Page 33 of Beautiful Rose
Zander: They delivered already? Great.
Me: Zander, I can’t take care of a fish! I’ve never had a fish.
Zander: Calm down, couch girl. Did they give you something else?
Me: Yes, the delivery guy gave me a package.
Zander: Open it. I asked them to prepare a starter’s guide for you. Don’t worry, this is the easiest pet to have.
I look at…my first pet, a pretty golden fish, laid back with not a care in the world.
My hands frantically open the cardboard box, and I find some food and a binder. I flip through it, and the top of the first page reads First Five Days with Your New Friend.
My gaze falls back on the fellow floating in the water. I guess I can give it a try, if this little guy is up for it.
Me: What should I name him?
Zander: What are you thinking?
Me: LOGAN.
Zander: I didn’t expect anything less from you, Wolverine junkie. ;) Enjoy your new friend.
With a new-filled excitement, I bring the fishbowl to my room and place it on the nightstand.
“Please don’t die on me, Logan,” I murmur.
* * *
“Why am I in this meeting?” I ask Kristy as we walk toward the teleconference room.
“I really don’t know. Maybe because it’s your idea,” she mumbles, biting her phone between her teeth as she fixes her hair.
“But I’ve initiated several projects in the past and…I’ve never had to sit in a sales and marketing meeting.” My eyebrows furrow in confusion, wondering what am I doing in a S&M department meeting.
“I don’t know what to say, Rose.” She stands before me with a perfect top bun. “The invitation came from St. Peppers. Maybe Zander asked for you.”
“Zander? Is he going to be in this meeting?” I stop just outside the door.
We’ve talked so much over the past few weeks but only in texts, and that’s… simpler, easier. In those texts, he doesn’t feel like my boss, but rather a friend I’m slowly developing a crush on.
“Yes. Is that a problem?” Kristy takes a few steps back to me.
I shake my head. Suddenly, my feet feel as if they have heavy weight tied to them—possibly the weight of the storm rolling in my stomach as I enter the room.
We are thankfully some of the first people here, and I quickly grab the empty chair at the far end, beyond the scope of the camera. Kristy raises an eyebrow at me but thankfully doesn’t say anything.
The meeting starts and six people appear on the projector screen. Sitting in the middle is Zander, and on his one side is Zach Teager. I guess the rest are the team members of S&M.
Zach is about to say something when Zander asks, “Is Ms. Marlin not in the meeting?”
Oscar glances my way. My panic-laden eyes meet his for a second before I look down at my laptop. “She is here and listening,” he confirms.
Zander doesn’t look pleased with the answer, but he doesn’t argue further. Throughout the meeting, his gaze wanders.
Is he searching for me?
Zander: Why couldn’t I see you in today’s meeting?