Page 19 of Common Grounds

“Out,” I bark, pointing to the table where he was sitting when the group walked in.

He gives me a mock salute and follows the order. I join him at his table, squeezing myself as close to the window as possible. Of course, Mike sat with his back to the door so I’m forced to face out into the room, where I can see the side of Emery’s face perfectly.

It’s such a beautiful face. I’m having a hard time not staring at it.

“You are majorly screwed,” Mike notes.

I scowl at him, then out the window at the rain still dumping from the darkening clouds. “Yep,” I say.

Chapter nine

Emery

If I thought this evening couldn’t get any more embarrassing, I would be wrong because Cass takes a bite of her muffin and moans in pleasure. It’s not just any moan, either. It’s so overtly sexual, Vi can’t even resist reaching out a hand to grip Cass’s knee under the table as she uses her other hand to toy with her necklace. I almost ask them if they need a room alone with their baked goods, but Cass rolls her eyes into the back of her head. As if this all wasn’t bad enough, she addresses Trevor. I would rather ignore him, and she knows it.

“Wow, these muffins. Trevor,” she calls across the room. “You make these yourself?”

“Yeah. It’s my dad’s recipe,” he returns.

“Holy shit, Em. You’ve gotta try these.” She breaks off a piece and hands it to me, but I shake my head and press my lips together.

“You’re going to deny yourself the absolute joy of these pastries because you banged the guy who made them?” Cass asks, incredulous. And entirely too loudly. I resist the urge to turn and see Trevor’s reaction.

Ethan squeals in delight again, and my jaw drops. “Shut up,” I hiss.

“Seriously.” Cass shoves the piece of muffin at me like she’s going for a wedding cake smash at my mouth. “Try it.”

I reel back and shake my head again. Violet breaks off her own piece and pops it into her mouth, staring me down as she does it. Then, her expression changes to one of genuine surprise. “Damn, Trevor. These are really good.”

Ethan and Josie rip their own pieces off. “Oh wow,” Josie says around her mouthful. She turns around and rests her arm over the back of her chair to address Trevor. “Can I get one for myself?”

What is with these people talking to the man I really, desperately need to ignore? I feel like I’m going to either explode or rip someone’s head clear off their shoulders. Do they not understand that my job is on the line here? We are so far away from the purpose of this meeting that I don’t even know if I see a way back to it.

The teenager deposits Josie’s muffin in front of her, and she immediately takes a giant bite.

“You’re really missing out,” Ethan says, reaching to take a piece of Josie’s muffin. Josie smacks his hand, and he pouts.

“I’m good,” I insist.

“Suit yourself,” Cass sings. “So, if we aren’t going to talk about the elephant in the room, can someone please explain why your coworkers joined us this evening?”

Ethan sits straighter and leans forward. “Oh, this one’s a good story. Randall was in a mood at our pitch meeting today.”

“Yeah, it was like his wife forgot to make his coffee again.” Josie grimaces.

“That’s what I said!” Ethan shouts in triumph.

I grumble, but now we’re making headway. I can’t waste this opportunity to move on from talking about the man sitting behind me. “Yeah, well he was going on about what Millennials want to see in their news—”

“The man still thinks Millennials are teenagers,” Ethan adds.

“What a moron,” Vi says, and everyone at the table nods in agreement.

“Anyway,” I continue. “I pitched a few cutesy ideas he didn’t like, then finally told him if he wanted something cutting-edge, he’d have to let me write a story with some teeth.”

Cass just about chokes on her food. Vi pats her back unhelpfully. When she’s gained control of herself, Cass says, impressed, “You finally did it.”

My face falls. “Don’t get too excited. He basically challenged me to write a feel-good fluff story that goes viral. If I can do it, I can write my school funding piece.”

---