Page 4 of October
“Just that we do that and we’re together, but when that dries up, it’s like we realize we have nothing else in common.”
“Nothing but sex in common?”
“Sorry. TMI?” she asked.
“It’s fine,” Molly replied. “But I do have a meeting in a few minutes that I need to prepare for.”
“Sure. Right. Sorry,” she said. “I’ll let you get to it. I’ll just be setting up my new desk and figuring out how to approve Rusty’s time off request. I’ve never been a manager before and haven’t had to do that.”
“I can show you when I get back,” Molly offered.
“Great. Thanks,” she replied.
She then watched Molly return her attention to her computer and decided that she really liked her new seat choice.
CHAPTER 2
“Juliet, answer your phone. I know you’re teaching, but I need you to call me back as soon as you can. I know Gwen is there, and you’re probably going to run to your hotel room where she’s waiting for you on breaks and lunch, but you can have sex with her later. Your best friend needs you ASAP,” Molly said to Juliet’s voicemail because a text message just wouldn’t do to convey the urgency enough.
She sent two of those as well, just in case Juliet didn’t check her voicemail, and slid her phone back into her pocket before she took a walk around the block. It wasn’t a big deal. She could handle this. It was only her longtime crush, the woman Molly had wanted since she first started working at Southern Roastery, sitting next to her in the office, when she spent a good percentage of her days talking to Juliet about her.
Then again, that probably wouldn’t matter all that much now since Juliet would be moving into an office soon. That news had come as a surprise just the other day. Juliet hadn’t requested an office, but with the changes she’d suggested to the training programs being adopted by the whole company, they had offered her space in a vacant office. She wouldn’t be traveling anymore and would actually use it, unlike Jordana, Juliet’s predecessor, who had been on the road all the time. Molly had walked by the new office when she got into workthat morning, and she could picture Juliet behind that desk and Molly sitting in her guest chair, talking about work and gossiping, mostly about Gwen, Juliet’s girlfriend, and Finley and how much Molly wished she could have been even remotely Finley’s type.
She knew it wouldn’t be the same, with Juliet having an office and a new role. Juliet would be in new important meetings. She would probably have her door closed some of the time, too, and Molly wouldn’t be able to look over the short cubicle divider between them to ask her friend a question or find out what she was doing that night to see if Juliet wanted to grab a drink. She worried they would have fewer walks to get coffee at the store down the street as well. She thought they might even hang out less outside of work because Juliet had Gwen now. Juliet had already been spending most nights with her whenever she wasn’t traveling, and this trip, Gwen had even gone with her, taking Carly, Juliet’s dog, with them.
They were cute together, and Molly was happy for her friend, of course, but now, Finley was going to be sitting right next to her, and that meant that when she inevitably got back together with India, Molly would have to see them together. She’d already caught them kissing in the parking garage last month, and that had been hard. Knowing she didn’t have a chance with Finley was one thing, but actually seeing her kiss someone else in that garage had made her want to throw up. It had been a visceral thing that she had played off when talking to Juliet, but she had cried that night, thinking about how Finley would be going home with India, and they’d probably take it further than just a kiss.
She hated thinking about that night. She hated that she could now picture what Finley and India looked like when they kissed each other; not just a peck on the lips, but a real kiss. Molly hated that she cared so much, too. She should’ve movedon a long time ago, but here she was, walking around outside, trying to get some fresh air to, yet again, attempt to put Finley Storm out of her thoughts.
Her walk done and unsuccessful, Molly opened the door to the building, preparing to go upstairs to get back to work, and her phone rang.
“Finally,” she said to Juliet.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on? Are you okay?” Juliet asked.
“Am I okay? No, I’m not okay.”
“Molls, I’m on a ten-minute break. What’s going on?”
“Finley sits next to me now.”
“What?”
“She got promoted, remember?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So, she could pick her desk, and she picked the one next to us.”
“The open one by the window?”
“No, George’s desk.”
“So, next toyou, then; not us.”
“Well, yeah, but she’s friends with you, too. More you than me because I can’t even finish a sentence around her.”
“We’ve watched football together a few times, but we’re not best friends or anything. Wait. Is that what you’ve been calling me about? You said ASAP. You said you needed me to call now, Molls.”
