Page 32 of Reconciling With the Rival

Grant: You guys should see how nervous Oliver is. I’ve never seen him so flustered. It’s hilarious.

Hads: Send a picture. I’d like to catalog this moment for the future.

Ella: Stonehenge is nervous? He’s only picking the ring out!

Grant: I know. Imagine what he’s going to look like proposing…

Oliver: I want it to be perfect. Fucking sue me.

Ella: Well, if the ring isn't perfect, I might.

“Have you guys gotten ahold of Ames yet?” Paige asks us, and when I look back at Hads, she shakes her head.

“No. She hasn't even read my text messages.”

Goddammit, Amelia. It’s easy to tell what’s going on. She’s been pulling away from us—like usual—but this time, it doesn't feel like she wants to come back.

Her birthday was this month, and all our well wishes for her went unanswered.

Even Paige is discouraged. They usually talk a few times a week to debrief. Paige likes to keep her in the loop even though she’s so far away, but she can’t be kept in the loop if she doesn't want to answer any of our messages.

“Oh, that’s okay. Maybe she had another late meeting,” Paige says, trying to keep her spirits up, even though I can tell by her smile that she’s disappointed. Paige always looks on the bright side for most situations, but I can tell my friend is hurting.

We all miss Ames, but besides going to England and making sure her phone isn't broken, all we can do is wait for her to respond—which could be in a day, a week, or never.

“Yeah, probably,” Hads says, an edge to her voice.

Wanting to change the subject, I start talking about why I recommended a night drive in the first place.

“Leo and I finished our pitch, and we find out if we get the account next week.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. Are you nervous? I’m sure you got the publishing house. You worked so hard on it.”

Paige’s compliment makes me smile, so I reach over and grab her hand resting on the stick shift and squeeze it. I know she’s down, yet she’s still trying to make sure I feel okay.

“How was it working with him so closely for a few weeks?”

“I don't know. It was fine, I guess. He’s good at the job, and he wasn't the biggest pain in my ass…” I stop to gather my words. “The only problem is, if we land the account, we’re going to be fighting to lead the project. I know he’s not going to let me have it—he wants to prove himself. I’ve been waiting forever for apublishing house to contact us, and now that it’s here, I have to fight and claw to prove I’m the best person for the job.”

“I bet that gets tiring, Ells,” Hads says.

I slump down in the passenger seat. “Yeah, it does. I’m always fighting for something. It’s bad enough I worked my ass off to get this job, but every day I walk into the office, I have to prove myself. And just when I felt like I was getting somewhere, Leo comes in and knocks all my progress down.”

“And that one asshole got promoted over you,” Hads adds.

“Yeah, that too. I don't even know how he got the promotion over me, but that’s how it always fucking works. I do twice the amount of work he does. I’m constantly staying late to make sure everything I turn in is perfect, yet he leaves early to go golfing a few times a week and still gets a promotion. It fucking sucks.”

“You’re positive Leo is going to go after the account?” Paige asks me. “Maybe if you asked him to lay off, he would.”

“You don't know him like I do, P.”

“Huh,” Paige says as she skips the song. “I guess I always assumed he was all mouth and no pants.”

Hads snickers in the back seat as I try to stop the laugh from coming out.

“What?” Paige asks as she looks between Hads and me.

“Never change, P,” I say, a real smile making my lips turn up for the first time today.

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