Page 7 of Designed for Disaster

“Hewas awful. Like I’ve truly never met a more horrible person in my life.” I should have realized someone that good looking couldn’t possibly have a decent personality. That’s not how the world worked. And I hated the fact that I couldn’t help noticing how attractive he was.

“Well, I’m sorry again. That’s rough, Tash. Did he at least apologize when he realized you’d been fired?”

“Unsurprisingly, no,” I said. “I did get the last word in though.” I grinned at the memory of the look on his face. “So there’s that.”

“Do you think there’s any negotiating with Craig?”

“Maybe if I begged—but that would just give him license to be even more of an ass to me. No. Not worth it.”

“I’ll keep an eye out at the temp agency and let you know if I hear about any good openings.”

“Thanks, Stace,” I said, groaning as she pulled me into a hug. I hung there, arms by my sides, as she squished me with all her might.

“It’ll all work out,” she promised.

“You and your endless optimism.” It was the best and worst thing about her. It made her incredibly fun to be around, but it also made her massively vulnerable to assholes. In her work and her personal life, she’d been scammed and taken advantage of time and time again…which was another very good reason not to let Stacy find me a guy. She had a terrible track record.

“Hey, how about we go out somewhere to get your mind off Mr. Grump and your unemployment woes?”

I started to shake my head.

“Don’t say no. There’s that block party happening around the corner. We could go. Have some barbecue and drinks. Dance a little. Flirt with strangers.”

“I can’t,” I said. “Really. I’m not wallowing, I promise. I just want to get this project ready as soon as possible.” I needed that payment on delivery ASAP.

“Okay, that’s fair. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Hmm,” I said, picking up a sanding brick and taking it to the rough edges of the coffee table. “You could read out my emails to me so I can see if I’ve gotten any more commissions. My laptop is over there.”

“Ooo, I can totally be your personal assistant. Natasha Dryer’s office. How can we transform your space?”

I shook my head. “Is that how you’d answer the phone?”

Stacy clicked her tongue. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing,” I laughed. “It’s cute.”

“Well, Ms. Dryer, let’s see how business is doing.” Stacy set my laptop on the desk and opened it, scrolling through my inbox. “Oh, this one wants you to buy property in India. Jagmeet promises a luxury living experience,” Stacy teased.

“Tell him I’ll think about it,” I replied. “What else is in there?”

“Spam. Spam. Buy one get one free pizza. Oh!”

“What?”

“There’s a sale at Fabletics.”

I rolled my eyes. Stacy had an obsession with activewear.

“Also, why do you keep giving your email to all these companies? Most of this is junk.”

“I know, I have to start unsubscribing from things.”

“I bet that’s a job. You could start a subscription business just to unsubscribe people from things.”

I blew some wood shavings off the table. “An untapped market. You should get on that.”

“I’ll put it on my resume right under personal assistant. Hey, so there’s someone in here asking about a commission.”

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