Page 4 of Love is a Game

“Yup.” Julie beamed, then pointed to a corner by the bed. “I made these macramé plant hangers too. That’s what I’ve been doing lately. They sell really well and don’t take as long as the weaving.”

Sadie set down her things on the new cream-colored bedding set and ran a finger over the intricate knots supporting a pot of succulents. That was her sister: Julie Monroe, woman of a thousand talents. Every time Sadie came home, it seemed like Julie had mastered a new artistic medium.

“It’s beautiful, all of it.”

“I know you’ll be spending a lot of time working in here. I wanted it to be nice.”

“Thank you.” Sadie pulled her little sister close for a hug. Maybe this was going to be better than she thought.

“Okay, now. . .” Julie moved to the desk chair and sat down. “I have so much to tell you.”

Before she could start in on the gossip, Sadie’s phone began to ring. “Hang on,” she said, fishing it out of her pocket. The name Archer scrolled across the screen. Her boss. When she left the office the night before, he’d promised to give her a day to settle in, but it didn’t surprise her that he was calling already.

She held a finger up to Julie before lifting the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Are you still on the road?”

“No, I just got in. Did you need something?” Sadie moved to the boxes on the bed, searching for her laptop.

“I need those projections for the Boise location; they’re asking for it upstairs.”

Sadie paused, laptop in hand. “I sent that to you last week. Thursday morning, I think.”

“I didn’t see it. Can you send it again?”

Julie wrinkled her nose and mouthed his words with exaggerated gestures. Sadie couldn’t help smiling, but she turned away from her sister before she could continue her impression. She opened her laptop and powered it on.

“It’s just going to take me a few minutes to get my computer running. Did you run a keyword search in your email? I try to always label these things.”

Julie flopped down on the bed with a loud sigh. Sadie threw a pillow at her face.

“Wait, I think I found it.” Archer huffed loudly. “Everything is so much easier when you’re here in the office.”

“You’re the one who keeps sending me away,” she reminded him. “I’m sure there’s someone over there that can help you with your emails. If not, I’m just a phone call away.”

Julie shook her head.

“I have to go,” Sadie said, “unless there’s something else you need.”

“No, I suppose not.” He sounded distracted, already moving on to the next thing.

“All right, I’m sure we’ll talk tomorrow. Bye.”

He didn’t respond before ending the call. He never did.

“Sadie,” Julie’s voice was light with mock disappointment.

“Don’t say it,” she began, turning back to her sister. She’d heard her family complain about her boss enough times to know where Julie was headed.

“You are not his personal assistant.”

“I know.”

“Helping him track down old emails is way below your pay grade.”

“I know.”

“It’s not—”

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