Page 44 of Mark my Words

“Think what?”

“That something is going on there?” I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. “So, Chase and Evan work on his book—which even you have to admit messed with our heads a little—and suddenly, both of them are acting out of character and blowing off their editors.”

“God, Sam,” she chuckled. “Not everyone is screwing each other. You need to check your libido.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother you,” I smirked suggestively, but she smacked me in the chest, glancing around me to ensure no one was within earshot. “But what if they are?”

“Then good for them, but they both better start submitting pages because I’m tired of Isobel acting like she has a permanent case of PMS every time Chase dodges her calls.”

“Evan dodged Adrian’s calls before all this happened.” Not that I blamed him. Half his calls were Adrian trying to convince Evan to come into the city more, which rarely happened.

“Wonder why?” Her scathing sarcasm wasn’t lost on me.

“Evan has an automated out-of-office response set up on his phone. It pisses Adrian off so much,” I laughed. There had been a few times he’d had me text Evan, but I never got the out-of-office response. So, it had to be something Evan set up expressly for Adrian’s number and email.

“You’d think by now your smarmy boss would figure out half the people who work with him think he’s a gigantic dick,” she sighed.

“Oh, he does know everyone thinks he’s a dick. He wears it like a dickish badge of honor, making him look like even more of a dick. It’s a continuously perpetuating cycle of dick.”

“Sam, stop saying that,” she giggled. Kristine actually giggled—not a sardonic laugh, not a sarcastic laugh, an honest-to-God giggle came out of her mouth.

“Say it, Kristine. I want to hear you say it. What is Adrian?”

“A sparkly vampire?” she laughed as she placed her hand in the middle of my chest, but then she froze, stepping away from me and shooting a nervous look toward the door to the hallway.

Carson was standing in the doorway, frowning as he watched us. I could not wait until the universities let out for the semester, and that little shit was sent home for the summer. He’d been a jackass since they announced which university interns were getting paid positions this summer break. Despite his uncle’s connections, he wasn’t chosen for placement and was taking it out on everyone in the office. He’d also gotten a little more careless with his suggestive comments.

“Speaking of dicks,” Kristine muttered as she stepped past me, refusing to make eye contact as she headed toward the door.

“She’s never going to sleep with you, Sam,” Carson taunted with a smirk as he approached me. “That one is locked up tight.”

Well, she did have some things locked up tight...under her bed...

“Carson, a word of advice.” I motioned for him to step closer. He hesitantly obeyed, and I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “Quit being fucking creepy to all the women in the office, and you might get them to stop hating you.”

“Hey, Carson,” Kristine called out from the doorway.

“Yeah?” he turned in her direction and smiled, winking at her.

Her lip curled in disgust but she responded anyway. “I know a guy with a tiny dick that sounds like an owl...”

“Who?” he responded, and I unsuccessfully tried to choke down a laugh.

Kristine was spectacular as she winked and waved, walking out of the room.

He turned back toward me, a frown on his face. “What was that? Who is this guy? That was random.”

“Not important, Carse. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” I chuckled, patting his shoulder as I headed out of the break room, checking to make sure he wasn’t following me before I jogged down the hallway toward Adrian’s office.

Pulling out my phone, I fired off a quick text to Kristine. I was almost disappointed she didn’t stay to see his reaction. If he still wondered why he didn’t get a paid summer position, he really was that dumb.

Sam: That wasn’t nice.

Kristine: He didn’t get it, did he?

Sam: Not even a little.

Kristine: Well... I would say it was fitting, but we both know it’s so tiny it wouldn’t fit inside anything without falling out.

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