Chapter 9: Chapter Nine

RAE

“I made out with Logan!” I squeal.

Zoe’s frying pan clatters against the stove. “You what?” She squints. “Are you wearing workout clothes?”

I’m not even offended that the sight of me in exercise garb is more shocking than the confession that I just hooked up with the second guy since my Saturday breakup. “We went for a hike, and then we made out in his car.”

“Hold on.” She reduces the heat and turns her head back to me, eyes still narrowed. “What happened?”

I tell her the story about my absolute roller coaster of a day. For someone who lacks a filter, Zoe is a very good listener. She only interrupts once, and that’s to call Taylor a bitch, which is forgivable.

“So, what does this mean for Michael and Jake?” she asks.

“I’m definitely going to cancel on Michael for Saturday. And for Jake…” I trail off. My heart is still thumping. The way Logan kissed me… ~God~.

“Stop thinking about it!” Zoe exclaims. “No getting turned on in the kitchen.”

I bite my lip. Too late.

“Ew,” she groans. “Okay. Jake. Are you, like, over him?”

I don’t know the answer to that, honestly. Jake hasn’t been on my mind since I stepped out of Logan’s car at the trailhead.

Logan gives me butterflies, and he’s an amazing kisser, but I did spend the entirety of my workday trying not to sob over Jake in my cubicle. “Probably not,” I mutter.

Zoe nods. “Just… Just be careful, Rae. Give yourself some time to heal after Jake, you know?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. She’s probably right, but I want to revel in the tingly daze Logan’s lips put me in.

She doesn’t give me the chance, though, because I am brought to reality by a dinner roll chucked at my head. “Stop thinking about him. You’re two seconds away from drooling.”

She’s not wrong. “Okay, okay,” I grumble. “I’m going to cancel my date with Michael.” I stare at my phone and sigh. I’m terrible at texting. Zoe authors half the messages I send.

“What do I say? Am I supposed to come up with an excuse?”

“No, he’ll just try to schedule something else. Just say you had a fun Saturday, but you aren’t looking to date right now.”

She’s a genius.

Rae

Hey, Michael. Sorry to do this, but I think I’m going to have to cancel for Saturday. I’m not really looking to date right now. Thank you for inviting me, though.

My text is as awkward as a baby giraffe (seriously, them trying to walk is so lubberly), but it’s not my worst.

Michael

No worries. I’ll leave Saturday open. I think I can change your mind by the end of the week.

I shudder. I don’t even want to know what changing my mind entails.

Okay, probably more incredible sex, but if I use Logan’s kissing prowess as a sign of his ~other~ talents, I think I’m making the right choice. Also, Logan isn’t creepy as fuck.

Rae

Haha, I don’t know. See you tomorrow.

***

There’s a latte waiting on my desk when I arrive Tuesday morning. Beneath it sits a sticky note with “5 days” written in a messy script.

Something is deeply wrong with him. I’m certain of it.

Taylor’s eyes light up when she steps into my cubicle. “Ooh, Rae! You have an admirer,” she giggles.

Half of me is worried Michael put something in here. The other half—the dominant half—desperately needs another dose of caffeine before I melt into a puddle of embarrassment and social anxiety.

I take a sip and nearly spit out the lukewarm milk and espresso.

~How early did he get here to do this~?

“I guess,” I sigh, adding on a fake laugh for good measure.

Taylor grins. “Michael sure is a charmer. Anyway, we need your help getting headshots and candid photos this morning. Shawn had a brilliant idea—

She flutters her lashes at him “—to have featured content on individual employees. We’ll post the pictures along with short testimonies about working for Quincy Ventures on our social media accounts. Luckily for you—”

She winks at me, and my stomach sinks, because I know what’s coming “—your first appointment is with Michael. He’s expecting you now.”

I chug the chilly coffee and, fake smile plastered on my face, follow Taylor to Michael’s office, gearing up for some good old-fashioned borderline sexual harassment.

“Here he is!” Taylor sings.

“Rae! Nice to see you so bright and early. I wish I knew I was getting photos taken. I would have dressed up,” he laughs. “Come on in.”

Taylor closes the door behind me.

“Uh, the suit looks fine.” He’s definitely fishing for compliments.

“Just fine?” he teases.

Yeah. For sure, fishing for compliments.

“It looks great. Very professional,” I force out.

“Thank you. It’s what’s underneath that counts.” He winks.

Forget borderline. This is just actual, blatant sexual harassment, and I pretend to laugh at it because I don’t know what else to do. I’m going to come out of here hating myself more than the patriarchy.

“Where would you like me, Rae?”

Nothing suggestive about this. “Could you sit behind your desk and pretend to be working? I’ll get a few candid shots.”

“I’d love to.” He leans back in his chair and sucks on the end of a pen.

~Oh, no. He’s one of those~.

I snap a photo I’ll just delete later so he feels alright about the weird pen thing. “How about you check your email or do something—some work? I’ll just be in the background getting a few shots. Forget I’m here.”

“I could never forget you’re here, Rae.”

Cheeks twitching in resistance, I hoist my lips into a tight smile. “Thanks. Ready?”

I have zero luck getting anything decent at his desk.

We head to the lobby next, where he pretends to read a book (another photo to discard immediately), talk on his phone (better, but not great), and smile beside some fake trees (weird, but he insisted).

He poses in a few conference rooms, and I actually snap some usable photos of him pretending to lead a meeting. He’s a good-looking guy; I’ll give him that. He’s a fucking creep, but he’s a hot creep.

“Hi, Rae.”

Smack in the middle of the hall leading from the executive offices to the conference rooms is Logan. He shoots me a grin, and I feel my cheeks going red. Other areas are having their own reactions to him as well.

I’m going to have to start keeping an extra pair of panties in my purse for the rest of my time at QV.

“Hi. Hey, Logan.”

Time slows down when he strides past me. His shoulder brushes mine, sending a wave of tingles down the left side of my body.

I use all my strength to keep my eyes ahead and my ears listening to Michael’s ramblings about the date he wants to take me on. It’s fruitless.

My mind drifts to the softness of Logan’s lips, how his fingers felt laced between mine, how sexy he is in a suit, how badly I want to tear it off him…

“Earth to Rae.” Michael waves his hand in front of my face, laughing. The playful expression doesn’t reach his eyes.

“S-sorry!” I stammer. “I, uh… I’m pretty tired. I was just spacing out for a second.”

“Oh.” He licks his lips as he closes his office door. “You should go to bed earlier tonight.”

I inch closer to the exit. “Uh, maybe, yeah.”

“So, you’ve gotten to know Quincy? That’s great. He’s really powerful around here.”

“Yeah, a little. He’s… He’s really nice.” ~He’s really nice. Seriously, Rae~?

Michael emits a breathy chuckle that tells me he disagrees. “Yeah, he’s something. How have you liked working with Taylor?”

Definitely not going to share the truth on that one. “She’s nice too. She seems really good at managing social media.”

Michael scoffs. “If she wasn’t fucking Quincy, she’d still be an analyst. We’re hoping you and Shawn can teach her a thing or two about marketing.”

He has to be saying that to convince me to go out with him Saturday. He ~has to~. Right? I mean, they ~did~ seem pretty cozy at Smash…

“Oh,” I choke out. “I, uh, I’m going to… I’m going back to my cube. Bye. Thanks for, uh, the photos.” I scurry out of his office before he can say anything else that makes me want to throw up.