Page 13 of So Not My Type

Sophie was 5’2” at very most. But in this moment, as she rattled off the project’s needs, timelines and expectations, she seemed a million feet tall. All eyes focused on her, furrowed brows and wicked fingers transcribing her words. Ella studied her, absorbed by what made this team respond to Sophie this way, made them lean forward in silence like they were afraid of missing anything she may utter. She was confident, yes, but her shoulders weren’t tight the way Ella’s mom told her to show self-assuredness. Sophie looked comfortable, at ease, even, like she was rattling off a menu at a pub.

Would anyone ever see Ella that way? Or was she destined to live a purgatorial life, always looked at as someone who received without earning?

“And… as I’m sure you all know we have a newbie in the house.” Sophie motioned toward Ella. “Everyone welcome Ella Northwood to the team.”

A half wave was all Ella could muster at the sea of faces. She stared directly above everyone’s heads to avoid collapsing on the spot from the invasive stares.

“Northwood like George?” some guy in a hoodie, who looked like he smelled like a gamer in a basement, called out from the back. Nearly everyone in the room threw him a distinctduhlook. Either he missed the memo, or he was an ass for pointing it out.

“Yep, boss’s daughter, so everyone be nice,” Sophie said, her tone flat.

Ella’s chest burned. At this agency, she’d never be anything other than her father’s daughter. To the rest of the world, she’d never be more than her mother’s daughter, reaping the benefits of generational wealth. She had no merit. Her only clout was her last name. All eyes focused on her, measuring her, probably staggering through a laundry list of reasons why they had to accommodate her.

Maybe Sophie meant to call out the elephant in the room. Or maybe she’d meant to humiliate her. Ella ignored her dampening pits and forced her lips to twitch into a grin.

“Okay, that’s it.” Sophie wrapped up the meeting half an hour later. “Get your manis, pedis, and Reiki sessions in now while you still have a chance. It’s going to be a crunch once strategy comes in.”

The team scattered as quickly as they arrived, and Ella followed Sophie back to the desk. An anxious pit developed in Ella’s stomach, and no matter how much she tried to force it, her head refused to hold high.

Instant messaging, a trip to the IT department, and reviewing archived creative filled the next couple of hours. Ella’s stomach bellowed with a fury, and she peeked to see if Sophie noticed. Sophie’s eyes remained focused on her screen, minus the few smiles she directed at everyone but Ella.

Seriously, what was Sophie’s problem, anyway?Shewas the rude one. Ella had only ever acted in defense. Never the aggressor.

Sophie snapped her laptop shut and rolled her chair away from the desk. “I’m starving. Gonna grab some lunch.”

Ella checked her watch. “How long do we get for lunch?”

Sophie’s irritated stare was like Ella asked her how much she weighed. “We’re adults and treated as such. Take whatever you need.”

Seriously?Did every single word she muttered need to be done with such annoyance? Sophie spun on her chunky boots and speed-walked across the room.

Ella beelined it for the bathroom to fan her face and remove sticky cashmere threads from her chest and Sophie’s coconut vanilla scent from her mind.

That was it. Tomorrow, cotton only.

FIVE

SOPHIE

The soggy ground squished beneath Sophie’s feet, the moss and mud feeling like pebble-filled putty under her heels. Damp, green air filled the surrounding space. Her lungs were heavy, her airway cut off, the breath constricted in her throat. “I… can’t… breathe.”

A slap on the arm met those words. “Dude. We’ve been hiking for like ten minutes.” Maya rolled her eyes. “You are the most dramatic human alive.”

Sophie grunted and followed Maya up the trail. Easy for Maya to say. She was an avid runner, ate like a nutritionist, and always got a proper eight hours of sleep. Sophie ate Goldfish crackers, if anything, for breakfast, hadn’t worked out for months, and often fell asleep with a laptop on her chest.

It wasn’t always this way. Sophie loved hiking. The burning lungs, dry mouth, and sweat mixing with mist were a small price for the elation of reaching the top. For years, she’d done this on the weekends—Cougar Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Mount Si, Snoqualmie Falls, even Mount Rainier. Okay, fine, not theentiremountain as that was reserved for the hard-core, uber-fit, and ultra-prepared, but she had done a Paradise trail multiple times, reaching high enough to touch snow in June.

But since the promotion to project manager, physical activity had taken a nosedive. Walking to the bus stop or forcing herself to take the stairs at work was about the gist of her weekly cardio.

Ten more minutes and the burn subsided. The fern-filled air turned refreshing, even rejuvenating. She concentrated on stepping over the rocks and fallen tree trunks lining the path, inhaling the cedar and Douglas fir scent, her backpack slapping against her body with each stride. The mist cooled her face, and she tugged off her knit hat to let the moisture touch her buzzed scalp.

No words were spoken, per their rule going up, unless it was “passing on your left” or “excuse me” as slower hikers shifted to the side. This was meditation time, and Sophie took that as seriously as Maya. While ascending, she didn’t need to think about work or project plans or deadlines. Nor would she noodle on the fact that she was wasting her prime mate-finding years by marrying herself to Mahogany and Moon. Right now, her work was her love, her life, her mistress. She couldn’t tear herself away.

Just because she didn’tneedto think about work, didn’t mean her mind listened. Her thoughts drifted to Ella and the first week they’d completed. Was it as terrible as Sophie had expected? No. Was it still terrible? Yes. Much to her surprise, and a bit of annoyance, Ella worked hard. She drafted memos, took detailed notes, hung on every word. She’d tuck her dark hair behind her ear, revealing a cute, petite earlobe with a small hoop earring, and lean forward to bang against her laptop.

But Sophie hated that when she finally got the chance to train someone, be a real mentor, even a leader, Ella was the trainee. When Sophie looked at Ella, the humiliation of their first meeting boomed front and center and smacked the patience from her. The look she got that first day was the same from the popular girls in school, the ones who ganged up outsideof Sophie’s bathroom stall, snickering at her clothes, saying no matter how often she washed it, the secondhand store smell was imbedded into the fabric.

Her foot skidded on a rock and she’d never been more grateful for her well-worn Timberlands than right now.

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