Page 19 of The Enemies With Benefits Deal

“Just North America, the UK, and Australia.” I jot down another note about expanding in the future, but that’s not going to happen within my time at the company.

Paloma hums. “Do you think that they would carry it through the other countries, or are they just looking at rebuilding the United States branch?”

“They want to rebuild everything, but the focus is on this one right now. The website and app are going to be rolled across everything, though, which will likely change the physical papers slightly.”

She flips to another mock-up. “Now, what do you think about a weeknight recipes section? I know you said when we first talked about this that you wanted to find more ways for people to connect, and this could be one of those ways.”

I lean closer, squinting a little to get a good look at all the little design elements she’s put to use. It looks like a little recipe card that could have come straight from someone’s grandmother.

“I love it.” I lean back into the cushions, drawing my knees up. “I think we should make the text a little better on that one, though. A lot of the people getting the physical paper will be older and might not be able to see it as clearly.”

Paloma makes a few quick adjustments. “Do you think this is better?”

“Yeah. With the way you have it there, it shouldn’t use too much extra ink when printing either, which is one of the costs that needs to be considered.”

The ingredients list and instructions are designed to look like they’ve been written on a scrap piece of paper, while a photograph of the finished dish sits off to the side, the paper design overlapping it at the edge.

“This is going to be amazing! I don’t know how to thank you for the amount of work you’ve put into this.”

She laughs and closes the laptop, leaning back into the cushions and taking a sip of her beer. “Don’t thank me yet. There’s still a lot more work to be done once you’re given the green light.”

“IfI’m given the green light.” I lean forward, snagging my beer and cracking the top off it. “Grayson is doing whatever he can to get in my way. Mom thinks I should give him a little more grace.”

“I don’t think she’s wrong,” Paloma says softly. “I mean, you did ruin his chance at getting the internship. He might have been the one to start the battle between you two, but you were the one who went nuclear with it.”

“Ugh, you’re right.” I take another long pull of the beer. “If I could go back in time and change everything about that year, I would. I never should have gotten into that stupid competition with Grayson. The internship meant more to him.”

“Nope. You’re not going to do that.”

“Do what?” My eyebrows pull together as I look up at her.

“Pretend that you didn’t need that internship more than he did.” Paloma takes a swig of her own drink before grabbing the remote and starting to search for movies.

“I’m not pretending. He has something to prove to his dad.” I smile at her as I nestle into the arm of the plush couch. “I don’t have anything to prove to anyone other than myself.”

“Maybe not, but you needed that internship. He’s had more money to his name since he was a child than you have right now. He always would’ve been able to buy his way to the top while you had to work hard for everything you have.”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “And here I thought you might have been turning to his side with the whole ‘give him grace’ thing.”

She scoffs. “Not a chance. The billionaire needs to be put in his place — and you’re just the woman to do that — even if he does need to be shown some grace every now and then.”

Groaning, I get up and head to her fridge, pulling out the cupcakes she bought for girls’ night. “Now that the website mock-up is settled, let’s spend the rest of the night trying to forget about Grayson.”

Even as I say the words, I get the sinking feeling that it’s not going to happen.

CHAPTER 7

GRAYSON

Dad looks between me and Jade as Lara finishes counting the votes. “Who initiated this competition, anyway? The two of you are supposed to be working together.”

Jade glances at me before her mouth opens.

Though I don’t know why, I step forward, meeting Dad’s irritated gaze. “It was my idea. We had a difference of opinion, and I was too set on my design to cooperate.”

Jade shoots me a strange look, shaking her head.

Lara tosses the last voting slip on the conference room table. “And the numbers have it. The design we’re going to go with is Jade’s.”

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