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When I finally reached the office, Missy was the only one there. She said the others had only come in to finish up work they’d left undone, but she was the one coming in on weekends. That didn’t make me feel much better, but at least I wasn’t forcing an entire team to work seven-day work weeks.
Missy and I worked through the long list of qualifications and websites where we posted the job listing. Missy had put together a handbook for newcomers since she didn’t have time to train everyone, which would be a godsend for the new offices.
Even with everything Missy did and continued to do, we needed more help. Neither of us knew enough about business to prepare us for so much change, but at least we were on the right track to keep me off the phone and Missy out of the office on the weekends. Maybe not tomorrow or next week, but we were preparing for it.
I would be nothing without Missy, and I thanked God she was such a good and loyal friend. When things got worked out and ironed out, I planned to give her whatever position she wanted and more than enough pay to go with it.
Missy had kicked me out so she could lock up, so I’d called Christie on my way back. At first, I wanted to ask for her opinion on business stuff—I probably should have done that already. But when she didn’t answer, the voice mail I almost left would have asked how her interview went, so when I finally reached the loft in the warehouse, I really wanted to know.
I hoped Christie didn’t think I was weird for calling her a second time. I almost didn’t, but she seemed to have a tendency to overreact to things, and as put together as she seemed most of the time, I’d come to understand that it was a front. At least, she thought it was.
“Yes, Ryan? I was about to call you back.”
Figured. “Hey! Sorry, I just thought, as your secretary, I should know how your interview went. Everything go okay?”
“Well, Sir Secretary, you’ll have to cancel my meetings this evening. I’m going out for a celebratory dinner.”
“So you got the job?”
“Yes!”
I smiled but didn’t get the chance to say anything before she dove into telling me about the assistant who interviewed her and how his dad was the owner. She said many things that I didn’t understand, but I did understand that she sounded excited, if not a little nervous.
“I guess that means you’re moving here then, huh?”
“I guess it does. Speaking of, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yeah?”
She sighed loudly, a hum escaping like she was wondering whether to speak her mind.
“What’s up? I know about your dreams of being a sexual deviant, so there’s not much more to surprise me with.”
She laughed, and the sound was the first I’d heard that didn’t sound... timid. “I wanted to know if we could be friends. It might be nice to know someone in a strange world.”
“And we all know Dallas is a strange place. Sure, we can do that. I’ll even show you the best places for photos.”
She giggled. “What?”
“Sorry, I’m remembering the photos on your phone. I didn’t go through emails or anything, but I did see your photos.”
“First minute of friendship, and you’re already a creeper!”
“Hey, but creepers make thebestfriends with benefits. You know, if you want to entertain the deviant begging to get out.”
Her soft inhale of breath made me wish more than I wanted to that she’d take me up on my offer, even if it were a joke. I couldn’t figure out whether it was because I hadn’t had sex in a while, before that night with her, or if there really was something forming between us.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “But I’m probably going to be too busy to go full deviant what with starting a new job and moving and all that.”
That was more than I expected. “Don’t sound too broken up about it.”
She laughed. Thank God, she laughed.
“Can I ask why you have so many photos of water, landscapes, and stuff? That’s literally all I saw. That and stuff you probably saved from TikTok.”
“And Pinterest,” she corrected. “I’m not sure. I don’t do much, and when I go places, I like to see where I am. I like to sit in silence and collect myself. Like meditating, but without the religious part.”
“I don’t think meditation requires religion, does it?”
