walls you liked so much?”
“Just the one that you hated, yes. I can move in whenever I want.”
“That’s amazing. See, you got it.” Sam hugged me. Laughed with me. Then like the true clock-obsessed man he was, Sam checked his watch as he set a hand on the small of my back to usher me forward. Wouldn’t risk arriving late for a meeting, would he? Still he shared my elation. “So I guess we’re postponing tonight’s first spa night, huh? Bummer. My face was looking forward to a clay mask. I could come to your place and help you pack instead.”
I pouted my lips in disagreement. “Not a good idea. Technically my current apartment is Joe’s apartment now. Not sure you’re welcome there. Not even to the doorstep.”
“Well, then I suggest you convince him. Otherwise you won’t be able to redeem my generous offer of assistance.”
“What makes you think I need your assistance?”
“To pack, no. To help you move out and get rid of that wimpy man as soon as possible, please, I insist. Besides, don’t you want the chance to boss me around for one evening? Oh, speak of the devil himself. Good morning Parker.”
Just as we rounded the corridor, we found Joe standing outside the conference room. His eyes immediately settled on Sam and me. More specifically, at our proximity and Sam’s arm around me. In all my excitement, I hadn’t realized that along the way Sam’s hand moved from my lower back to the curve of my waist. I took a small step sideways to distance from Sam’s touch, suddenly coming to my sense that there were colleagues in the background who could catch our closeness like Joe’s eagle eye did.
For a second too long, Sam, Joe and I were like three mummified bodies. Neither one of us spoke. Until I looked up at Sam and his eyebrows rose just barely in beckoning towards Joe. His subtle way of urging me to tell him.
