Page 29 of Frequency of Attraction

“Do you think you could take a real vacation?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. If you weren’t aware, I have a really hard time relaxing. I’m afraid I’d need a different job to ever really be able to turn the worry off.”

“Do you like this job?”

“Of course,” she replied immediately. But her stomach tumbled as if her body recognized that partial truth. She liked helping her family keep their reputations safe. She liked promoting products, and now services, that whole teams of people around the world worked so hard to deliver. But she hadn’t chosen the job. The role had been given to her and tied with expectation, just like everything else. She wanted to help people. More than just her family. But there was no job like that in her company. Not yet.

Vadim’s expression made it seem like he’d heard every word in her head. “You sure?”

She sighed. “Sometimes I wish I was in a less reactive role, sure. I’d like to create something for once, or at least make my own choice.”

“This job wasn’t your choice?”

He was full of questions today. “We’re assigned roles basically at birth. All of us. I think I got stuck with PR because I’m the baby of the family and no one else wanted to do it.”

“Might be nice for someone less invested to be in your role.”

Quinn disagreed. No one could take care of the family like she could.

“You up for tonight? You’re not jet-lagged?”

The words sounded casual, but his gaze said otherwise. “No, I need tonight,” she admitted.

His smirk appeared. “Then I’ll be extra devoted.” With those enigmatic words, he shoved off the door and stalked off.

Elle appeared in her door immediately after, almost as if the two had swapped bodies. She shut the door and took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. The brunette beauty had a binder clutched in her hands.

“Do you have a sec? Or a lot of secs?”

Quinn blinked. It sounded like she said “sex.” And for the first time in her life she could answer that in the affirmative.

“Sorry, that sounded bad.” Elle offered a smile, something not happening nearly enough lately.

“Of course I do. First tell me how you are.”

“I’m tired. I’ve never been more tired. All that I care about, though, is that you and Tate are happy with my work.” She handed over the binder. “That’s the OrbitAll experience. From online ticket purchase through citizen astronaut training, to the flight and after-flight ceremonies. Can you take a look before I show the binder to Tate?”

Quinn blinked. “You’re done after six months? You’re on a two-year contract.”

“I know.” Elle faked a smile. “I’ll stay as long as you need me. The experiential plan could always use tweaking or additional levels of detail. I’m happy to continue working on the deliverable.”

She didn’t look happy. When Elle had first arrived, she’d been all color and sass. Now, like she’d admitted, she looked tired. And Quinn had gotten to know her well enough to understand that Elle would work herself into the grave on a task if it’s what she thought someone wanted. She gave herself to a fault.

“I’ll take a look.”

“I hope it’s a good representation of your vision.”

Quinn had never met anyone more detail-oriented or people-focused. She was sure Elle’s vision far surpassed the ideas Tate had tossed around before hiring her.

“You can look at the plan later.” Her familiar twinkle returned. “Right now, I want you to tell me what Vadim meant when he said he’d be extra devoted.”

Quinn scowled. Damn that man. His minimum decibel level matched most people’s max. “It’s nothing. We just have an arrangement.”

Elle giggled. “Like, a fuck buddy? Good for you. He is…” She blinked a few times, her gaze faraway.

“Yes, he is.” Quinn paused. “Are you going to be okay?”

Elle’s smile faded. “Eventually. Right now, missing Chen feels like missing a limb. I only dated him for a few months, but my soul knew his, you know? I really thought he was the man for me.”

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