Page 14 of Beautiful Crazy

“That’s not what I…I don’t know. I mean, maybe. Yes, I imagine even you would get sick of me Emm. Who really wants to work together all day and then live together all night anyway?”

His jaw shifts and he gives me a frosty look, making me wonder what he’s really thinking “You told me once that the best teams communicate outside of formal meetings.” He stares. “What’s more informal than the two of us chatting about work in a setting like we’re in right now?”

I recoil slightly. “Why are you getting upset? Really, you’re just making the case for you to work remotely with me…in a non-formal setting instead of the other way around. Plus, when you do what I do…” I lift my leg. “You get the perks of staying in comfy pants like this all day long.”

Emmett takes his empty plate to the sink. “Yeah, but I’m not a kid anymore, Em. My cute pj pants are a thing of the past. I have to do grown up things now."

Grown. Up. Things.

Ouch.

Feeling the sting of his comment deep down in my chest, I suddenly lose the rest of my appetite and push my plate with the rest of my uneaten pancakes away from me.

“You mean like only wearing stripes and solids or doodling pictures of puppies and stick people all day long?” I push my chair out from the table and stand up. “‘Cause you’re right. Those sound like very grown-up things to me.”

“What?” He turns toward me in time to see me turn toward the hallway. “Wait. No. Em, that’s not what I meant.”

But it is what you said.

“Have a good day at your grown-up work, Emmett.”

“Emily…”

I don’t wait for him to come after me. I walk myself down the hall and into the bathroom where I lock the door behind me and immediately turn on the shower so he can’t hear my sniffles when they come.

Seriously.

Does he think what I do all day is juvenile? Does he think that because I work remotely every day, I don’t have a real, grown-up job? Does he think that I don’t contribute just as much to society as he does? That I don’t volunteer more hours than he does. That I don’t make a bigger paycheck than he does?

Ugh.

For all intents and purposes, I’m a pretty confident person. I take risks. I roll with the punches when those risks don’t work out. I’m not afraid to travel new avenues when it comes to keeping up with society trends, but I also get that my personality isn’t for everyone. I get that I have flaws, and that’s fine. I can live with that.

People have made fun of me for years. I was the nerdy kid. I knew all the random facts about presidents and state capitals, and I came in first place on my seventh-grade preposition quiz, listing more prepositions than anyone in my class. I heard the snide comments. The ones from girls about my looks and the ones from boys teasing me for my intelligence. I grew a thick skin. I knew my self-worth because my family reminded me every day. Even now, I can let ridiculous comments from most people slide right off my back.

But what hurts me…what cuts me deeper than any comment some stranger or colleague makes about me, are the hurtful ones that come from those I love the most.

I waited forever for Emmett Fox to notice me, but I was always just the younger sister of one of his frat brothers. Once we became roommates, I resigned myself to only ever being his friend. I was happy to cultivate a platonic relationship with him because I knew it was that or nothing. I wasn’t his type and that was okay with me. I was able to move on. Now he’s my very best friend and I love him. I don’t ever want to be without him.

But sometimes he’s a hurtful dick.

___

“Emily the work you’ve done for Louisville’s singles night event is amazing. I don’t know how you did it, but we’ve had over one thousand registrants so far between our Louisville and Cincinnati locations combined. Well done!”

I smile at Nancy Rexing, the team leader of this region for The Watering Hole, an online dating experience, as we finish up our Zoom meeting. “You’re very welcome. It’s all in a few well-placed ads and continuity across the most important platforms. And quite frankly, this singles night sounds like a super fun experience. Especially during the cold wintry months when people are stuck inside.”

“Oh, I agree. Our activities team has really put together a great list of events. Speaking of which, you’ll be there for opening night, right? It’s the first event of the season and it would be great to have you there catching some video moments for future ads.”

“Of course! Nothing like the actual event to record a few good marketing videos to help talk up The Watering Hole, right?”

“Right, you are, Emily. I really appreciate your help with all this. Thanks again. I guess we’ll see you in a few short weeks.”

“Absolutely.” I wave goodbye because it always seems like the thing to do when I’m talking to someone via video screen, even though I would probably never wave goodbye if we were sitting in a conference room. “See you soon.”

I click the button to end the call and sit back in my chair, blowing out a long sigh, but feeling proud of my efforts to make this event a success. The Watering Hole has held the prestige of being the top dating app in the country for five years running and I was honored to be offered a job as a freelance social media engineer for their company a few months ago. I’ve used the app myself but since I also know that seven percent of people using the dating app are only using it to cheat on their significant others, I’m extremely cautious about hooking up with guys online. With any luck, I can convince Emmett to come with me, even though he’s not always a fan of these types of events. That way I have either a wingman or an escape when the sleezeballs start circling. That is…if I’ve forgiven him by then.

My phone buzzes next to me on my desk. When I pick it up to read my text, I smile seeing that it’s from one of my college friends, April Rollins who also freelances in social media. April used to work in the corporate world, but accidentally got pregnant and needed a way to earn a living as a single parent. I introduced her to the company I work with, who sends out freelance assignments and so far, she’s loving it.

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