Page 15 of Say You're Mine

"Eros may be laid back, but I could never." Emily shakes her head.

"Right," Jack agrees. "But if pushed, we all know Eros would lay down the law." They all nod in agreement.

"Well, maybe someone else did push." Max comes over, sitting down with his laptop. "He's in a mood right now." We all turnand look toward his office, but the blinds are still closed, as is his door.

"I'll go check on him," Kate says. "Be right back." I nod.

"If anyone can handle him, it's Kate," Jack informs me. "Are you going to tell us how you know Eros?"

Shit, I'm not sure I want to do that.

"Leave her alone," a redhead says, pushing Jack to the side. "I'm Julie."

"Nice to meet you."

“It’s wonderful to meet you too. Sorry about that.” She’d been with Max in the doorway when I called Eros an asshole.

“No worries.” Her eyes roam me up and down. “I like your style.”

“Oh.” I glance down at myself. I feel a bit plain today, but maybe it’s not for others. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

“Everyone does their own thing here.” I noticed. I've seen everything from people in full suits to a girl in yoga pants.

“Want to take a peek at what I’m working on?”

“Sure,” I agree. “Not sure how much I can help.”

“Just tell me if you do or don’t like something, and if you’ve got a suggestion, pop that in too.”

“Sounds easy,” I agree.

“Brutally honest, okay? That’s how we make shit happen.” That’s one thing I definitely can be.

“All right.” I laugh.

“Let's grab the table.” I follow Julie over to one of the empty tables in the bullpen and sit down. She shows me an app that she’s been working on. You plug all your clothing into the app, which not only helps you remember what you have, but also allows you to sort items by color and even makes suggestions.

“I really like how it shows you how one top can work with four different outfits.”

“The more money you save on clothes, the more you can spend on shoes.” I couldn’t agree more, but my vice is makeup, which can be pricey.

“Can there be a quick grab button? Let's say you're shopping online and you find something you like. You can pull it to your closet and see how many things it pairs with. This could assist you in determining whether the purchase is worthwhile.”

“Yes!” Julie slaps her hand down on the table, making me jump. “Sorry, I do that when I get excited.” I laugh and notice that no one bothered to glance this way when she did it, so it must be common. I immediately relax, realizing I may actually be good at this job.

A few times I see Eros come out of his office, but he doesn’t glance my way. I try to ignore it and not let it bother me, but it’s useless. I’m only lying to myself.

"Would you like to join me for happy hour?" Julie asks at the end of the day. Everyone is packing up. “There is a place right around the corner. They have small plates.”

“I don’t know.” I glance at my phone that is going off again. I ignore it. My mom has called five times. I’m not falling for it this time. I’m tired of being on this hamster wheel with her.

“If you come, we can comp it because we’ll be talking about work.” My ears perk up with that bit of information.

“Really?” I laugh. I had a pretty big lunch and am still full. Trays of sandwiches, fruits, and soups had been brought in and laid out in the bullpen. Most things take place right here. It's actually really cool how people can come and go to help each other. I’ve never worked in an environment like this. It’s not at all what I was expecting. It’s no wonder Eros has a successful business.

“Yes.”

“All right,” I agree. I glance towards Eros's office, wanting to say goodbye. Okay, I want him to come say goodbye, but he’s giving me what I asked for.

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