Page 15 of Falling Madly
He frowned. “I have a bad feeling about him. I can’t explain it. It’s?—”
“You think he’ll be a cringe client?”
He shook his head. “Not the way you’re thinking.”
“Not an indecisive, condescending dick?”
He took a moment to consider. “Not indecisive,” he said slowly.
I laughed, then swallowed. “I still want the job.”
“Me, too,” he admitted. “It’s a good gig. But if I were a woman, I might steer clear of him.”
“Why?”
“He’s already rated all the ladies at our office.”
“Rated, how?”
Trevor sighed, staring at his toes. “Face, ass, boobs.”
“What, like separately? Face five out of ten, boobs seven?”
“Pretty much.”
He wouldn’t look me in the eye anymore. My gut twisted at his words, but I’d worked on the art concepts for two weeks, andI felt more than a little stubborn. We sat on the bench, closer to each other than before.
“Okay. I appreciate the heads-up,” I said, securing the towel so it wouldn’t slide down. “I’ll carry mace to meetings and hide a spy camera between my five-out-of-ten boobs.”
Trevor didn’t laugh. “Ten out of ten,” he finally said, staring at the pool.
“What? My boobs? Is Gavin into B-cups?”
“He hasn’t seen them. I have.”
Silence filled the air for a beat. “Thanks for the top rating,” I eventually said, now feeling very naked under the towel.
He shook his head. “I don’t like the way they talk about you. Or I mean… any woman.”
“That’s okay. You should hear how I talk about your gender with my sister. We can really trash it out.”
“Fair enough.” He smiled. “Are you close with your sister?”
“She’s my best friend.” I paused, wondering how much I should share. If he cared. “She moved to Colorado Springs two years ago, but we call or text every day. She gives me an update on family life, and I have to tell her one thing I did that day that wasn’t work.” I smiled to myself, thinking of our conversation before the party. Today had been easy. Some days I was scrambling, talking about my lunch.
“That sounds good. Healthy.”
“We talk about other stuff, too. She did the whole marriage-and-kids thing. It’s perfect for her, and she’s really happy. I know she’s worried I’ll never get there, working the hours I do.”
I felt him tense a little. “Do ye… want to get there?”
“I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life. I haven’t thought any further than that.”
“So, ye have no plan? No two-point-five children, a dog, and a house in the suburbs… near the good schools?”
I smiled. “No plan. Honestly, I don’t see myself as a housewife. You build your whole life around a husband and a marriage with no backup. What if it doesn’t work? He carries on with his career and you do… what? I mean, my sister found a good one, so maybe it’ll work for her. But there are no guarantees.”
“Life no’ big on guarantees.”
