Page 8 of Brighter than the Boss
"You know, to support her chemo treatments." Hessa glanced around the table, nodding her head, looking for support. "Her hair is going to start falling out, so if you cut yours now, it'll be like you're doing the twinsies thing with her."
I blinked, letting her rationale roll around in my brain, not loving the idea of cutting my long hair, but slowly realizing that this just might be the exact thing to show my mom I was in her corner. It wouldn't be much support if the effort was easy.
"Oh my God," I whispered. "I think you might be right."
I stood up with Hessa, beaming at her now that I'd accepted my hair's fate.
"I'll make an appointment for this week. What day works best for you ladies?" I looked down at the rest of the seated girls.
"Whoa there, I'm not cutting my hair." Brinley folded her arms over her chest and I realized as sweet as she sounded, she was one tough cookie.
"No, no. I mean, I want you guys there to support me, you know? I'll be the only one cutting my hair." I was quick to assure her.
She unfolded her arms. "Oh. Then I'm in. How about you make the appointment, text us the details, and everyone who's available will be there."
Shasta stood up, having remained remarkably quiet this whole time. "Text us the time and we'll ALL make sure we're available." She gave the stink eye to each girl and then placed her hand in the middle of us. "All for one, bitches."
They all stuck their hands in, some with an eye roll, and they all waited for me to put my hand in the middle on top of theirs. They wasted no time tossing our hands in the air with a chorus of "Beach Squad."
I didn't know what the heckeroo we were cheering for, but I suspected I'd made some new best friends.
4
Cain
It'd been six days, three girls, and too many hangovers to be even remotely healthy since I last saw Sunny, hiding behind a fake tree in the Headquarters lobby. My plan of whiskey and women didn't seem to be providing the distraction I'd hoped it would. Damn country songs had let me down again.
Every facial expression, every word, every inch of skin I'd touched seemed to be haunting me. She was keeping me up at night, disturbing my concentration at work, and disrupting the daily routine I was forced to abandon in order to avoid her. This was exactly why I didn't mess around with coworkers where you couldn't escape their presence after the fact.
I'd managed to steer clear of her after I found her babbling lies about her car keys that one afternoon. I still didn't know what the hell she was doing, or why she was acting so weird, but even that odd behavior had turned and twisted, becoming something enticing in my jacked-up brain. She was like a goddamn infection, spreading and taking over before you knew what was happening.
Which was why I was not in the mood for this community outreach volleyball event that Esa and Brinley had put together. They'd been planning it for months, and I'd been roped in from the beginning simply for being Ivan's friend. Just goes to show what friendships get ya. Next thing you know I'd be at a Pampered Cooks party or renting a truck at 6 a.m. on a Saturday to help one of the guys move. No, thank you.
I'd already seen how this group of girls had my lifeguards tripping over themselves, trying to help them out left and right. A particularly dumbass expression would come over their faces every time their women’s names were brought up. It was fucking ridiculous. And yet here I was, getting up early on my day off to help them set up. I didn't even have the benefits of a hot girlfriend to make this shit worth it.
I slammed my truck door harder than I should have, making me cringe and give her a quick once-over before I walked away to find Ivan. My '57 Chevy truck was my pet project, my one steady hobby that kept me sane. She was almost completely restored and I wasn't about to mess her up right when I had her where I wanted her.
"’Bout time you showed up," Ivan hollered at me as I trekked across the sand.
"You're lucky I showed up at all, asshole." We bumped fists and he tossed his head in Esa's direction. Clearly we were all taking orders from Esa today.
"Esa. When are you going to leave that douchebag and live in sin with me on a deserted island instead?" I pushed Ivan out of the way and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close enough to earn a scowl from Ivan.
"Like you'd ever settle down with a nice girl like me." She leaned up to kiss my cheek and then twirled out of my hug, pointing across the sand to the check-in table. "You're over there, pretty boy."
I followed her arm, my gaze settling on Sunny, standing front and center, commanding the check-in process. I sighed, knowing I couldn't ask for another assignment without having to come up with a plausible reason why I didn't want to be over there with Sunny. Better to just suck it up and do my job without raising suspicions. I was sure it would be fine.
As I got closer, I did a double take, realizing that her hair wasn't up in a bun or some shit like I first thought from afar.
It was chopped off.
Crazy short on the sides and in the back, it still had a long bang in the front that swung in her face. She even had some crazy design etched into the side of her shaved head. If I hadn't met her before, I'd have sworn I was working the check-in desk with some kind of famous rock star chick. Little Miss Girl Next Door had some edge to her. Who would have guessed?
It was crazy.
It was hot.
"You running the check-in today or just over here looking for your keys?"
