Page 74 of Mark my Words

“Friends? That’s the label you’re going with? We need to subdue our friendliness around people from the office.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, things have been sufficiently subdued, Kris. You’ve barely spoken to me the last few weeks.” He was right, but we would be spending lots of time together starting in a few weeks, and we needed to maintain our professionalism at least. Rumors had been flying around the office about Adrian and Isobel all day, and I didn’t want to be the next hot topic of gossip.

“I know, but...” I didn’t even know how to tell him exactly what I needed. “Chase will tell Isobel if she thinks we’re involved, and I don’t want it to...”

“Make you look bad? Are you ashamed of me now? Isobel is hardly going to tell the hiring team even if she did find out about the two of us.”

“Sam, you know it’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it? You plan to keep me your dirty little secret forever?”

“It’s not like we’re dating. It was never supposed to be anything serious. I keep telling you this, and you don’t listen to me.” Nana would kill me if she knew I was downplaying my feelings like I was.

Sam squinted, and for a moment, I thought he would call me out on my bullshit, but he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine, you want to play it like that. I can be the best platonic coworker you’ve ever seen. I’ll keep my hands to myself. Can you do the same?”

“God, how does your ego even fit in this room? Have you been taking notes on Adrian’s personality and his job?”

Isobel had been too distracted to do anything other than relaying the information Sloane had been feeding her throughout the entire process. Sam was being groomed for the job, and Isobel was hardly in the office, having a very unsubtle affair with the office jackass and encouraging me to take vacation time.

I felt like the more I wanted it, the further the possibility of this job slipped beyond my grasp. Maybe I needed to talk to Sloane about New York. I didn’t want to sit back and let Sam—or someone else—waltz right into the position while I left the other one on the table.

“Fine, you want space. I’ll give you space...again.” Sam stood from the table and grabbed his bag, not glancing back as he closed the door behind him. Once again, I was left feeling like an asshole while I pushed everyone away from me. Maybe I was a lost cause.

“Come on in, Kristine,” Sloane greeted with a smile from the door to her office. I was low-key jealous of her floor-to-ceiling windows, a view of downtown Boston stretching out on the other side of the glass. The view from Isobel’s office was nice, but this was something else.

She gestured for me to sit in one of the chairs across from her desk. I gingerly sat on the edge of the cushion, trying to remember all the lessons drilled into me during my teen years about maintaining posture and meaningful eye contact.

“Chloe left a note that you wanted to discuss something with me?”

Her assistant had tried to coerce me into divulging what I needed to talk to Sloane about, but I’d remained close-lipped, making the soonest appointment I could get into her office. Isobel had been back and forth with the formatters all day on the back matter for the book, and I hadn’t been able to get her alone for a moment, much less to tell her that maybe she’d been right. She’d be rubbing it in my face if she knew I was even considering the position I’d denied wanting so adamantly.

“Isobel told me that you were putting my name forward for the position in New York?”

“Is that a problem?” Her expression was carefully neutral as she leaned back in her chair and scanned my face.

“No,” I sighed, taking a deep breath. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I know Isobel told you I wasn’t interested in the position...”

“But you’ve changed your mind? Your brother told me it was best to let you come around to the possibility on your own.”

I bristled at the mention of Gregory, but he was right. I wasn’t the type to be told to do something. I needed to make my own decisions and not feel like I was being forced into something.

“I’m open to the possibility. I’d still like to be considered for the position in this office, but I’m eager to take on more responsibility.”

“That’s good to hear, Ms. Willard. The progress reports Adrian and Isobel have shared with me regarding your and Mr. Langley’s performance in this collaboration have impressed the hiring panel. I’d love to see one or both of you taking on a more active role within Vivid. It was disappointing when you shied away from moving on in the same genre you already excel at, but you’d also be a good fit for the fantasy position.”

“Thank you.”

“I give credit where it’s due. Adrian informed me Ms. Rodgers and Mr. Stineman have decided to participate in the book tour. Are you up for the challenge?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m ready to see what a full-scale tour looks like behind the scenes.” I’d hate every moment when I’d rather be here doing actual work as an editor. At least Chase wasn’t as high-maintenance as some of the other authors.

“Well, it’s not exactly full scale, but it’ll give you a good idea of what some of the responsibilities of the position entail. I’m sure it’ll look slightly different within the fantasy department, but it’ll be a beneficial experience for both of you.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Was there anything else you needed?”

Maybe some Prozac or Xanax to make it through the next few months, but I’d accomplished what I set out to do.

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