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Sera just shakes her head. “Yeah, that was a bit of a shock. I mean, he barely says anything at the office, much less be the kind of person who would sing Madonna. And somehow turn me on at the same time?”
I know what she means, but something inside me itches at the thought of Phillip turning anyone else on. Sure, I knew how it made me feel, and I had suspicions about how it was affecting every other female in the room, but Sera telling me I was right bothers me.
It’s hard to push the feelings aside, but then Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” pounds out that epic intro, and I find a topic that I can escape into.
“Wait. Trish was a pro karaoke singer? Is that a thing?”
Victoria grins. “Yep. She traveled all over the country competing in karaoke contests and living on the earnings. She literally survived for like five years singing karaoke. Then she met her husband and got knocked up. So, she settled down. I guess the karaoke circuit isn’t the best environment to raise a kid.”
Insanity. “So that’s why she started this whole rite of passage? Just as a reason to go relive her glory days?”
“I think it’s more that she knew how much fun it is. And truthfully, when you’ve got her singing behind you, it’s not so terrifying to get up there. After a while, even the shyest person can have fun being the center of attention with her pushing you.”
Sera sighs. “But she’s met her match with the boss,” she says as she points at the stage. Trish is on her knees singing the chorus, and as soon as the transition happens, Phillip walks away from her, belting out the next verse as though they were in a freaking musical.
They even look like they had costumes made for it with him in his business casual, the only thing he currently owns, and her in that fancy red dress. It’s a sight.
“Why’d he come with you?” Sera asks suddenly.
I turn to face her, confusion written all over my face. “What do you mean?”
“I get that you and him have some kind of weird motel history, but why’d you come here together? Shouldn’t he have a driver taking him places like most people in his tax bracket? And what were you doing with him on a Sunday?”
Oh right. They didn’t get the “Our Boss is Homeless” memo.
“He’s living with me.” I try to say it casually and turn back to see Trish and Phillip singing the final chorus together.
“What?!” It’s damn near a shriek from both Sera and Victoria. Victoria continues, “You’re sleeping with freaking Phillip Loughton?”
I bite my lip. I don’t know how much I’m supposed to say. “He’s sleeping on my couch. I guess he’s really taking this whole live like an employee thing seriously, so he needed a place to stay, and I could use some help with the rent.”
They both just stare at me as Trish and Phillip walk down the stairs, smiles on both of their faces as they come back to the table.
“Holy shit, Phillip. You’ve got a fucking voice that could melt panties everywhere. If you weren’t like the richest person in the world, I’d say you’d missed your calling. Where’d you learn to sing like that?”
He shrugs. “I had a music teacher growing up, and I was left alone most of the time, so I just listened to music all day. I guess I sang along to most of it?”
Trish shakes her head, but Sera and Victoria are still staring at me. She glances at her friends. “What nonsense did Addison say now?” she demands.
Both of them glance at Phillip, and I jump in to save him from feeling like everyone knows that we’ve slept together. “Phillip is sleeping on my couch.” I say it like it’s no big deal, even though it definitely is.
Trish cocks her head for a moment and shrugs. “Knowing Addison, I bet it’s a terrible couch. You should get him one of those memory foam pads so he doesn’t end up with a hunchback or something. He’s too pretty to get nicknamed Quasimodo.”
Now it’s my turn to gape. I guess that singing karaoke with Phillip has officially convinced Trish that he’s a living, breathing human that deserves to be mocked. Phillip seems more than happy to hear it. “Don’t worry. I do yoga in the morning, so I stave off any possible hunchback problems.”
Trish keeps up the conversation as though Phillip isn’t the terrifying “cold-as-ice” boss she was talking trash about a week ago. “Smart. Sleeping on couches will kill your back. Trust me on that. Plus, who wants to have to stop in the middle of an hour sex session because their back went out on them? Trust me. It’s the worst.”
All of us are staring at Trish now, and she finally realizes it. “What? Am I not supposed to support the boss doing yoga or something? For fuck’s sake, we’re not at the office. We’re drinking and singing karaoke. If I’m not allowed to talk about sex, I might as well just go home.”
Phillip bursts out laughing. The rest of us are just awestruck at how things have changed. In between bouts of laughter, Phillip says, “It’s fine. I don’t care.”
Who the hell are these people? And how’d it all change in the last fifteen minutes?
“Alright,” Trish says. “I’m getting the next round. I guess the boss is broke, so when his month of poverty’s over and he’s rich again, I expect him to buy the entire night's worth of drinks.”
“Done,” he says with a grin, and Trish walks toward the bar.
Even though Trish seems to have gotten over her issues with Phillip, Victoria and Sera seem to have reservations still.
