Page 44 of Love in Focus

“No worries at all,” she replies. “Honestly, I’m excited. I’ve never been to an office holiday party before. One of the downsides of not working a traditional nine-to-five.”

She has an uncharacteristically giddy grin on her face. It’s cute, but also a little disorienting.

“A downside?” I ask. “Trust me, you’re not missing much.”

“Oh?”

“Most people only go to this one because of the open bar. And the fact that it’s free for employees, while most NYE parties in the city are expensive. Even then, a lot ofpeople like my friends still opt to go somewhere else that’snotrelated to work. They’re in Seattle right now with their cat.”

As we approach the venue, I feel lightheaded. Bringing Celeste seemed like a good idea when I first thought of it, but now that we’re mere steps away from pitching directly to the Citrine execs—something I’ve never even done by myself—and her meeting my coworkers, I’m less sure.

I take a few slow breaths and turn to Celeste, who gives me a concerned look.

“You okay?” she asks.

“Yeah. Or at least I think I am.”

“Don’t sweat too much about this, okay? Sure, it’d be nice, but if we don’t get the cover, it’s not the end of the world. And fuck your ex, really.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Do you know how ironic it is for you to tell me that last part?”

She lets out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I heard it the moment I said it.”

“But yeah, okay. Let’s try to have as much fun as we can after we meet with the higher-ups, then. There’s apparently going to be a chocolate fountain, in addition to the open bar.”

Celeste rubs her hands together in anticipation. “My kind of party.”

When we enter through the doors, everyone turns to stare at us. It’s only then that I realize I never explicitly told anyone at work besides Evelyn, James, and my friends that I like women, too.

Oops.

Luckily, since we’re in San Francisco, most people just give me a look of mild surprise before going back to what they were doing. That is, everyone except James.

James’s mouth drops open when he sees me and Celeste. Shock, confusion, and anger flash across his face in rapid succession before his mouth closes again, becoming a straight, displeased line. It’s the most I’ve seen him emote since our breakup.

“Look behind me,” I whisper to Celeste. “At the white guy with brown hair and blue eyes. The one that’s staring at us. That’s him. My ex-fiancé.”

“Ah,” Celeste says in a low voice. “Noted. Also, Gem, try to relax a bit. You’re visibly tense.”

I shake my arms and legs to loosen myself up a bit. “Better?”

“Much better.”

“Okay, let’s look for Evelyn. She’s probably with the—”

“Gemma!” The loud clip-clops of high heels echo throughout the room as Evelyn glides toward us in her long chiffon dress like a debutante at a ball. Every year, Evelyn is the only person at the party decidedlynotwearing a Christmas sweater.

“Perfect timing. We werejusttalking about your project. And Celeste! I’m happy you could also make it.”

Celeste extends her hand in Evelyn’s direction, putting on her charm at full force. “It’s so nice to see you, too! Thank you again for having me on this project. I’m enjoying it so far.”

Evelyn shakes Celeste’s hand after giving me a curiousglance. “The pleasure is all mine. Gemma’s been sending me your amazing work for this project. Let me introduce you two to some of the representatives of Citrine, our parent company.”

Evelyn leads us to a small circle of four people of various ages and ethnicities. I let Celeste do most of the talking, since it’s her photography that’s going to be on the cover. I’m pleased—but not surprised—to see Celeste has prepared examples, from both the interviews and her previous shoots, to show everyone on her phone. As I watch her pitch herself, I can’t help but feel an immense sense of pride. I suddenly wish we were dating again, so I can kiss her and tell her how amazing she is.

“Oh, this is so lovely,” says one woman as she looks at Celeste’s work. I don’t know her by name, but I recognize her face from a picture I saw of our board of directors. “You have a wonderful way of capturing people in your photos.”

“Thank you,” Celeste says. “It’s also thanks to Gemma, who is a great interviewer. She helps people open up and get comfortable so they don’t look nervous on camera.”

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