Chapter Twenty-Two
“Cheers! You did it, bitch!” Natalie’s eyes sparkled as she clinked her drink against Olivia’s. “They’llhaveto make you VP now.”
“It’s not a sure thing yet,” Olivia said humbly, but she was doing cartwheels on the inside. That morning, Michael had called her into his office and informed her that Ty Winstock had officially signed on as a PHC client and that he’d credited part of his decision to her pitch. Michael hadn’t seemed annoyed that Winstock liked Olivia’s short, off-the-cuff pitch more than he’d liked Michael’s presentation; he was just thrilled they’d landed a big fish like Winstock.
“Nuh-uh. None of that false modesty.Ownit, babe,” Tamara ordered. “Vice-President Olivia Tang. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
A grin spread across Olivia’s face. “Yeah. It does.”
Her book club friends erupted in cheers that turned the head of every other patron in the bar. They’d gathered for their weekly happy hour meet-up, which had turned into a mini advance celebration of Olivia’s promotion. Olivia wouldn’t formally be promoted until after she received her MBA, but with the Ty Winstock win under her belt, she was ninety-nine percent sure she had the vice-presidency in the bag.
Kat’s phone rang.
“Don’t think about it,” Olivia said before the brunette could answer. “Put your hands up and back away slowly.”
She could see the caller ID clearly from where she was sitting:Ben.The asshole ex.
She’d bonded hard with her fellow book club members this summer, and she was comfortable enough with them now to tell them what she really thought—and shereallythought Ben could go suck a dick.
“But it might be important,” Kat protested.
“The only important thing that man has to say is when he’s getting a vasectomy. God knows we don’t need any mini Bens running around,” Natalie said, direct as always.
Kat frowned. “That’s a horrible thing to say.”
“Horrible words for a horrible person.” Natalie grabbed the phone off the table over Kat’s objections. “Nope. New rule: none of us can check our phones while we’re together. Let’s throw it back to the dinosaur era.”
“I agree.” Donna sipped her drink. “Things were so much simpler before we were glued to our devices.”
“That includes you, Tam.” Natalie nudged the pierced designer, who tapped on her cell like her life depended on it.
“Sorry.” Tamara glanced up with a distracted expression. “I’m texting my girlfriend. I hope you guys don’t mind, but I invited her to join us and she’s bringing a friend. I know happy hour is sacred, but she’s so busy I haven’t seen her in a week, and she’s only a couple of blocks away.”
Olivia shrugged. “I’m fine with it.” The more, the merrier. Hell, she was so happy she wouldn’t object if Tamara invited an entire marching band to join them.
The others chorused their agreement.
Tamara had mentioned her girlfriend a few times before, and Olivia was curious to see what she was like. All she knew was the girlfriend worked some high-powered job that required her to travel often and take meetings at ungodly hours of the day.
Ten minutes later, she got her answer.
A beautiful blonde sauntered into the bar, looking like a model in her red pea coat and heels. “Hi, babe.” She dropped a kiss on Tamara’s lips.
Olivia spewed her drink on the table, earning her several strange looks.
“Sorry,” she choked out.
The blonde glanced up. Shock filled her perfect features. “Olivia?”
“Jessica.”
The two of them stared at each other, too stunned to say anything else.
Holy hell, Tamara’s girlfriend wasSammy’s ex?That was a development Olivia couldn’t have dreamed of in her wildest dreams. Did that mean Jessica was bi? Or was she a newly come out lesbian? Did Sammy know?
Tamara’s gaze ping-ponged between them, bright with curiosity. “You know each other?”
Jessica recovered first. “We have a mutual friend.”