“Well, hi there.”
An amused voice interrupts us, and I turn to find my older sister, Monica, standing in the hallway. “Nice looking office you have here,” she comments, looking around. “Who’s your designer? She crushed it.”
“She did,” I agree. “She’s a nightmare, personality-wise, but great at her job.”
“Ha ha.” Monica says drily. She looks back and forth between me and Jenn, with a curious smile on her face.
“Jenn, this is Monica,” I introduce them, and soon they’re chatting about design stuff and a new exhibit at the Met.
“You want to join us?” Monica asks. “I made reservations for high tea at this chic little spot.”
I groan. “I’m eating cucumber sandwiches for lunch, Em?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says, grinning. “There will also be scones.”
“Sounds incredible,” Jenn laughs. “But I’m afraid I’m swamped.”
“You can’t sneak away?” Monica asks. “I’d love to hear stories about Austin as a boss. Does he do the serious face when he—?”
“Jenn said she’s swamped,” I interrupt firmly. The last thing I need is to watch Jenn lick cream off a scone… especially in front of my sister. “We do have a launch coming up, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“Rain check?” Jenn says. “I’d love to hear the dirt on Austin’s childhood sometime.” She shoots me a grin, and my sister cackles with laughter.
“I’ll bookmark a few pics from the braces years, for sure.”
“Does anyone care that I’m the boss here?” I ask.
They both laugh. Apparently not!
* * *
I know it’s coming.As we head to the restaurant and get settled at our table, Monica makes innocent casual small talk, but I know my sister.
Too well.
And sure enough, the moment our three-tier platter of food arrives, she fixes me with a look. “So, about your cute marketing manager…”
“Jenn. What about her?” I try to play dumb, demolishing the tiny sandwiches in just a few bites.”
“Did that already happen? Or is that about to happen?” Monica probes.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I lie.
My sister shakes her head, smiling. “You forget, you have zero poker face,” she informs me happily. “It’s clear to anyone that you have a giant, obvious crush on the woman.”
I scowl at my scone.
Monica gasps. “I knew it! This is great!”
“No, not great,” I correct her, sighing. “The opposite of great. I kind of made my move,” I admit. “And she… Well, she made it clear, it’s not going to happen. Professional boundaries and all.”
“Huh.” Monica sits back, arms crossed to examine me. “I like her.”
“Because she turned me down? Gee, thanks.” I scowl at my scone.
“No,” she laughs. “Well, kind of. I like that she decided what her line was and clearly communicated it to you. Based on that alone, she has better adulting skills that most of your exes.”