Business & Pleasure [h.s] [ON HOLD]

three

"He asked you for coffee? What a loser!" Bridget couldn't stop laughing throughout Phoebe's whole rendition. The girls had ordered takeout at Phoebe's apartment so that Bridget could get the 411 on the Harry Styles encounter.

"I know right? I was 2 seconds away from asking the cab driver to run over his foot!" At first, Phoebe had been so upset by her encounter with Harry but after repeating it to her best friend, she realized how comical it really was.

"So..." By her tone, Phoebe could sense that Bridget was about to get deep. She swallowed hard preparing for the worst. "What was it like to see him again?"

"It was... different than I thought it would be." If Phoebe was being completely honest, she was glad that she got to see Harry one more time. No one would understand how hard it was for her to see her ex boyfriend on the front of every magazine and not know if the stories were true or not. Now she knew that he was healthy, happy, and living out his dream; she could now move on with her life without worrying about him.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, " she resumed, "I still got butterflies in my stomach when I saw him. If I'm totally honest, I think he got them too. You should've seen his face when we first saw each other; he looked like he had just seen a ghost!"

"Or just how hot you are now." Bridget smiled smugly. Phoebe shifted her weight uncomfortably; Bridget was always trying to get her to see how beautiful she was, but it never worked. In fact, it only made her more self conscious. The only time she liked having attention on herself was when it came to her outstanding work ability, that was one thing no one could take away from her.

"You don't have to believe me Pheeb, but that doesn't change anything. I bet that's why he was so disheveled when he tried to ask you out."

"I don't think asking someone to coffee counts as a date."

"Oh Phoebe! You may be book smart, but you are ignorant when it comes to boys." Bridget stated matter of factly.

Phoebe decided not to take her friend's words to heart. It was okay to not believe Harry wanted to get back together with her right? What was that going to do anyway? She had no time to date, and she knew Harry had no time for her.
**

The next week went by quickly. Phoebe finished her second draft of the interview early and was ready to send it to the boys' manager for a proof read. Things seemed to be picking up for her slightly; she truly believed if things kept going the way they were going she would become the next editor in no time.

"Let's go out tonight!" Bridget asked cheerfully at Phoebe's desk.

"How are you so perky? It's Monday morning." Phoebe giggled keeping her eyes focused on her work. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before; she kept having nightmares that had to do with Harry. She ended up waking up three times during the night.

"Come on Pheeb, can't you have make an exception this once?" Bridget whined. Phoebe's stomach cringed at the thought of what she was about to do.

"Alright," she held up her hands in surrender, "we'll go out tonight, but not for long! I wanna get started early on my next column."

Bridget rolled her eyes, "with all the work you finish early, it truly amazes me that you don't have any free time. Also, I hope you have an extra outfit somewhere hidden in your desk drawer."

Phoebe looked down at her burgundy turtleneck dress, "what's wrong with this?"

"Nothing if you were going for the '40 Year Old Virgin' look." Bridget winked before heading back to her desk. **

After 10 minutes of being at Zen, Phoebe could truly understand why she never went out. The "party' atmosphere had changed so much from when she had first turned 21. The idea of dozens of unfamiliar sweaty bodies invading her personal space made her nauseous. Bridget on the other hand was having a grand time dancing with multiple men; Phoebe had to admit she had good taste.