Page 15 of Not Safe For Work

“Mmhmm.” I squint at him, worried about how childish it might look that I’m desperate to avoid my ex. But I’m not too embarrassed to ask for Gavin’s help. I have no idea what people will say when they see I’m not with Ian anymore. I’ll gladly suck up my pride for a shield. “It’s just, I don’t know what to expect?—”

“Say no more, Sparkles. I’m in.” He grins back at me, and it’s so genuine I want to cry. I still don’t know what changed in the last twenty-four hours, but whatever made him go from hating me to becoming this fierce protector, I’m grateful for it. I’m so tired of feeling sorry for myself in the aftermath of this break-up.

Maybe Gavin’s exactly the kind of distraction I need.

From: Olivia Diamond

To: Tristan Cross

Subject: RE: RE: Nice Meeting You

Hi Tristan,

Thanks for the kind reply. I hope you’ll be able to join more meetings in the future and see all the capabilities Sizzl can offer you. I think you’ll be especially impressed with Davide, our Head of Product.

As for this weekend, I’m very flattered. Since I’m currently seeing someone, I’ll have to decline but very much appreciate the offer.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out for any other questions regarding Sizzl. I’m excited to work with your team and help you reach all your marketing goals.

Cheers,

Olivia Diamond

Sales Development @ Sizzl

I spent halfthe night crafting this email and after hitting send I want to rewrite it again. Unfortunately, I could not find a template for a message that conveyed utmost professionalism, while being friendly and positive and also turning a guy down. And I searched for onethoroughly. Even AI couldn’t help me this time around.

With the dreaded email finally sent, I walk out of Fog & Foam with my half-drunk coffee in hand and bump into my new boyfriend.

“Hey, Sparkles. Had a feeling I’d catch you here.” Gavin’s in his usual hoodie and jeans, white sneakers and his hair still wet from the shower. While I try to look polished and professional each day, he’s my complete opposite. And yet, he pulls it off every time.

“You were…looking for me?” I realize now I did leave his apartment a little abruptly last night. I’m beyond grateful that he’s willing to fake-love me to alleviate some of the stress in my life, but once he started talking logistics, my anxiety got the best of me and I fake-yawned until he ordered me to go home and get some sleep.

“Thought it might be good to walk in together, show a united front.” He winks before threading his fingers through mine andholdingthem there. Yep, we are officially holding hands.

“This okay?” he asks in a quick murmur. And I’mfrozen. When we talked about this last night, I never really thought about the actual pretending we’d be doing. It’s one thing to tell people we’re together, even my company, butshowingpeople, how did I not consider what that meant?

My mind flashes back to him on the floor with me last night, when he pressed his palm to my chest, when he squeezed my fingers and gently unwrapped them from my fist. For someone who’s never liked me, he sure is making it a habit of touching me. I only wish I didn’t enjoy it so much.

Suddenly all I can think about is Gavin’s hands. His hands on mine. His hands in my hair. His hands all over?—

“Sparkles?”

“Sorry. Yeah. All good.” How the hell am I going to pull this off if I get this worked up over some simple hand holding? Maybe I’m not mature enough for this.

“Good. And I want Mitch to see us go to HR together, so he knows I was serious. As long as that’s still okay with you.”

“Yeah, it’s…” I’m actually dreading going to HR. I’ve already had to disclose and thenun-disclose one relationship to the team. This is getting embarrassing. But on Friday everyone at the company is going to find out Ian left me. Having Gavin around will make things easier. I think. “Let’s do it.”

SLACK DIRECT MESSAGE

Andie Oh:

Were you and Gavin holding hands this morning?

HOLDING HANDS

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?

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