CARMEN
Of course it was Hannah. Lately, it's always Hannah.
Of course, it was Hannah at the wedding. Of course, it was Hannah who worked in this building. Of course, it was Hannah who turned out to be one of the best scouts on the label, responsible for discovering the artists Carmen had been raving about when she was in New York. Of course it was Hannah she should be thanking for broadening the musical vision... not accusing of sleeping her way through the office.
Carmen groaned and dropped her forehead into her palm.
She was the only one left in the office now. The hall was dim, most of the cubicles dark, just a few glowing screens left humming in the quiet. Meetings with the New York office had run late again, none of them going to plan, each one leaving her more frustrated than the last.
Occasionally, she caught glimpses of Hannah–those blonde curls bouncing as she walked to and from the agents' offices. But the moment Carmen saw her fall out of the copy room, laughing with the receptionist of all people, she knew something had to give.
This woman was aggravating. Infuriating. Magnetic.
She couldn't believe she found herself in this position. Carmen never got played. She was the player.
When hookups got too clingy, she left. A simple choice. She never mixed work with pleasure. Never slept with anyone in her orbit. It was one of her golden rules to follow. She kept to different crowds for a reason. It made things easy.
This, though? This was the opposite of easy.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and unlocked her phone, typing out a message to the only person who could handle her in the middle of an emotional meltdown. Not that she could admit that's what was happening.
Carmen: Hey, can you call me when you're not busy? Nothing important. Just want to chat.
Her phone rang almost immediately.
"I said to call me when you weren't busy. It's not a code red situation."
"I know. But, I wasn't busy and had my phone in my hand." Dani replied breezily. "And hello to you too, cranky pants."
Carmen sighed through her nose.
"That bad, huh?"
"How can you tell?" Carmen asked.
"Carm, we've been friends for how long? I can read your mood through a text."
Carmen chuckled, "Am I really that easy to read?"
"Eh, not so easy as I've just learned over the years. So, what's up?"
Dani was right. They had known each other since college and even Carmen knew most of Dani's tells by this point as well.
There was an echoing creak on the other side of the phone.
"Where are you?"
"Oh– ha. Stairwell." Dani told her as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"A what? Why?"
"I just got back from dinner with... uh," Dani paused. "Steve. No, Sam? Sebastian? Eh, doesn't matter."
"I take it that it's not going well if you're hiding out in a stairwell talking to me."
"Hm, we'll see if Spencer is fun."
Carmen snorted.
"You should try it."
"Try what? Coming up with S names for a guy because I can't remember his actual one?"
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...
