The Bad Boy's Forever (TBBG Series #3) NOW PUBLISHED

Chapter Seven: I'm the Only One Allowed To Be A Sad Sap In This Relationship

Chapter Seven: I'm The Only One Allowed To Be A Sad Sap In This Relationship

Tessa

Present Day

I'm still buzzing from dinner last night, walking around in a daze so it takes Leila a couple of attempts to get my attention.

"What is up with you today? You've been spacing out more than usual and it's creeping me out."

I shake my head, trying to get into the swing of things but my mind keeps drifting back to my conversation with Cole and I'm trying to reconcile it with all the plans I made this summer, plans I never got to reveal to him because he'd jumped the gun on me.

"Sorry, just had trouble sleeping last night."

She makes a face, "Suck it up then, the boss lady is asking for you."

You'd think that six months living with a person would bond you for life but on the contrary Leila seems to be constantly annoyed by my presence just like before. I have come to the conclusion though that she's not the Nicole Bishop brand of evil, she's just happens to have a greater sense of self importance than most people and sometimes it can be incredibly easy to dismiss her as a vapid raging bitch but she's pretty harmless once you get to know her.

"Did she say why?"

"No idea but hey, if you're planning on doing what I think you're going to do then you might as well just tell her now." She walks back to her cubicle like she did not just unleash a pit of worry and unease in my stomach. I'd made plans and shared them with her over the summer but Cole's revelation on a few nights ago changed all that and threw a spanner in the works.

"I'm not so sure about that now." I tell her as I walk past her to head to Amy Drake's office. I wonder briefly if Leila's already spilt the beans just so she could score some brownie points but I decide that even my former roommate isn't that petty.
I knock on my boss's door and she calls me in.

"Close the door behind you will you Tessa?"

Amy's office is as chic as she is, done in tones of cream and gold with black accents. It's the largest office space in the building and the one with the best view of New York city, courtesy her wall to wall windows. I'd get so intimidated coming in here when I first joined because this woman has probably made hundreds of interns cry but after spending so much time with her while abroad, I'm nearly not as intimidated by her. Well, not as much as I used to be and now I can actually complete a sentence without stuttering.

She motions for me to sit down and I fiddle around with my iPad, prepared to take notes if she wants to have a meeting. But she peers at me over her computer and I have a feeling I'm not here for one of our usual brainstorming sessions.

"This is very interesting piece you submitted."

I don't have to think long and hard about which one and I genuinely light up with both nervousness and joy that she wants to talk about it. I'd been assigned to cover more indie makeup brands rather than the ones you see at huge counters in department stores. E-commerce and makeup were having a big moment I'd done a write up on a brand founded by a single mother who's young daughter had a skin condition that made it impossible for her to wear any kind of makeup. It'd been so heartening to hear Samantha's story and learn more about all she'd done for her daughter and how it'd led to a burgeoning home grown business. The best part however had been the pure joy on her ten-year old daughter Lissy's face as she got to apply her mother's products without causing any kind of a reaction.

Of course I'd gotten carried away with the emotional aspect of the story and might not have covered the products just as much, oops my bad. Now I'm worried about whether Amy thinks I've messed up and given the deadlines we work with, it costs the company a lot if you mess up. She said it's interesting because that could mean anything from it being acceptable to her wanting to fire me. There's nothing about her expression that gives it away and I'm literally crossing every possible limb that she doesn't completely hate my work.