Jo was being unfair. She should’ve made this easy on Emma. But she rather enjoyed watching her work her way through something.
Emma seemed to decide that the direct route was best. She dropped her hands to her sides and stood tall.
“They think we’re in a relationship,” she said.
Jo pressed her lips together. “How novel,” she said. “This is perhaps the first time two women seen together weren’t labeled gal pals.”
Emma offered a tight smile. If this were anything else, she would joke with Jo about it, her goofy grin coming easily.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“What are we going to do?” Jo parroted back at her.
Emma flailed more than shrugged. “How are we going to deal with this?”
Jo told Emma what she told Amir. “I’ve never once commented on my love life,” she said. “I’m not about to start now.”
Emma looked like a goldfish, her mouth opening and closing but nothing coming out.
Jo opened her computer and logged on. Perhaps she should actually read what people were saying.
“Jo, I—” Emma started. “Ms. Jones. It’s inappropriate. That people should think this. About either of us.”
Jo fluttered a hand. “If I got upset every time people thought I was sleeping with someone I shouldn’t, I’d be a lot less well-adjusted. Let it pass. They’ll move on eventually.”
“They’ve found my Instagram,” Emma said. “I’ve gainednine thousandfollowers since last night.”
Jo couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Enjoy your newfound stardom.”
“I don’twantto enjoy any stardom,” Emma snapped. “I don’t want to be known as the girl sleeping with her boss! Wehaveto say something about this.”
Jo looked away from her computer before getting to TMZ. She leveled a stare at Emma.
“I have not once, in almost three decades in this business, commented on my love life,” she said. “I will not be starting now just because you’re embarrassed to be associated with me in this manner. Is that why you didn’t want to stand near me on the red carpet?”
Jo hadn’t meant to ask, had figured it was Emma’s nerves that made her freeze up. But as soon as the question was out of Jo’s mouth, Emma blushed and tripped over herself to refute the accusation. Better to distract Emma from her discomfort than let her descend into panic.
“No, of course not, Ms. Jones,” she said. “I—”
“You what, Ms. Kaplan?”
“Jo.” Emma swallowed. “You’re an amazing woman. I’m just—I’m not used to being in the spotlight.”
Jo was the level of famous that people tended to tell herwhatever she wanted to hear. It was probably worse with her employees, but for some reason she couldn’t help but believe Emma when she complimented her. Emma seemed genuine with everyone, but especially with Jo. It was ridiculous. She was probably just good at her job, at making her boss happy. Jo didn’t let herself dwell on the thought.
“You’ll be fine,” Jo said. “They’ll forget about it within a week if we don’t comment.” She finally looked at the article on her computer and sucked in a breath at the photo. “Well. They certainly got a good picture, didn’t they?”
Emma came around Jo’s desk to look at it with her. It was a completely normal action, and yet it set Jo on edge. She rolled her eyes at herself.
“Yeah,” Emma said quietly. “It’s quite the photo. Must have been when you called me an Amazon.”
It wasn’t the moment Jo called Emma an Amazon so much as the moment after it, when they were laughing together. Jo’s fingers were wrapped tightly around Emma’s wrist, and Emma leaned toward her slightly, looking right at her instead of at any of the cameras. Emma’s nose scrunched up with her smile, and Jo was grinning, too, staring right back at her. They looked like there was no one else in the world. Jo remembered it all happening, but hadn’t realized they had looked quite so... well. She understood why this rumor got off the ground so quickly.
“Wearing matching jewelry didn’t exactly help,” Jo said.
Emma took a step back. “We wore matching jewelry?”
“Your bracelet and my necklace were part of a set, but I thought it was too much to wear both.”