Page 74 of The Promise Of You

“And your email thingy popped up.”

“Right.”

“And it was right in my face, so I read it.”

How bad can it be? A delivery pushed back? A provider cutting us off? Samuel resigning? She’ll find out anyway. “Okay.”

“Actually it was a chat, and you said I was in charge and to do whatever you would do.”

Right. But really?

Moving on.

“Right?” she insists.

“Sure.” Note to self: Corine takes things literally—act accordingly.

“And so I thought you’d want to answer right away… since it was a chat.” She dips over her chai so she doesn’t have to meet my glare. “And so I did.”

“Sure!” I chirp. “Wanna fill me in? What was it about?” I should have ordered a green tea with an extra shot of CBD.

“Maybe… maybe you should just read it yourself?” She grabs her drink and stands.

“Corine, its fine, I swear. Stay here and use the computer for your spreadsheet. Just tell me what’s up.”

“You’re meeting with Justin tomorrow.”

Whaaaat? I choke on the Road to Heaven, and she takes that for my answer. Rightfully.

“At your house. Nine in the morning.”

My ears are ringing with the sudden upsurge of blood. That’s… that’s just not possible. Not gonna happen. I take a deep breath to keep my voice steady and kind. Kiiiiind. “Lemme—lemme take a peak at the chat.”

She scurries up so I can see the screen. “Technically, I signed C, so you could say it was me. If you wanted to… you know… get out of it.” She slurps again. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. But I’m…”

I must be giving angry vibes now, because she doesn’t finish her sentence. I am so stopping at 420 today.

Justin

I’m glad you liked the flowers.

Chloe

They are gorgeous. And they smell so good.

C

Justin

Now that we’ve cleared the air, can we revisit working together on the dish for the fair? Cassandra has been busting my balls about it, and Alex (Have you met Alex yet?) wants to take photos and videos of us making it together.

J

Chloe

Of course! I’d love to.

Your place or mine?

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