Rule No. 1: No Romance (GirlxGirl WlW)

Chapter 22

I've gone through the papers on my desk for the fourth time now, but no matter how many times I read them, I can't seem to focus. I need a vacation. The thought of it taunts me, reminding me of all the books on my wishlist that I haven't had time to read, the prospect of a relaxing trip, and staying in bed with Lou...

"Focus," I groan, mentally pinching myself to stop my mind from wandering to unwanted areas of my imagination. But I can feel the heat rising up to my cheeks, making me groan again.

"You've been doing that a lot today," Joane says, making her presence known. "I'm assuming you didn't hear my knock. You haven't even noticed me here."

"For how long have you been here? Like a creep, might I add?"

"About half an hour."

"Don't you have things to do?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Not really, do you forget you're my boss? You haven't assigned me anything," she points out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and honestly, it made me feel a bit embarrassed.

"Of course," I say under my breath, taking files out of my drawer. "I have tons of things for you to do."

"You seem off."

"You've been saying that a lot."

"Let me rephrase then — You seem more off today than usual. What's on your mind?" she asks.

"Vacation," I blurt out.

"What else?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't. I'm your friend, and I worry and care about you, regardless of what's bothering you... or not. You don't seem particularly bothered aside from your mindless state. I suppose things are going well between you and Louise," she observes.

I don't know what to say to that. Yes, things have been going well, maybe too well. I feel like we've advanced into something more than simple bedmates. It's been a couple of weeks since I started "seeing" Louise, and I can't recall a single weekend we haven't spent together, either in bed or doing something less productive like simply hanging out, as crazy as that sounds.

"Are you going to start with the 'I told you so's? You were right. Turns out sleeping with your intern does take a toll on your workflow, who would have thought."

"Actually, no. I'm happy to see you finally take your head out of work for once. It's been a while," she says, locking her eyes on mine. "And I don't really think this has much to do with the fact that she's your intern and more to do with the fact that you're falling for her."

"That's a bit extreme," I mutter, fighting against the pull to avert my eyes from hers, which would only make her think that whatever nonsense she's saying is correct.

"Is it?"

"I would know," I raise my eyebrows, sliding the files across the table and in her direction. "But thank you for the wake-up call. Let's go back to work now, shall we?"

"Well, that will be an 'I told you so' I'll gladly take up on," she throws me a playful smirk that seems a bit forced, even though it's one of her signature smiles when it comes to teasing me. "Back to work, it is."

"I can't believe I'll leave all of you airheads to fend for yourselves for a whole week... I just hope I don't come back to a bankrupted magazine," I say under my breath even though I'm one hundred percent sure Joane heard it.

"Have some faith in us, I promise I won't let them slack off."

"You're the biggest slacker."

"You're brutal."