Page 71 of Chasing After You
It’s the worst timing ever, but a part of me is relieved to have a reason to escape the room.
“Sorry, it’s my boss,” I mumble, pulling the phone out of my pocket to retreat into the kitchen. I take a deep breath, clearing my throat to give myself a shot at sounding normal before answering. “Hi, Stacey,” I greet, trying to sound as chipper as possible. I can feel Henry right behind me, his hand brushing over my lower back in reassurance. He didn’t have to follow me, but I’m glad he did.
“Why does your voice sound like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re happy enough to be a Disney princess. I thought you had a family emergency, or at least that’s what Henry told me after tearing into my office like a madman to beg me to let you leave for the day,” she says, and my heart stutters in my chest.
He what?
“No, there is one. I’m just . . . this is my voice? I’m sorry, is there something you need me to do?” I ask, redirecting the conversation back to whatever reason she called for. I feel like she shouldn’t be comparing my voice to anything, but I guess there are worse comparisons that could be made.
“I was calling to ask you to remind Henry he still needs to post online about your relationship. Please look it over before letting him post to make sure it’s satisfactory,” she says, and I can hear how quickly she’s typing. She can multitask better than anyone I’ve ever met.
“I can do that,” I say, and in the background I hear a door open, and someone’s voice.
“Stacey, I couldn’t get ahold of the photographer, and—” Miley’s interrupted before she can finish. Stacey must have asked her to help get ahold of Jeremy, the photographer in charge of the next campaign that Henry is scheduled to be in for the team.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself. Here’s my dry-cleaning ticket, please go pick it up,” Stacey says brusquely, and I cover my mouth to make sure a sound does not come out of my mouth. “Are you going to take it, or just stare at me?”Holy shit. I would pay to see the look on Miley’s face.
The door shuts in the background, and at the same time, I hear Hunter’s voice getting louder from the foyer.
“Mirabelle, can I expect you back in the office tomorrow? You’re the only one who can apparently do their job correctly, and I need to know if I have to change what’s on tomorrow’s schedule,” Stacey says, and I think this might actually be the best part of this shitty day.
“I’ll be at work. Would you like me to call Jeremy and pass along a message?”
“No, I’ll make the call myself,” she says, and the typing resumes in the background.
“I’ll be sure to remind Henry,” I repeat, in case she didn’t hear me the first time.
“Mirabelle?”
“Yes?”
“I hope everything is okay with your family. I’ll see you in the morning.” The line goes dead, and I pull the phone away from my ear surprised. Does Stacey actually like me?
“What?” Henry asks, sliding his hand up my back, and I’m not totally sure what just happened.Henry begged her to let me leave for the day?
“Um, Stacey wanted me to remind you that you haven’t posted,” I say, and Henry groans.
“Shit, I forgot,” he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen quickly. “Do you need to see it first before I post it?”
I hear my parents in the other room, and I’m so drained. I inhale slowly, twisting my hair back into a low bun. “Does it have any nudity in it?” I ask and Henry shakes his head, still looking down at the screen. “Are both of us in it?”
“No. Just you. Do you think that’s okay?” he asks, looking at me unsure.
“I’m sure it’s fine. Don’t put any curse words in the caption, and it should be fine.”
“Sugartits isn’t a swear word, right?”
My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
“Should I not have posted that?” he asks, as if not understanding the gravity of the situation.Stacey is going to take back every nice thing she might have said to me and murder me. Holy shit.“Mira, I’m fucking with you. I know better than to call you Sugartits online.”
I smack his arm as he laughs. “I can’t believe you.”
“I’m sorry, I wanted to try to make you laugh after everything today. Probably a bad idea,” Henry says, sliding the phone back into his pocket, the ghost of a smile lingering on his face.
