Page 23 of Don't Quit the Day Job

She giggles slightly. "Does it look like I've worked at a law firm before?"

"I don't really know what to say. Is there a look for a law firm?"

"I think she means like me," Juniper says, with a self-deprecating smile. "Dowdy."

"No, no, no, I didn't," Skye says quickly.

"It's fine. I know I'm nerdy." Juniper lets out a deep sigh and adjusts the bun on the top of her hair. She's wearing an oversized white shirt and a long, ugly gray skirt that does nothing for her body. Her glasses are too thick for her face and her hairstyle is not doing her any favors. Add to that the fact that she's not wearing any makeup and you could almost believe she didn’t even try to get ready this morning. "I know that I'm a bit of a plain Jane," she says. “I just...I am not one of those women that ever learned how to do makeup and stuff, you know?"

"Hey, I can teach you any time of day," I say with a small smile. "I'm not an expert, but one summer I went into six different Sephoras and had them do makeovers, pretending that I was going to buy the makeup. I mean, I bought a lip gloss. Anyway, I know tricks and tips if you want me to give you a makeover someday."

"Oh, that would be really nice," she says, pushing her falling glasses up her nose again. "I've always said that I wanted to have some incredible makeover, but it's just never happened, you know? I guess I'm just too busy working here and trying to write."

"Oh, what do you write?" I ask her. "Newspaper articles?" I don't know why I imagined her as a Dear Abby columnist.

"I want to be an author," she says shyly.

"Romance books?" I ask her eagerly.

"No, no," she says, shaking her head and looking down. "Well, kind of."

"What do you mean kind of?"

"I write fantasy with a little romance. I guess they call it romantasy now." She looks up and blushes slightly as she turns her face to the side. I can tell from her profile that she's actually quite pretty. She'd be beautiful if she wanted to be.

"Oh, I don't know that I've read much fantasy," I say honestly. "But I love romance books. In fact…" I lower my voice and look around the room to make sure no one's listening. "I kind of told Max about it and I kind of embarrassed myself." I don't know why I’m bringing it up to these two women who I don't really know, but even though I've already told Zara, I feel like I need to talk about it again.

"You told your boss that you like to read romance?" Juniper looks surprised. "Why?"

Skye is laughing loudly and I haven't even answered.

"What's so funny?" I ask her.

"You and that Max, there's just something about the chemistry that you have that I find hilarious."

"We don't have chemistry. He thinks I'm an idiot. Trust me. I have so much to tell you two, but I don't want to say it here in the conference room, just in case they have listening devices or something. But let's just say I may or may not have come on to him and had it blow up in my face." The rejection still stings in my heart. I felt like I was slapped when he dismissed me so casually.

"No way…" Skye looks shocked. "I was just joking. So are you guys going to hook up?" She gasps suddenly. "Wait, don't tell me it's already happened." I stare at her for a few seconds and shake my head slowly. Does she really think I'm that easy?

"He's not interested," I say, blushing and looking down at the table.

"Are you kidding? Skye looks surprised. "I could see the way he was looking at you. He's totally interested."

"Well, he may have been interested when he offered me the job, but then he got to know me." I grimace. "But that's the story of my life. I'm a bit too much for most men."

"Aren't we all?" Skye says, giggling.

"I have not dated in several years," Juniper adds with a small frown. "My best friend says it's because I'm always writing and reading, but I feel like the characters in books are just so much better than real people."

"I know what you mean," I say. "But there's nothing better than real life experiences." I suddenly have an idea. "Shall we all go out for a drink after work. Are you girls down?"

"I’m down!" Skye nods eagerly. "But you knew that already."

"What about you, Juniper?" I ask the brunette.

"Um." She bites down on her lower lip. "I was going to go home and make lasagna and try to write a chapter of my book."

"Nope," I say, shaking my head. "We're going for a drink."

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