Page 13 of Taurus

“Warren’s office was full of them, and Austin here has a photo with a group of friends, from his teenage days, in his apartment and when I asked about it, he told me some names.” She bats her big, fake lashes at me.

I’m impressed by her ability to converse with me like a normal human while also, not so subtly, telling me she’s spent time in Austin’s apartment. She’s trying to stake a claim on him.

You can have him, honey. That ship has sailed.

Though, if I said the idea of him with her, in his apartment, in his bed, didn’t sting just a little, I’d be a liar.

I glance to my left and see that Val has sneakily excused herself from the conversation to take a phone call. I wonder if that was purposeful?

“Ten years does have an effect on how people look, I tell her. “So, the social media manager? What does that job entail?”

“I run all social media outlets for the brand, creating the posts, graphics, captions, and track the insights to make sure what I’m posting is working. It’s a dream job, really. Austin,” I watch as she caresses his arm again, casually but purposefully, “he really pushed for me in this position. I’m forever grateful.”

She’s really laying it on thick.

Gag me.

“Well, lucky you, right?” I add, and Austin must sense the awkwardness because he shuts the conversation down immediately.

“All right, ladies, I need to introduce Parker to a few more faces then she’ll be down with Linds for the rest of the day. We should get moving.”

“Boo,” she pouts but smiles. “It was nice to meet you, Parker.”

“You too, Carrie.”

She turns to leave but whips back around like she just remembered something. “Oh! Austin, are we still on for this weekend?”

Austin looks to me, like my presence is making a difference, but he quickly nods to her. “Yes, we are. I’ll text you, okay?”

“Okay.” She squeezes his hand then finally turns on her heel and leaves.

“So… Carrie, huh?” I ask as we ride the elevator back down the main level after meeting with a few more departments.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to say something.” He shakes his head. “She may seem…”

“Vapid?” I add in snottily.

“Damn? Who is this Parker? You’re always the first person to shoot down any female bashing of any kind, regardless of who it is.”

I sigh. “You’re right. As a self-proclaimed feminist, I shouldn’t have called her vapid, but, Austin… she gives me season one Kardashian energy.”

“I don’t even know what that means, but Carrie is very good at her job. Her work alone has resulted in an increased visitor count and therefore profit. It’s hard to ignore social media is the way marketing is trending, and I worked really hard to convince Warren we needed to hire out that position.”

“Were you already dating her when she took the job?” I ask outright.

“Ohhhh, so that’s what this is?” He leans against the elevator wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re jealous.”

I scoff, “Jealous? Hardly. There’d have to be something to be jealous of and Pesca Barbie isn’t jealousy worthy.”

“To answer your question… no, Carrie and I weren’t dating. We never have. We aren’t now. We’re casual. That’s all.”

“You’re casual? So she just casually asked you about a booty call while standing directly in front of me?”

“Who says it was a booty call?” He holds the elevator door open for me to step off first.

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