Page 22 of Followed By the CEO

Who is this bish, I want to ask.

The woman sees me and lunges forward, a little wobbly on her feet. Jimmy, still standing next to me, steps in between us, but I pat his arm, assuring him that it’s okay.

Curiously, I catch Hayden jealously eyeing my hand on Jimmy’s arm.

The woman seems unbothered by Jimmy’s imposing presence.

“You were so funny! I loved your show, every minute of it!”

I accept her offered handshake and send a curious glance toward Hayden.

“Mills, this is my old college roommate Stella.”

Great. Awesome. I paste on my best smile, the one I saved for when my parents would beg me to smile “better” for family portraits. “So nice to meet you.”

She turns to Hayden and playfully slugs his shoulder. “She’s even prettier than you described! Pretty, funny, smart…and you’re not getting any younger, Hayden. Time to settle down.”

I must have the most confused look on my face as I bust a gut laughing.

Hayden blushes and gently puts himself between Stella and me. “Okay, no more whiskey for you, Stel.”

Then, Hayden turns to me with an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

I arch an eyebrow. “College roommate, huh?”

“Hey, Hayden. Next time, give me more notice when you’re going to one of her shows, and I’ll bring Luke.”

“That’s very nice of you,” I say. “But I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

Stella cracks up, leaning against Hayden in a way that makes my blood boil, though I have no claim on him.

Seeing that these two are not bothering me, Jimmy steps away to answer a text message.

“No, sweetie. Luke is my husband,” says Stella.

Somewhat clingy for a person who’s married to someone else. I’m considering saying something to that effect, but Stella is digging through her bag. She then hands me her card. “I want to hire you to do your act at the Stel Securities holiday party,” she says.

I wince. Corporate gigs are historically bad for me. People talking over me. Drunks heckling, more than at the clubs. But Stel Securities is a massive company and probably pays really well.

“I’ll think about it,” I tell her.

Just then, a car pulls up at the end of the alleyway.

“Luke’s here!” Stella says. The driver exits and comes around the front of the car, slipping one muscled arm around Stella’s middle. He looks like a bodybuilder and about ten years younger than her.

“Hi, babe,” she croons, leaning into his strength. Luke kisses her lips and says, “You taste like bourbon.”

She looks up at him with love in her glassy eyes. “Are you gonna take advantage of me when you get me home?”

“No,” Luke says, gently putting her into the car and buckling her seatbelt. “I’m going to get you some aspirin and tuck you into bed, baby.”

She mumbles something under her breath. As they drive away, she leans out the window with a big smile, waving to me. “Have fun, you two! So nice to meet you, Mills! Remember, I need a double date, Hayden!”

That was…a lot to take in.

“Your college roommate is quite a handful,” I say to Hayden as we stand side by side, watching her leave.

“She’s never like that. She’ll probably send you an NDA when she sobers up.”

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