Page 36 of Here to Stay
I took another sip of my margarita and sulked, as José asked me about the exact thing I was fretting about. “Are you going to tell your boss?”
I threw my hands up in frustration, hating that Vicki’s lack of professional boundaries was putting me in this position. “I don’t really have a choice. This is the exact type of shit that could sink us with the board and the higher-ups who would love nothing more than having an excuse to shut us down. Not to mention it’s just not good for our clients. This sets up expectations and then we can’t do our jobs for them. It’s just all bad.”
José shook his head in sympathy as I sulked some more, but he perked up as we saw Salome walking up to us. She was sporting her usual jeans, designer sweatshirt, and matching Jordans. She looked like a shorter, slimmer version of Lena Waithe, and she could turn some heads.
She smiled as she approached us and sat down next to José on the bench. “What up, peoples? Tell me something good and normal, so I can remember that academia dysfunction is not real life.”
I snorted and José smiled as he slid her the margarita he’d gotten her. “Julia was telling me about Vicki doing sneaky shit with clients.”
Salome did not like the sound of that. “What’swrongwith her?”
I pursed my lips and blew out a breath, feeling fed up. Then I remembered how much I loved my team and the families we got to work with. “I don’t know, but Imma tell on her ass first thing tomorrow.”
Salome nodded in approval as she signaled the waitress for a menu.
“Did you see Tariq’s text, José? He thinks he’s slick.”
José jumped in his seat like his ass was on fire and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped on it a few minutes, as Salome and I looked on. The smirk and sly look she gave me made me a little uneasy.
“What’d he do now?”
“They. What’dtheydo?” At that same moment, José burst out laughing and showed me the phone.
“What the fuck?” I almost dropped the damn thing in the cocktail glass. My face flaming hot when I saw the message.
Tariq: Rocco’s out here asking if anyone’s noticed his thirsting after Julia... LMAO. SMH.
Oh, God.
“What thirst? I didn’t notice any thirsting...” My eyes were shifting between, Salome, José, and José’s phone screen as if I was expecting one of them to lunge at me and take a bite out of my face.
José just rolled his eyes and tapped on his phone.
“Oh my God, José, why are you smirking?” I looked at Salome, the traitor, who was reading her own phone and cackling. I grabbed José’s phone as he tried to put it back in his pocket.
“Stop, you got your own damn phone.”
Right. I quickly fished it out of my pocket and opened the group chat.
“Et tu, José?” I pointed at José with my marg as I scrolled. He, of course, just laughed in my face.
José: Uh... I don’t know what you’re talking about. Julia is not remotely interested in Rocco’s sculpted torso, perfect red lips, or his dusty blue eyes. She is immune and unaffected by that dick print. Go away, Tariq. We’re busy.
“I hate you.” Just when I thought we could move on from that ill-advised almost kiss. But I should’ve known my nosy-ass friends would not let this go.
That little fucker cackled. “Whaaaaaat? I told him you wereimmuneand unaffected by Rocco.”
“Great, he’s going to know now.” José really was going to lose an eyeball one of these days, with all the eye rolling.
“Like he didn’t already. Girl, please. Also, you have to know those three are gabbing too.”
I gulped my drink and put away my phone. I didnotwant to know.
Chapter Thirteen
Julia
I walked into my boss’s office with my stomach full of knots. Between the stress of seeing Rocco around the office after that stupid, perfect, delicious kiss, all the extra work involved with preparing the reports his firm had asked for and trying to run interference with Vicki’s fuckery, I was very close to snapping.
