Page 8 of Unexpected You

“Rude,” she said before going to the bar to get another drink.

Instead of finding someone to dance with, I nabbed the rest of my friends to shake it as a group instead.

I made it back to my apartment none the worse for wear and somehow made it to my own bed before completely passing out. The next morning was rough, but Hunter and Reid arrived to take me out to drag brunch, which was our tradition after a night out. You’d be surprised how much a drag queen and a giant breakfast sandwich with lots of bacon can help soothe a hangover.

“Since it’s just us three now, can we finally let Reid in on your new job?” Hunter asked, tossing her braid over her shoulder. Even though she was hung over, her hair was still elaborately done with flower clips woven through it.

Reid, on the other hand, had dark circles under her eyes from a long night at work and a frown permanently etched on her forehead, and she kept resting her head on the table like she was going to take a nap right there, but she perked up when Hunter spoke.

“Yes, enlighten me. Please tell me you’re an assassin in training, because I have a job for you and I’ve been saving my tips,” Reid said, poking at her plate. She’d ordered what the restaurant charmingly called The Garbage Plate, which was kind of every breakfast item piled together in a mess. I’d gotten it a few times, but it was the kind of meal that was a marathon and not a sprint and I wasn’t up for that today. The low-level panic about my new job simmered in my veins and in the back of my mind.

And now we were talking about it.

“Not an assassin. Much less interesting than that.” I shared a look with Hunter.

“Do you know Eloise Roth, the writer?” I asked. Reid took a second and then raised both her eyebrows.

“Uh, yes. My mom is obsessed with her books. She never misses one.”

“She’s hiring me on as an assistant. Potentially. I’m getting a trial period of a month,” I said, and Reid’s eyes went wide.

“Shit, Cade. She’s famous. This is a big deal,” Reid said, sitting all the way up.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “When I walked into the café and recognized her I thought I was going to faint. I have no idea how I’m going to actually going to function in her presence.” Not for the first time, I considered sending an email to Eloise Roth saying thanks but no thanks. And then I saw the emails about upcoming payments that I was barely going to cover now, and I remembered that wasn’t an option. I had to do this. For at least a month.

If I could.

“Hey,” Reid said, reaching across the table and touching my arm. “It’ll be okay, kid.”

I realized I’d been chewing the hell out of my lip and it was probably bloody.

“Yeah, thanks.” I licked my lips and went back to my drink.

“You’re going to do great,” Hunter said, and I hated that my friends had to reassure me like this. It made me feel like a child who couldn’t handle anything, not a grown woman. But who else was going to keep me from spiraling? Not my parents. And my siblings didn’t live around here. So it was Hunter and Reid, and sometimes Danica in a pinch.

“Can we stop talking about it please?” I asked and they did, swiftly changing the subject to one of our other friends and her relationship disasters.

They were the best and I knew how lucky I was to have them. Life would be a bleak place indeed without my support system.

After brunch I was feeling a whole lot better, so we took a little walk and visited the bookstore. The three of us bought books all the time for each other and would often buddy read if something was particularly good.

There was a table in the front with bestsellers stacked on it and everything in my body ground to a halt when I read the words ELOISE ROTH on several of them.

“Signed by the author,” Hunter said, picking one up and turning to the title page and showing me the swirling signature. Even that was beautiful and professional.

“Yeah,” I said. “I should probably read at least one.”

Hunter snorted. “I can’t believe you admitted to her that you hadn’t.”

I cringed at the memory. “Not my finest moment, but somehow, I still got hired. There has to be something wrong. That’s the only explanation I can think of.” Guess I was gonna find out either way.

“Or, hear me out, you made a good impression and you’re actually going to do a good job,” Hunter said, squeezing my shoulder.

I let out a breath. “Sure.”

I bought the book anyway.

Chapter Four