My Brother's Girl (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 17 - Promotion

Ashley

Everything in me insisted that I followed my initial plan. I should have let Robin leave without another word but after the quickie we had earlier in the bathroom stall at my place of employment, I was feeling needier than usual.

"Gimmie a few?"
Ellie gave me a look beneath the rim of her fashionable glasses. "You two make me sick. Make it quick Ashley, we need to get started."

After singing her praises, I quickly left the office. Impatiently waiting for the elevator, I pulled my phone out to call the person behind my brain's inability to function normally, hoping she was still somewhere in the building.

The elevator doors slid open before Robin could pick up. In my rush, I quickly ended the call, knowing the signal would drop anyway. God, what am I doing? I was literally going fifteen floors down just to say goodbye. And what? Maybe get a kiss?

No, I needed that. I needed to feel her lips on mine one last time before I worked tirelessly on the project with Ellie which was sure to take the entire day. Call me desperate, but in the moment, I didn't care.

It didn't take long for the woman to appear in my line of sight when the metal doors slid open again. On the contrary, I could see Robin quite clearly. She stood beside the makeup artist, seemingly deep in conversation. My feet slowly took me towards the pair, pausing when Robin concluded she would bring her car around with the intentions of giving the woman a ride home.

My mind was reeling, drawing irrational conclusions almost at the speed of light. I knew from their first interaction at the last photoshoot that Reina had some sort of interest. The way she looked at Robin went way past simply 'doing her makeup', she was interested. It was silly of me to assume Robin would put up with my uncertainty forever, and the reality that she had options hit me like a freight train.

Turning on my heels, I wordlessly returned to the metal box. The smooth jazz did nothing to calm the negative thoughts as the machine came to a halt on the selected floor. My face must have been a dead giveaway, Ellie staring at me like I'd grown a second head.

"What the hell happened to you?"
"Nothing, lets just get this done." The tone of my voice seemed foreign to even my own ears.

We worked tirelessly on the Chanel campaign, pausing only to grab a quick bite before getting right back to it. My boss was one of the smartest women I knew. She was almost singlehandedly responsible for the surge of success at May's. Of course, the other departments contributed heavily, but it was her vision, her ideas that were made reality.

I couldn't quite tell when the dynamic between us changed from assistant-boss to me working on catalogues, contributing towards game changing decisions and now working on securing a contract with a huge brand. But at a time like this, I was grateful for the increased workload. It proved to be useful in distracting me from the disaster that was my love life.

"Alright that's it," the older woman tilted the back of her seat to have a better view of my features. "We need to talk."

It was half past seven, the sun had long gone, and we were just about done for the day.
"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, giving her a puzzled look.
"No and yes,"

Even more confused, I raised brown brow in response.
"I hate that I'm doing this—I try my best not to get involved in these trivial matters, but Robin and I are friends I suppose." She continued. "What's going on with you two? I thought the matter of Vegas was settled."

A deep sigh escaped my lips, the thought of having to dive into my relationship with Robin triggered every insecure neuron in my brain, reminding me of the interaction I'd witnessed a few hours prior.