Confessions of a Twenty-Something City Girl

Breaking the Rules

"Girl, spill the tea!" Priya demands as I buckle my seat belt. "You cancel our lunch, tell me you're interviewing Russ Foxx, and weren't you supposed to meet up with mystery man last night?"

I reach for the air conditioning vent, pushing the cool breeze onto my face as my mind races. There is so much I want to tell Priya, yet I'm still unsure of my next move. If I sign the agreement, is she allowed to be one of the "VIP's"? How could I lie to her face every day about this growing connection with Noah?

"Noah is my boss!" I blurt out.

Priya swerves left on Sunset, eyes wide in disbelief. "Wait, what?"

"Mystery man, Noah—the guy from my titillating weekend, who I lost my virginity to—is the CEO of Sports Digest. And he wants me to sign some sort of agreement," I sigh.

"Kingston Hart!!" A baffled Priya shouts. "Back up a minute. What agreement? You lost your virginity? How was it and how did you not mention this?" she asks, incredulous.

"We were a little busy, if you catch my drift," I crack a smile. "It was seriously everything. He knows what he's doing and is so gentle yet powerful." I blush, reminiscing about our weekend.

"Girl! Congratulations!" Priya squeals.

"I was taking your advice; go play, have fun! Plus, I didn't want to get too personal with all of my lovely baggage," I say as I bust out into song, singing Issues by Julia Michaels. "Cause I got issues, you got 'em too. So give them all to me, and I'll give mine to you. Yeah, I got issues,"

Priya joins in, and we sing the chorus at the top of our lungs, "And one of them is how bad I need you!"

Our laughter fills the car as I continue, "Real talk, though, I laid it all out last night. He knows about Justin and still wants to come to the party on Saturday."

"Okay, so what's this agreement? Like, NDA style?" Priya presses.

"That's part of it. I don't have all the details yet, but there are strict rules against employees dating, none-the-less an employee dating the CEO. The agreement is an understanding that both of us and our positions are protected." I explain.

"And if you don't sign?" she asks.

"Then whatever this is between us doesn't go any further," I brood.

"So what is in the agreement? Is there a legit NDA? Because you might be breaking the rules already, babe," she light-heartedly points out.

"I haven't signed anything yet! So technically, no rules broken," I laugh. "He mentioned an authorized list of people who can know. But they'd have to sign NDAs too. So, if I'm in, you're in. Fair warning," I tease.

"You know I'll take your secrets to the grave. Ride or die, baby!" Priya chuckles. "So, are you going to sign it?"

"I've got my lawyer Dan looking over it. The rest of the agreement is obvious protection - no physical contact in or 5 miles from Sports Digest. No explicit videos of one another, all the juicy stuff," I share.

"Scandalous! I'm kind of living for it. I bet it's hot knowing your office romance is forbidden." Priya giggles.

"Priya Parrish! Stop fueling the fire!" I blush. "But yeah, it totally is," I laugh nervously.

"I knew it!" She beams, pulling up to our final destination. "Can't wait to hear more. Have a great day, and text me."

"Will do. Thanks for the ride. Ciao bella," I reply as I step out of Priya's black Mercedes. The familiar high-rise towers over me, but today it feels entirely new. I hustle through the lobby, past bustling suits, and head straight for the elevator to floor ten.