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Holden: Are you worried that she’s dating an older man?
Me: I don’t know if worried is the right word, but I would feel better if I knew Richard really liked her. Max talks a big game, but she’s actually a big softie and must be protected at all costs.
“What the hell?”
I looked up from my phone’s screen at Jin’s question. His eyebrows were furrowed at whatever he was staring at. “Theydefinitelydo not work here.”
Max turned to see what Jin was looking at. “Oh holy hell, this should be good.”
My desk faced the windows, not the rest of the floor like Jin’s did, so I had to spin my chair around to see what they were talking about. The sight that greeted me almost made me slide out of the chair and crawl under my desk. There was no time to hide, though. I’d been spotted.
Sissy touched the arm of the waif-like woman beside her, using her free hand to point at me. I groaned. Harold was on vacation this week and his replacement was clearly not as diligent about security. Or preserving my mental health.
“Help me,” I whispered to Max out of the corner of my mouth.
My dread increased with every step they took until they were standing in front of me. Heat stole up my neck and began spreading across my face as I took in Sissy’s outfit. She was wearing tight black leggings with sheer paneling up the sides, and a cheetah print sports bra that was doing nothing at all to corral her breasts. That sports bra was fighting for its life trying to contain the ample flesh spilling out of the top and sides.
“Sutton,” Sissy said, sounding about as happy to be here as I was to see her — so, not at all.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed, trying to make my mouth form a smile to avoid drawing even more attention to our corner.
“I need to talk to you about the plans for the weekend.”
“Sissy, this is where Iwork. Just showing up like this isn’t appropriate,” I pointed out, keeping my voice low and even.
“Well, I wouldn’t need to come to your place of ‘work’ if you’d bothered to answer any of my texts or phone calls,” she fired back, her voice rising to a level that was close to shouting.
“Sissy, please don’t yell,” I begged her, feeling my blush deepen. “I don’t want to make a scene.”
“Did she just put air quotes around ‘work’?” I heard Jin whisper to Maxine. “Why did she use air quotes?”
Max shushed him, replying in an equally hushed tone, “Quiet, Jin. This is giving me life.”
“Excuse me for being a little annoyed that my sister refuses to respond to my messages, knowing full well how important this wedding is to me and how much pressure I’m under. But youwouldbe thinking only of yourself.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t responded to your messages, but things have been really stressful at work the past couple weeks,” I attempted to explain, even though I knew it would fall on deaf ears.
I looked to Max and Jin for support. They just looked back at me with comically wide eyes. I rubbed my forehead, sighing.
“Hi! I’m Skye.” Sissy’s friend finally spoke, holding out one slender hand. Her nails were so long I wasn’t sure how she put on her perfectly contoured makeup. “I’m Sissy’s maid of honor. Well, just technically, of course — I would never dream of replacing her sister. I’m just like so, so excited to be here. We’re going to have so much fun this weekend!” she squealed excitedly, clapping her hands and bouncing on the balls of her feet. She reminded me of a delicate fairy on meth. Her long caramel-colored hair was styled into beach waves and complemented her tan to perfection. Her fitted black romper was cinched with a Chanel belt, and my eyes almost fell out of my head when they landed on the Birkin bag dangling from her wrist.
“Uh,” I stumbled, clearing my throat, “it’s nice to meet you, Skye.”
“This place is so adorable.” Her head swiveled from side to side. “It’s just like that movie — you know, the one with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway? OMG, did they use this set in the movie?”
I blinked, then blinked again.
“Is she for real?” I head Jin whisper to Max.
“No, this is an actual office, not a movie set,” I explained, trying not to sound rude or condescending since, in all fairness to Skye, she seemed nice. “But I did likeThe Interna lot.”
“ButThe Devil Wears Pradawas better.” She leaned closer, like she was about to tell me a secret. “I’ve met Anna thrice and she’s really that scary IRL.”
My brain was too busy trying to process the fact that she had just used the words “thrice” and “IRL” in a spoken sentence to do anything but nod. I wasn’t sure this was actually happening IRL.
“Here.” Sissy thrust a blue folder at me. “This is the itinerary for the bachelorette party this weekend. It covers everything you’ll need to be aware of, including the dress code.”
Max perked up at the word “party,” and motioned for me to pass her the unopened folder that dangled limply from my hand.
