have it all (l.h)

"wanna hear a secret?"

"I don't know... I've never done something like that. I might be really bad... and you wouldn't want people hating on the segment just because of me."

"Em, don't be silly," I said through a quiet snort. "Everyone would love you—you wouldn't mess it up. We could use the two of us as a sort of pilot... if it goes well? Then great! If we think it could've gone better, I can do the second episode solo and see what the people say."

"I think it's a great idea. I mean, it can't hurt," Molly said. "What does everyone else think?" I suddenly remembered there were five more people in our current meeting, and I looked down the table to observe their reactions.

"I think it sounds like a great idea—we'll just have to brainstorm something to review for the first go. We've all seen these two joke around enough in these meetings to know they have a great thing... I'm sure the masses would appreciate their energy." I smiled at my coworker—Arnie—and he smiled back. He was in charge of researching for article ideas, but he also helped Molly produce.

The door to the conference room creaked open and I smiled as I saw Stevie's curls bounce into the room. He was delivering coffees and I was stoked for my iced chai latte. We paused the meeting as he went around handing drinks out, and when got to me, I held my hands out.

"An iced caramel latte," he said as he handed me the drink.

"Josie's was an iced chai latte," Emma corrected and Stevie's previously confident smile disappeared.

"Damn," he said with a sigh. "I messed that up. I could run back—"

"Are you serious?" I asked as I let out a soft laugh. "It's not a big deal—I'll drink it. Don't worry."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Stevie—I just thought you might have confused hers with someone else's," Emma stepped in, clearly feeling bad for having said anything.

"No—I should've gotten it right. It won't happen again, okay? You can count on me," Stevie told me as he looked at me intently. As I looked up into his eyes, I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

"It's really okay, Stevie. Don't beat yourself up. Maybe iced caramel lattes will become a new favorite." Stevie laughed quietly and shook his head, yet never broke eye contact.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I won't be able to sleep until I get it right," Stevie was being dramatic and I appreciated his joking manner. "Again, I'm really sorry. If that one sucks, I can really go back out."

"No, this is perfect." Stevie moved on from me and handed out the rest before leaving the room. Before he left, however, he mouthed a quick I'm sorry before closing the door behind him.

I couldn't help but feel strange after the whole encounter, but I tried to not think about it. Every time I took a sip of the latte, however, I couldn't help but think of him.

"I guess it's a cute idea—the two of us doing it together, I mean. I might be a little shaky, but it could work well," Emma said after we all reconvened. "I'm down, is what I'm saying."

"Great," Molly said before flashing Emma a smile. "Now... what are you guys going to review?"

"Well, are we still partnered with the boys? We could review their new album—"