I walk into my first day back at work after the extremely long weekend. So much has happened in the span of three days, and I'm struggling to keep up with it all.
One thing I know for sure is that I like Josh. Another thing I know for sure is he doesn't like me. Not like that at least.
I take a seat at the desk and clock into work. Today is full of meetings so there will be people in and out to speak with my boss, David Baxton. He calls all the shots. He decides whether or not he'll cut you a book deal, or if he'll send you off to the next publisher.
The thing is, Baxton Publishing gets a lot of hype. Every book published has made the New York Times Bestseller list. This company is no joke. Angela and I have our fun at the desk, but the second his assistant comes downstairs it's back to work immediately. She's got fangs.
"Good morning!" exclaims Angela. I look over at her smiling face, and I can't seem to return it today.
"Girl I've got a lot to tell you." I say as I turn towards her and her smile drops almost immediately.
I explain to Angela all of the events with Josh. Starting right from him reading my work. I go into detail telling her about him waking me up at 9 o'clock in the morning for coffee and all the things we talked about during all of this. I even tell her about the baseball game and the dinner afterwards, but I leave one specific thing for the end.
"He friendzoned me." I finally say, and Angela's jaw practically hits the floor.
"He did what?" she says, disgust laced in her voice. Angela is a spit fire of a human being. It doesn't take much to set her off, and when she's off, she is off.
"He called me his friend... twice." I clarify and her eyes roll to the back of her head.
"What an idiot." she says with a laugh, and I wait for her to blow her top. "You are so hot and so good for him too. He literally needs someone like you in his life." She rants on. I listen patiently as she continues. "Maddie was a terrible human being. They got together our last year of high school and everyone knew they were an awful couple. Always fighting. There's a special match for her, but it's not Josh. He needs to stop holding onto hope that they're going to get back together-"
"You think he wants to get back together with her?" I ask, completely cutting her off. I'm afraid if I didn't, she would have never stopped. My heart would continue to break.
She waits for a moment, contemplating what to say next. Her face drops as she sighs at me. She rubs her perfectly groomed eyebrows before speaking.
"Yes, Violet. He even said so."
My heart breaks in my chest. How could I have been so stupid? For once in my life I let myself fall for a guy, and look at the way it's turning out.
"When did he say that?" I ask her, but I get the feeling I don't want to know the answer.
"When I talked to him at the garden party. He's still pretty broken up about it all, even though he shouldn't be. Breaking it off with her was the best thing he could've done for himself. Let him grow up a little."
"But he didn't break it off with her. She broke it off with him." With these words, Angela goes quiet for a moment.
"That explains why he's upset about it then." She says, and there's a long pause between us. I decide the quiet is too much for me to handle.
"That's fine." I say as I turn back to my computer. My chest aches at the thought of him looking at anyone else, but I guess he's not mine to have. There's a whole other girl out there who's had all of him and maybe even wants him back too. She's seen his high school days and college ball life. I'm just hearing about all of this. She lived it with him. I'm just an extra in their story.
"He's going to get over her, Violet. I told you once before. You'll end up being the girl he chases." she says in her almost soothing voice. While she has a fire within her, she can also somehow make her words come out like butter, comforting.
"How can you be so sure?" I ask her with a laugh even though no part of this conversation I find funny. It's my body's own way to keep from tearing up. I'm strong enough to hold back tears though. I don't know him well enough for him to even earn a drop.
"I am never wrong." she says confidently. For some reason I can't find it in me to believe her.
Before I can respond, the front door opens and a tall woman with long brown hair waltzes into the room. She wears a blazer, with a green shirt underneath to match her eyes, and a pair of sleek black pants. Her heels click loudly on the floor as she approaches us boldly.
"I'm here to see Mr. Baxton." she says firmly.
"Do you have an appointment?" I ask her in my customer service voice. It's more upbeat than I normally am.
"Yes. My name is Hannah Wells."
I look at today's schedule before me on the screen and see that she's right on time.
"You can head on up! His office is on the second floor to your right." I say to her, and without a thank you, she starts making her way to the elevator. I wait before the elevator door closes with her in it before turning to Angela.
"Think she'll get a deal?" I ask her with a smile, trying to distract myself.
"Not with that attitude."
~
I walk into my apartment feeling the weight of today finally collapse onto my shoulders. My life took a shift when Josh walked into it. He's the first guy that's ever even talked to me. I say it all the time, but there was really no one interested in me growing up. It did something to my confidence. It knocked me down a couple notches, and I've been trying to climb back up ever since then.
I fall back onto my bed and let my cold comforter cool off the warm day. I look up at all my hanging plants and let out a deep sigh. Taking care of them is all I've got. It's what gives me stability. I need it now more than ever.
Interrupting my thoughts, I hear a ring on my phone in my pocket. I reach down to get it, and the caller ID flashes Josh's name across my screen. I contemplate answering for a couple rings before actually hitting the green button.
"Hello?" I say, mustering up a perky voice. I'm trying to set aside today's conversation with Angela and just focus on being his friend.
"Hey." he says quietly, and there's no other words coming out of him.
"What's up?" I ask, trying to get him to speak.
"I may or may not have done something that you may or may not like." he says and my first thought is him getting back together with Madeline. That's proving to take first place as my new biggest fear.
"What?" I ask cautiously.
"I wanted to tell you this over the phone because I was afraid of what you'd do to me to be honest." he says and I furrow my eyebrows at his response. Do to him? What could he have possibly done that would-
"I took one of your books and sent it to a few publishers." he says, and my heart just about thuds right out of my chest.
"You did what?!" I scream into the phone. I feel like I could go completely ballistic at any given moment. He was so right to tell me over the phone because this would've earned him an arm slap.
"It was your last one that you wrote. The best one that we talked about that night. I slipped it in my jacket when you weren't looking and I sent copies of it to Garner Publishing and..."
"Don't say it."
"Baxton Publishing." he finishes, and I let my face fall in my hand.
"Josh what the hell were you thinking? I work there!" I yell at him and I hear him trying to get a word in on the other line.
"I wasn't going to tell you if it went bad. I was just going to slip the book back in your room."
Feeling curious I want to ask the question, but I'm too afraid. I don't know if I want to know the answer.
"Violet they liked it." he says and all conversation stops with those words.
"They what?"
"They both liked it."
~
A/N - Hello beautiful people! I am super pumped for the story to get a little spice now. We're gonna see our precious little Violet grow!!