Page 11 of The Executive Assistant

“I have the flu,” she sighed.

My eyes widened. “The flu?”

“I’m sorry. I — ” she was interrupted by a burst of coughing. “I have to bail.”

“Don’t apologise. Get lots of rest, okay?” I tried to sound positive despite my disappointment. I’d been looking forward to today, and I could admit that I could stand to spend more time with my friends outside of work. There was definitely an imbalance when it came to dividing up my time. “Do you need me to bring over soup ormedicine?”

“No, no. I have everything I need, and you need to get ready for tonight,” she said. “See if Brooke will go with you to the auction. She loves a good party,” Emilia suggested.

She was right. Brooke might’ve been a lawyer, but she wasn’t overly serious or stiff. Her law school days were full of wild nights.

“I’ll call her now. Get better soon,” I said, bidding her goodbye before I hung up and immediately called Brooke. The phone rang a few times before there was a familiar crackle as Brooke picked up.

“Hello?” There were faint voices in the background.

“Hey, are you busy?” I asked as I leaned my back against the island, toying with the tie of my white robe.

“I’m about to go into my Pilates class. What’s up?” Brooke asked.

“Are you busy tonight? Emilia was going to attend this charity auction with me, but she has the flu,” I explained. “Do you want to go with me?”

“I wish I could, but I have a family dinner tonight. You know how my mom is. If I don’t show up, I’ll be hearing about it for weeks.”

“That’s okay. I’ll figure something out.” Today was already starting to fall apart, and I hadn’t even gotten to enjoy my coffee yet.

“You should ask Russell to go with you!” Brookesuggested.

I wrinkled my nose. I could already picture Russell boasting all night about how much money he made.

I still hadn’t told Emilia and Brooke about the disastrous date that I had with him. They had been so excited to throw me back into the dating game, so I didn’t want them to disappoint them.

“I doubt he’ll want to go. It’s too last minute anyway,” I said, grasping for any excuse that I could think of to shoot down her idea.

“How about Cameron, then?”

My heart stopped. “Cameron? No… I couldn't…”

“Why not? It’s kind of a work event, right?” Brooke pointed out. “You know that he would be good company.”

I parted my lips to argue, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Are you going to ask him? I think you should,” Brooke added, already sounding victorious.

What other choice did I have? I didn’t want to go alone, Cameron knew about the event, and I had to admit, he was great company. He was kind and charming and confident and…

And deep down, Ididwant to go with him. I wanted him to compliment my dress, I wanted us to drink champagne together, I wanted us to exchange glances when the other guests were being ridiculous.

“I guess I could ask him,” I replied, trying to hide theflicker of excitement in my chest.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Alright, I gotta go — my class is starting soon. Have a good time!” Brooke said, before hanging up.

I lowered my phone, preparing for the third phone call of the day. My thumb hovered over the call button on Cameron’s contact, a nervous sensation filling my stomach. I felt like a teenager asking a crush out on a date.

I sucked in a deep breath before hitting the call button. Only two rings passed before Cameron picked up the phone, which was his typical response time whenever I reached out to him.

“Alison,” he answered. “How can I help?”

“Cameron,” I said, willing my voice to steady itself as the pressure of my question rose in my chest like a bubble. “Sorry to call you on a Saturday. Are you busy?”

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