Wren
Adelaide skidded to a stopat my desk first thing Monday morning. Her mouth spread into a wide, lascivious grin, and her eyebrows bobbled.
“So…?”
I frowned at her. This was the first time she’d ever stopped at my desk, and I was more than a little confused. “Good morning to you too.”
She waved me off. “Good morning, yeah, yeah. Now, I’m going to need more info about the giant Scandinavian rock star who whisked you away from the bar after going all medieval on that perv’s ass. I’ve waited two entire days to hear this. No time for manners and social conventions. Spill, babe.”
“I think he’s mostly English, actually.”
Adelaide’s eyes goggled, and her cheeks filled with so much air, explosion seemed imminent.
From behind me, heels clacked on the floor, warning me of Natalie’s fast approach. I straightened, tipping my head to the side to signal to Adelaide that she needed to go, but she was planted in her spot.
Natalie came to stand beside Adelaide, coffin-shaped nails tapping on my desk.
“Well…?” Her perfectly arched eyebrows shot up.
Adelaide elbowed her. “She wants us to say good morning before we ask her about the rock star.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Good morning, Wren. Now, tell me what the fuck happened Friday night.”
“Um…” I clasped my hands together to stop from fidgeting, “well, this guy from my neighborhood was bothering me. Really bothering me. Then Callum came in, saw it going down, and…uh, he took care of it.”
Natalie rolled her eyes again, and this time, Adelaide joined her. “Are you kidding me? You’re the worst at telling stories,” Natalie announced. “We need details, and not about the neighborhood rat. Jesus, Wren. Get with it.”
Adelaide elbowed her a little harder than the first time. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
Natalie’s eyes lowered to her hands, and to my surprise, she seemed chagrined. Maybe she actually respected Adelaide. “I apologize. My mouth gets away from me when I’m eager. By the way, I rescued your coat from the bar and tucked it in your cubby.”
“Oh, thanks. And it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. I didn’t love this type of attention. I had to stop myself from attacking my cuticles. “Well…so, Callum and I are seeing each other. So yeah. He wasn’t pleased with Edwin touching me, and he let him know.”
Adelaide grinned. “Callum Rose is your boyfriend?” She seemed genuinely excited by that fact, if the way she was bouncing on her toes was any indication.
Hewasmy boyfriend. I’d confirmed that last night. It was still strange to hear out loud, though.
“Yeah, he is,” I confirmed. “We’re pretty new, so I’m not announcing it to the world or anything—”
Natalie snorted. “Good luck. Everyone saw your video from the bar. People are interested in Callum because he’s such a mystery. No one knows jack about him. Then, all of a sudden, he shows up at a bar in Queens and throwsdownover an unknown girl. Yeah, I’d say people are interested.”
Adelaide rubbed her hands together. “I’m more interested in the juicy details. How’d you meet? Does he treat you like a queen? Etcetera, etcetera.”
“He’s nice. So nice to me. Really sweet and caring and protective.” I bit my bottom lip. “I guess you know that since you were there on Friday. Anyway, we met here, he asked me out, and we just clicked. He’s intense and funny and I like him.”
Those were all the details they were getting from me. Our history was ours alone. Callum and I hadn’t discussed how to handle that, but instinctively, I wanted to keep our story between us.
Natalie folded her arms over her chest. “Ididtell you fraternizing with the talent is frowned upon, right?”
Adelaide shoved her before I could respond. “Oh, shut up. Go be miserable and jealous somewhere else.”
Natalie stomped. “I’m not jealous. I’m looking out for Wren. She doesn’t need to get a bad reputation. How is she going to move up in the company if she gets a reputation of throwing herself at musicians? I mean, not all of us can rely on nepotism.”
Adelaide’s cheeks reddened, and her nostrils flared. “I think I hear your phone ringing, Natalie. I’d go check it if I were you. Wouldn’t want to fuck up your job, now would you?”
With a huff, Natalie stalked off, leaving me stumped and Adelaide with another wide smile.
“Wow, do I not like her,” she said.