Page 37 of Brassy Bigwig

“I look up. And you’ll never guess who I lock eyes with.”

“Bradley Cooper.”

“What? No.” I roll my eyes at her.

“Oh. Um, I don’t know then.”

A huge, goofy grin breaks out on my face when I remember laying eyes on him again. I think about the excitement I felt that he was here to profess his undying love for me and whisk me away back to Greece.

“Trey.”

I watch as Shelby’s eyes grow wide with surprise.

“Shut. Up. Are you fucking serious right now?”

“Dead. Fucking. Serious. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Oh lord.”

She takes another sip of wine at the same time as me.

“So I'm freaking out, I feel like I might faint, I can’t believe this is happening, right? He’s walking toward me, and I’m just waiting for him to crush me up against the wall and make out with me or something.”

“Oh my god, please tell me that’s what happened.”

“No. That didn’t happen. He didn’t even say hello. He just waltzed right past me like the fucking King of England and takes a seat behind Mr. Andino’s desk.”

“What? Why?” Shelby’s eyebrows furrow with confusion.

I stare at her for a few moments as I grab my glass off the table again. Cocking my eyebrow as I take a sip, a realization hits her.

“No. Fucking. Way,” she gasps in shock.

“Yup.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know. But wait, there’s more. He tells me to take a seat so we can ‘go over my probationary period review’ as though it’s a normal day. As though the man I had a crazy night of redonkulous sex with didn’t just walk through the door after a month of no contact.”

Shelby’s only response is a series of rapid blinking. It’s incredibly rare to shock Shelby speechless.

“Then he starts asking me the most absurd questions.”

“Like what?”

“Like, did I know who he was before we met in Greece? Why did I start working for Okeanós? And—wait for it—did I accept my position with the intention of seducing and blackmailing him?”

If I thought she was speechless before, I don’t know what to call the face she’s making right now.

“That motherfucker!”

I lean over and pick up my glass again, downing the rest of it. Shelby doesn’t skip a beat and fills it again in seconds flat.

“So what did you say?”