Page 86 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Everly laughed. “True. The best part of that is when you’re too outrageous, I can make it clear we’re not actually related.”
Both of the men laughed, and Everly saw Noah exchange a glance with Chris.
“You have awesome employees.”
Stacey sat straighter, adding some sass to her expression. “Hell, yeah, he does.”
Chris sat up straighter. “The station has excellent employees all the way around, from the janitors to the producers. It’s part of what’s kept it going.”
“Can I quote you on that, Mr. Diplomacy?” Noah grinned atStacey. “Come on, he won’t tell me any good stuff. Any drama? Good gossip? Any of you hooking up in the break room?”
Chris coughed, and Everly felt her own face redden. “Shut up, Noah. There’s a no-fraternizing policy. My employees are all trustworthy, dependable, and great at what they do.”
Noah pretended to pout. “But surely a little policy could be waived if two people were mad about each other.”
“Sometimes I think Mari and Mason are secretly in love,” Stacey said.
Chris did a double take. “Really? I can’t see that.” He must have realized what he said. “I don’t think that’s the case, and I’d feel a lot more comfortable if we talked about something else.”
“Chris is the serious one,” Noah said with a sigh.
Stacey grinned. “No shit. What are you?”
Noah arched an eyebrow. “The exceptional one.”
“And Wes?” Stacey asked, her smile widening.
“The geek. It’s a lot of weight to carry on my shoulders, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
“I think you like for people to think you’re a lot more confident than you are,” Everly said quietly, not even realizing the words came out of her mouth.
All three of them looked at her, and her pulse hiccupped. Uh-oh. Insulting the boss’s brother was probably not a good idea.
To her surprise, Chris chuckled, and Noah leaned in. “Really. Tell me more.”
Everly bit her lip and shook her head. “Sorry. No. You just… I mean, clearly, you’re all those things you said. I generally find that people who have to draw attention to those things about themselves have underlying feelings that they’re lacking those things.” Oh God. Why did she keep talking? “But you aren’t, so you shouldn’t worry.”Someone stop me. Stacey, stop me!
Instead, her friend looked amused. “If only you could psychoanalyze yourself as well as you do others.”
Swallowing the butterflies trying to force their way up herthroat—very uncomfortably—she tugged at her napkin, tearing bits off. “Don’t get me started on you, Miss Commitment-phobe.”
Noah laughed, deep and loud. “Damn. I like these two. When do I get to meet the rest of the staff?”
A bus girl came to take the rest of their dishes away, silently reaching between them.
“Yeah, what about that? We were supposed to have some staff shindig. Bonding and beer and all that,” Stacey said.
Chris was eyeing Everly with a hint of a smile, like the other night when she’d felt as if they were sharing a secret.
“Very soon, actually. I’m putting it at the top of my to-do list.”
Everly nibbled on her bottom lip. That was interesting. Usually, the top of his list had ratings, followed by policy, ratings, and ratings.
“I want in. I can help you plan,” Noah said.
Brows furrowed, Chris shook his head. “You’re not staff. I’m not planning a kegger.”
“I’m like staff,” Noah said.
