PHONE SWAP | drew starkey

21: ONE DAY

'...and believe it or not, Patty marches out of her office straight to Wes and the guy, and tells him that the company has zero tolerance for homophobia or any similar behaviour. She then proceeds to tell him to fuck off, all in very polite business talk, and the guy says something about her regretting it but she's just staring at him.'

  'Did he do anything?'

  Addie shakes her head. 'There's nothing he could've done. When Patty McLellan decides she doesn't want you around, you're done. She's got enough clients on the waiting list that she doesn't need to worry about rejecting one.' She stirs the drink in her hand and takes a sip. 'Anyway, Wes thanks her, and she just goes away, and nobody really knew what to say.'

  'She sounds like a good boss,' Drew says. His presses the paper cup to his lips and grimaces, huffing at the temperature.

  'She's a terrible boss,' Addie corrects. 'She doesn't tolerate homophobia, sure, but it's not like there's much she does tolerate.' She thinks about the terms of her NDA—a 40-page contract outlining precisely what they are and aren't allowed to disclose and to whom—but this should be okay. 'One time, Marea was running late with a document they needed in court, which didn't end up impacting Patty's case whatsoever, but she still almost got Marea fired. I'm just lucky she's not my supervisor anymore.'

  Drew shrugs. 'She still stuck up for Wes. Some people would choose the client.'

  She shoots him a look. He doesn't know enough about Patty's talent at making a person's life a living hell. In a way, though, he is right – and Addie doesn't like that she has to give consideration to a person like Patty.

  Besides, he's got that knowing smile on his face, and Addie can't really disagree with that.

  When Drew texted her earlier in the day, all but demanding her to spend some time with him before they both leave Atlanta for the holidays, she kind of figured it was a ploy to get her out of the house. She's fairly convinced Marianne's had a hand in encouraging him because she was very insistent on Addie taking the whole morning to herself, too, including doing her hair routine and wearing it natural, even with the incoming weather. Not like it matters much – she's missed hanging out with Drew and really, she needed to leave the flat for something other than work, groceries, or class.

  Even if the first thing he said to her when she walked into Waystone was that 'this is the last step before an intervention.'

  He got her the coffee as a thanks for making the time to see him and Addie joked it was the right time. There's a forecast of heavy snowfall due to hit Atlanta later this evening, meaning she'd be stuck in her flat for a little while longer, because doing anything while it's freezing and snowing outside is not an option.

  'This is why you need to do the bad thing,' he said to her as they braced for the cold outside the coffee shop. 'Be a bad intern and a bad student and take some time off for your own sake.'

  Now, they're a few blocks away from Waystone, and the sky is looking greyer by the minute. They're just outside the park with the ruined fountain, as they've made a habit of doing, and Drew is telling her stories about his own badass bosses, none of whom would've lasted a day in the corporate world, but Addie keeps that to herself. It's a far cry from the first time they went on a walk to this place – aside from replacing summer dresses and short sleeves with jackets and scarves, Addie still holds onto the coffee like a lifeline, but this time it is because of the cold rather than the nerves from being around Drew.

  Drew, who pauses mid-sentence to ask if she's listening.

  'Sorry,' she says, finding herself smiling at a cute toddler waddling by while a woman behind him pushes the empty stroller. 'I'm just thinking about how glad I am that you dragged me out.'