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Her face turns pink, and her hand rises to touch it.
I don’t wait for her comeback. If she even has one.
She’s not used to me talking to her like that but after yesterday and the huge blow-out with my brother, I have no fucks left to give.
“Morning, Glenda,” I say, settling into the chair opposite her desk, where I have so many times before. “I think my sports boyfriend piece is gonna hit big. What do you think?”
Instead of gushing over my latest brainchild, she places her elbows on her desk, steeples her fingers like she does when she’s thinking, and stares at me intently.
“Ava, have you been truthful with me?”
Something flutters in my stomach, then turns into a tumbling boulder, and the coffee I just finished turns into a bad taste in my mouth. I wish I had a mint. I have some at my desk, but I don’t suppose I could excuse myself... and never come back.
Just saying.
I swallow, but damn if my throat isn’t suddenly parched like the desert. “What do you mean, Glenda? What are you getting at?”
She sits back in her chair and throws me a half-smile. “You know I’m all about having work friends. They’re very important, and if I think about it, some of my closest friends are people I’ve met at my various jobs.”
I nod. “Okay.”
What the hell?
“I’m gonna get right to the point. It seems your work bestie, Cami, left her DMs open, and someone—I can’t tell you who—saw your correspondence with her about an… orgasm problem.”
No.
I’m suddenly dizzy and even though I’m seated, the room starts to move around me, agonizingly slowly, but enough to threaten me with vomiting.
God no. Just no. I begin an inventory of the personal items in my cube. Will they fit in a banker’s box, like Danny’s did? Will people stare as the security guards march me out the door?
Will Cool Vibes still want me to be part of their speaker series?
“I see,” I say quietly because there’s nothing else to say.
“So, my first point is be careful in the workplace with your personal info. But more importantly, I want to know if there’s anything you want to tell me.”
I don’t know if I am desperate to get something off my chest, or if I’m just comforted by the kindness in her eyes, but I start to spew my story. While the unburdening riddles me with both relief and agony, there’s no stopping. She’s going to hear it all, the whole damn drama. I might not have a job at the end of this, but at least I can say I was honest. For once.
“Oh Glenda…” I recap everything, from the orgasm problem, to my fears of being a fake like Danny, to the guys. I address it all.
Yes, I really do tell her about Jasper, Ethan, and Leo.
Her eyes are wide at my confession, but hell, she’s been in New York a long time. She’s heard it all and I doubt my story about getting involved with three guys phases her. If it does, I’ll take comfort in knowing I widened her horizons.
Just like I did mine.
She scratches her head, something I’ve never seen her do. Maybe Ihavethrown her off, after all. “Okay, Ava. And these three guys work atSports, Inc?”
I nod. “Yes. But I’ve broken it off with them, Glenda. I can’t date three guys. Hell, I can barely date one,” I laugh weakly.
But the guys are the least of my worries, at least at the moment.
I press my fingers over my mouth, as if that will slow my verbal diarrhea. “Glenda, I’m sorry. I did deceive you, the magazine, and all my readers. I feel awful about it.” My voice cracks. “What kind of sex columnist can’t have an orgasm?”
She studies me, saying nothing. I generally know her well enough to intuit what she’s thinking. But this time, I can’t read her.
I let her down. This woman gave me a chance at a terrific career, supported me every step of the way, and I repay her by being a fake-ass idiot.
