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Asking for a Friend Holding You To It
MARISSAWell—I wouldn’t have known what to say to that even if he had hung around to hear my answer. I felt the tops of my cheeks and ears heating.Two conflicting trains of thoughts sped through my brain. Layton Bridges had just told me that he liked me. Okay, he liked that I’d eaten—which, on a side note, seemed like a strange thing to say to someone you’d invited to have dinner. Wasn’t dinner typically a meal where people ate?The point, however, was that he’d said he liked something about me. Which made me strangely happy, if for no other reason than making me feel slightly more secure in my job—after Sexgate the other night and all.The second train barreling through my brain was one carrying a fresh cargo of steaming humiliation. Had I eaten so much that he’d actually noticed? I did a mental check. I was full, but not stuffed. My plate had been cleared, but it wasn’t like I’d gorged myself on a dozen rolls or ordered seconds or something.No. I shut that second train down immedi
Asking for a Friend We're Going
LAYTON“Open up, man. I got news!” Craig hollered from my door, his voice partially drowned out by the pounding he was giving the poor, innocent wooden door that protected me from the world. “Layton, I know you’re in there! Open up.”Of course he knew I was in here. My condo came with two parking spaces and as the only person I trusted with my spare key, Craig’s vehicle details were on the books for the second spot. Right next to mine.Giving Craig my spare set of keys was my only concession in terms of privacy. High up on the twentieth floor, my penthouse apartment had floor to ceiling windows that were mirrored on the outside and a doorman who only let people up who were on your list.My list contained only three names. My dad’s attorney, my assistant’s and Craig’s. Craig was the only person with unfettered access to the place, since he had my key, but he never barged in.He showed up unannounced, as he was doing right that very minute, but at least he didn’t let himself in. I had a
Asking for a Friend A Good Idea
LAYTONCraig reminded me of his presence by clearing his throat loudly. “Earth to Layton. I know you know floor seats don’t mean sitting on the actual floor. Besides, you can either come with me, or I’m giving your number and your spare key to ‘Stalker Sarah.’ Really, you have no choice.”He grinned like the cat who got all the cream, knowing he had me in a corner. Stalker Sarah was harmless, but fucking annoying. I’d gone out on one date with the woman and it had taken me six months to shake her.Eventually, I’d even changed my personal cell number just so I wouldn’t have to deal with her incessant calls. I tried blocking her number first, but the woman either had access to or owned at least ten numbers. It was exhausting.“You wouldn’t do that,” I said to Craig, who shrugged.“You don’t know how badly I want to go to this game,” he replied, pulling out his phone and scrolling. “Let’s see, I think I have her number here somewhere.”I doubted he would really do it, but I threw my palm
Asking for a Friend Find Your Passion
MARISSA“Mommy, why are you cutting it like that?” Annie leaned over our dining room table where I was working on a dress. She stretched the red material between her little fingers, stroking it while she watched me work.I finished slicing through the fabric that was later going to form part of the skirt and set it aside, talking to Annie as I rotated the remaining material on the table. “If I cut it like this and add a few more panels, the skirt will flare.”Annie nodded dutifully, as if she were taking a class in dressmaking. I pushed my tool box containing buttons and sequins and other shiny things at her. “Why don’t you sift through those and take out a few options for us to decorate the bodice with?”Eyes lighting up with excitement, she started taking out the different plastic levels in the box and spread them out in front of her. “I love doing this stuff with you, Mommy.”“What stuff?” I asked, pausing for a moment to take in the contented expression on her gorgeous face as she
Asking for a Friend Worth the Risk
MARISSA“Drawing it is, then.” I thought of Layton and how much of a perfectionist he was with his designs, as opposed to my own, which were downright sloppy in comparison.Fair enough, mine had to be altered as the dress was altered. Since the dress was altered to suit the body shape of the person that had to fit into it at the time they had to fit into it, my designs also didn’t have to be as exact as Layton’s from the get go.If Annie was interested in drawing, perhaps I could borrow some of Layton’s discarded sketches to bring home. Just to show her another style. I watched her admiring the dress, asking, “What would you like to draw?”She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought. “Anything. I just like drawing and if we’re all choosing something we loved for the day Brie comes over, I’m choosing drawing.”“It’s an excellent choice, kiddo.” I had to remember to ask Layton about some discarded or old drawings. Encouraging Annie’s passions, as fleeting as they might turn out to be
Asking for a Friend No Shenanigans
LAYTON“I would like to remind everyone that the human resources department will be on the lookout for any—” I checked the printout my assistant had given me with HR’s requests about the Valentine’s Day party. “Uh, shenanigans. No shenanigans will be tolerated, even if it is a party.”I frowned at the paper in my hand, shaking my head slightly even as a chuckle escaped. Glancing up, I found myself looking right into the disapproving glare of my head of human resources. The man jabbed a stubby finger at the paper, prompting me to read the rules out loud and take them seriously.Laughter and chuckles tittered around the office as I finished the announcement. I couldn’t blame them for their amusement, since I was having a hard time keeping a straight face myself.O’Donnell, the head of HR, was the only person who would send me a list prohibiting shenanigans and expect people to take it as a decree. It was a party for crying in a fucking bucket. Fully aware of the dangers of a workplace r
Asking for a Friend Challenge Me
LAYTON“They were,” she agreed, which surprised me until she said, “They were invented to make me feel nauseous. I can’t stand the things. Everything just hanging there waiting. Nothing where you need it to be.”“Nothing where you—” I trailed off. “Did no one ever teach you how to use a filing cabinet? Everything in it is exactly where you need it to be. It hangs so as to ensure it doesn’t just lie around in an indecipherable mess.”I gestured around her office, because it was the very picture of an indecipherable mess. Marissa shook her head, arching a brow. “You don’t believe that I know where everything is.”Allowing my head to hang forward in what I was sure would soon be shame, I just had to challenge her assertion. Even if I was about fifty percent certain she was about to prove me wrong. “I’m sorry, but no. I just don’t see how anything about your filing system can be in any way, shape or means systematic.”“It is,” she said, confidently. Placing her elbows on her desk, she for
Asking for a Friend Let's Skip
MARISSALayton surprised me when he came to my office after making the announcement about the party. He hardly ever ventured over to my side of the building. My heart rate kicked up a notch when I saw him approaching, looking dapper as ever in another one of his impeccably tailored suits.Even if they were the only thing I’d ever seen him wear, they never got old. He looked too damn good in them. And since I’d copped a feel at what lay underneath the expensive layers of material, it was hard to look at him and not imagine what he might look like without the corporate suit of armor.A powder blue shirt brought out lighter flecks in his green eyes, especially since the tie he was wearing matched his eyes but had an intricate paisley design in the exact color of the shirt. I briefly wondered whether it had been made especially for him to wear with that shirt and if it was, whether the person who made it had chosen the green of the tie based on the color of his eyes.I nearly swooned over
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