Page 26 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Everly rolled her eyes and dramatically dropped her head down to her folded arms. Stacey laughed on-air, and when Everly looked up again, her eyes locked on Chris, who was smiling and staring her way.
As Stacey gave the listeners details on how to apply, Everly scratched out a message on her small whiteboard and held it up for Stacey to see.
It read:Happily ever after? You’re asking for it.Everly shook her fist mockingly through the glass and saw her friend try to bite down on a bark of laughter.
Amusement colored Stacey’s voice. “Everything you need to know is up on our website. Candidates have to meet all the requirements to be considered. I’ll be answering questions throughout the day. But right now, let’s get back to doing what you all came for. This next song is an old-time favorite.”
The music played, giving Everly at least seven minutes’ reprieve. Chris came through the deejay booth to see her, opening the door and leaning on the jamb.
“We’re good to go,” he said.
It had been a week since she’d signed the contract. Her parents thought it was the best thing ever, and she’d had to make her dad go back and read the fine print to be sure her ass was decently covered. For two people who couldn’t decide whether or not to take their marriage seriously, they certainly wanted to see her partnered up. It had irritated her more than she’d wanted to let it.
Pulling in a breath she hoped didn’t sound shaky, she fakeda smile.Rule six: Be bold, even if it gives you hives.Which reminded her, she needed to pick up some calamine lotion. “Excellent. Now, it’s just wait and see. I’m not sure how many applicants we’ll get.”
That was just one of her worries. She had a list longer than her rules. She didn’t want the online equivalent of throwing a party and having absolutely no one show up.Oh my God. What if absolutely no one applies? What if people apply because they feel sorry for me? What if—Stacey popped her head around Chris’s shoulder, her hand on his arm. Everly wished she had even a tenth of the ease her friend felt around others.It just takes you longer to warm up. There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.
“As if. We’re probably going to blow up the website with all the traffic. You’re hot, babe.”
Chris chuckled and stepped into the room. Pulling a chair over, he sat closer than he needed to, but oddly enough, she liked his presence, even when it was one of the reasons for her uneven breathing.
“It’s going to be great. That’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
She tilted her head and lifted one side of her lips. “Which? Me being hot? It going great? Or the two together breaking the internet?”
It was interesting and a little amusing to see the way his eyes widened and color blossomed on his cheeks. Most guys didn’t blush.
Stacey hurried back to her spot, and Everly was left breathing in the scent of Chris’s cologne or soap or whatever it was that made him smell so preciselydelicious. Nope. Take that back.Chris was not on the list of possible candidates for several reasons, the most important of which being he was her boss. There were plenty more she could easily think of—he only just startedtalking to her and acting like she was there. He made her close up and have trouble breathing when she was looking for a man who’d help her be more open. She wasn’t entirely sure whether he liked her. If she was the Queen of Quiet in the office, he was the King of Mixed Messages. If she was doing this, she was doing it right. Or different from how she’d been making her choices so far. Which meant Chris and his on-again, off-again smile was off-limits even if he wasn’t her boss.Which he is! Okay, don’t yell at yourself.
“Everly?”
Right. Conversations required paying attention. “Yes? Sorry. I was just messing with you. Sorry. What were you going to say?” They were better on professional footing.
“My brother develops software. It’s one of his things.”
She leaned back, impressed. “Oneof his things?”
His smile made that dimple appear, and Everly did her best to ignore the impact on her pulse.Just nerves. Always nerves.
“He’s a tech geek,” Chris said with an easy-to-hear affection. “He has something for us to try. I’m going to take all the applicants as they come in, screen them, make sure they’ve checked all the boxes, and then send them to him. He’ll upload them to this app, and it’ll be like your personal version of Tinder.”
Tinder? Like swipe right and heart me?The phone rang behind her, but since her lungs weren’t working, she let it go.
Chris continued, excitement shining in his hazel-ish eyes. “You’ll be able to go through the screened options and choose ones you’d consider. Once you settle on two for the first week, we’ll announce. Those profiles will go up on the website. We have the choice of taking applicants over the next few weeks, or we can choose a cutoff date within the next week or so. That gives you the option of knowing all your choices well in advance. I was thinking that with your anxiety, that might be a better way to go.”
Just like that, the room shrank. Oddly enough, her lungs started working again. Pushing back from her seat, she stood, brushing his arm with her hip. She went to her bag and pulledher water out of it, took a long drink, letting it soothe her dry throat. There’d been absolutely no judgment or condescension in his tone.With your anxiety.
“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
She turned, tried to keep her emotions from taking over. “I just… Most people don’t mention my anxiety as if it’s one more characteristic to describe me. Like, ‘Oh, well, with your red hair, the color is all wrong.’”
His brows furrowed. “You have brown hair.”
Her lips fought the smile, because it was ridiculous to feel so much appreciation that she wanted to beam. She closed her eyes, pushed the feelings down. “Never mind.” Now wasn’t the time to tell him how good it felt to have someone say it like it was just an acceptable piece of her—something that could be easily accommodated, like inviting a vegetarian for dinner.
Her parents, former friends, and exes had called her many things: neurotic, fussy, anal, bitchy, uptight. But they’d never once worked to understand the feelings that came along with having anxiety. They’d never made simple adjustments to plans to take her feelings into consideration. They’d downplayed most of her feelings until she’d questioned whether she felt them. People didn’t understand that she didn’twantthe extra stumbling blocks her worries threw into her path. They just happened, and navigating around them was exhausting. The fact that Chris was taking everything about her into consideration made Everly feel too much. Which made her anxious.Because, of course.
“Continue. Please.”
