HANNAH
Hannah couldn't think. Couldn't even see straight. She could barely breathe when she got back to the office. The only saving grace? She had beat Carmen here.
Avoidance.
Yeah, that was the move. Avoid Carmen Mills until her triumphant return to New York. How hard could that be? It's not like they worked in the same building or anything...
She dropped her bag at her desk like it personally offended her and scanned the room for Jules. But the reception desk was empty. Fantastic. She needed to vent. Someone to scream into like a throw pillow.
Her phone buzzed. The name that popped up made her stomach lurch so hard she nearly dropped it.
Mike Sawyer: Hey, are you busy? I'm going to be in town for a few weeks.
No.
Not. Today.
Not this week.
Hannah let her head fall back and blew out a long breath that puffed her cheeks out like a deflating balloon.
"Everything okay?"
Jules.
"Oh my god, yes–no. I'm so glad to see you." Hannah said, already feeling her eyes sting.
Jules didn't ask questions. Just grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the copy room behind the reception desk.
Inside, the hum of printers filled the silence, but Hannah barely noticed.She exploded–emotionally, not literally–about the impromptu meeting with Carmen. The shadowing, which was clearly just code for you're on thin ice. How Carmen all but accused her of sleeping her way to the top. How she might actually lose her job if that became the office's gossip headline.
"You?" Jules blinked, eyebrows climbing up her forehead. "She thinks you would sleep your way to the top?"
Hannah nodded and started pacing like the floor might open up beneath her.
"I didn't even know if I should be telling you this." she said, throwing her arms in the air.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because," Hannah dropped her voice to a whisper even though another printer whirred to life behind her. "I don't think she wants anyone to know that she slept with an employee."
Jules' eyes widened slightly. She tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Yeah, that's... not a good look for her."
Hannah froze. "What?"
"Well," Jules shrugged, "She's about to inherit two record label locations. Sleeping with your staff doesn't exactly scream 'responsible CEO material.'"
Hannah squinted. "How do you even know all of this?"
"I may have googled her." Jules said, pulling out her phone. "Didn't take much. Carmen Mills isn't exactly a low-profile name."
They huddled over the screen like disgruntled teens stalking an ex. Jules scrolled through news snippets and red-carpet photos. Carmen's father dominated the headlines in a sleazy, powerful, and never seen without a girl half his age clinging to his elbow kind of way.
"Jesus. He looks like Hugh Hefner and Leonardo DiCaprio had a baby with a trust fund."
Jules cackled. "Right? All the photos are like this. And look–this is him at an award ceremony with what appears to be a literal child bride."
Jules scrolled through a few before saying, "I read that her dad owns the office in New York, but she is set to take over in a couple years. He doesn't seem to be a pleasant man from the things I've found anyway."
YOU ARE READING
Of Course, It's You
Romance[Book 1 in the Of Course series] The only reason Hannah made it to this wedding, was because her friends asked for her daughter to be the flower girl. After the death of her wife, Hannah resigned herself to a life devoid of love and she's determined...
