Page 40 of What I Like About You

I roll my eyes, but brother-sister banter centers me. When we approach Sawyer, the nervous butterflies are gone, and I just want to get this whole interaction over with.

“Oh hey, Hal-lee, how can I help you?”

Ollie interjects. “Hi. I’m Ollie. Halle’s brother. Yeah. Um.”

He holds out his hand to shake and Sawyer takes it and oh my God where is my brother? Swear to God, Ollie’s ears are bright pink and I am loving every moment of this. He’ll snap into character, I’m sure, but his fumbling shows that hedoeshave the awkward Levitt genes inside him, deep down.

“I’m just dropping off an application,” I say.

“Sweet! I can take it from you, no problem.”

I hand him the papers. Instead of doing whatever it is you’re supposed to do with new applications, Sawyer starts reading through mine. Right in front of me. Which I’m pretty sure is a violation of something. I think. Yeah.

“Availability looks good—is there any time that will change? Any sports? Theater?” Sawyer asks. “It’s cool if there is. My parents just prefer a heads-up on any seasonal extracurriculars.”

“Um,” I say. “Nope, no sports. Or theater.” Group activities give me hives.

“I play baseball,” Ollie says, even though nobody asked.

“Dude, yes!” Sawyer moves in for a fist bump and Ollie relaxes. “We need some fresh blood on the team. What position?”

“Center field.”

“Are you free this afternoon?” Sawyer asks. “I’m out at one—let’s hit the batting cages.”

“Sure.” Ollie my brother is back. Cool. Calm. Casual. As if this moment isn’t everything his little baseball heart had hoped for and more.

He’s totally, without a doubt, dying inside.

They exchange cell phone numbers and coordinate plans and, wow, Ollie is good. I don’t even have Sawyer’s number yet, and I’ve sat with him at lunch every day. At school, he’sMolly and Sawyer, so to be honest, having Molly’s number in my phone is like having Sawyer’s, too. But still.

“So when can you start?” Sawyer asks me.

“Whenever.”

“You’re hired.”

I laugh, because that’s so not how this works. Sawyer cannot just hire me; I need to botch an interview first, at the very least.

“Yeah, okay,” I say, skeptical.

He makes a face at me, like I’ve wounded his ego or something. “I mean it. It’s my parents’ bakery, you know? So if you want the job, it’s yours.”

“You can do that?” I ask.

“Technically, no. Practically, yeah. Be right back.”

Sawyer folds my application in half and disappears into the kitchen. I don’t even have time to process what is happening before he returns with a stapled packet in his hand.

“Start the paperwork,” he says. “At school tomorrow, get a work permit from the office. It needs to be signed by a parent or guardian. Fill everything out, and boom. You are employed.”

“Okay,” I say. “Thanks.”

“Cool. I’ll have Dad,ahem, Mr. Davidson, give the final okay when he comes in later today. Let me …” His voice trails off and his attention shifts to another sheet of paper. “Can you start Wednesday?”

That seems so fast and I am not prepared for any of this. But I have a ton of reviews to bake for and this is my only shot, so I swallow that answer and say, “Sounds good.”

“Cool,” Sawyer says again. “Welcome aboard!”

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