Page 7 of Sexting the Boss

Brittany lives in a townhouse on the Upper West Side. Not one of those stupidly expensive ones, but still far too nice for a mid-level corporate employee. Which means either she has a trust fund or she’s got a side hustle that pays in stacks.

Either way, the place is packed.

Music thumps from inside, and when Ryan pulls up, I see people out on the small terrace, laughing, drinking, fully thriving in their young professional glory.

I swallow, suddenly feeling like I might be out of my depth.

Ryan parks and turns to me. “You good?”

I nod, pasting on a semi-confident expression. “Let’s do this.”

The second we step inside, it’s warm, loud, and buzzing with energy.

Brittany’s place is pristine but stylish—all modern furniture, sleek countertops, and just enough expensive-looking decor to let people know she has money.

Music pulses low in the background, the kind of trendy playlist curated for maximum aesthetic effect. There’s a mix of our coworkers, people I don’t recognize, and at least one guy who looks like he wandered in from the street and is just here for the free drinks.

Ryan is immediately greeted with shouts and back claps, making it obvious that people actually like him here.

Brittany, however, is less enthusiastic about our arrival.

She’s standing in a small circle, wine glass in hand, laughing at something someone said when her gaze lands on us.

“Ryan! You made it!” She wraps her arms around him, lingering a little longer than necessary.

Ryan hugs her back, oblivious.

I stand there, momentarily forgotten, wondering if I should just go find a drink and blend into a wall.

But then Brittany pulls back, giving me an almost-believable smile. “And you,” she says, tilting her head. “So glad you could make it.”

She doesn’t sound glad.

I return the energy, plastering on a bright, fake smile. “Thanks for the invite.”

She eyes me for half a second too long, then turns back to the group like I don’t exist.

Nice.

For the first twenty minutes, I hover at the edges, nursing a barely cold drink, making awkward small talk with people whose names I forget immediately.

But then something unexpected happens.

I start actually…having fun.

Turns out, once they’re out of the office and slightly drunk, my coworkers are not as bad as I thought.

I meet Tara, who works in marketing and is way too cool for corporate life, but she’s “in it for the free coffee and chaos.”

There’s James, a guy from IT, who immediately tells me he hates his job and is only staying because he’s “one blown motherboard away from a complete breakdown.”

And then there’s Ava, who works in HR and says things like, “I literally don’t care about policy, I just pretend I do so they keep paying me.”

Within an hour, I’ve had several actual human conversations and I have three new numbers in my phone. Maybe this whole “socializing” thing isn’t so bad.

The game starts off harmless enough.

Some embarrassing truths, some predictable dares—drink something gross, text your ex, show your last photo on your phone.

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