“Well, it’s not like you’re going to get out of this,” Susan said wisely. She took her drink back from me and gulped the rest of it down. “He’s the CEO’s son. It’s not like you can just complain and say that he’s being difficult.”
“The thing is, I think his dad knows,” I said slowly. “I think his dad put him under me to teach him a lesson.” I blushed. “That’s the worst part of it – his dad knew that Justin would find it demeaning to take orders from a woman, especially someone as young as I am.”
Susan shook her head. “You should feel honored that he thought you were up to the challenge,” she said.
“I don’t think he thought of it that way,” I said. I rested my chin on my fist, feeling depressed. “What if he does something and I get fired? What if I can’t ever find another job because this will be a stain on my resume?”
“Girl, you landed a gig at Creovation,” Susan said. “Everyone’s going to love that.”
“Not if I’m fired,” I mumbled.
Susan giggled. “Well, just don’t do anything wrong,” she said. “Like, don’t fuck the boss’s son.”
My stomach churned as I realized I couldn’t possibly tell her about the kiss now. And to make things even worse, I was starting to doubt it myself. I wasn’t sure why he’d kissed me – was it to show dominance over me? Or was it because he could clearly tell that his astonishing good looks left me feeling more unsettled than ever?
Either way, my memory was starting to seem cheap and tawdry…not romantic at all.
“So,” Susan said. “Ask me about my life.” She grinned, suddenly looking as smug as a cat. “I bet you’re dying to know what’s been happening to me.”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, although to be honest, I felt like going home and throwing myself into bed. “Tell me what’s new with you.”
Susan smirked. “I met a guy.”
“Oh my god, tell me everything,” I said, perking up. Susan and I had been best friends ever since the Penn State Association of Student Life had assigned us together as roommates. On paper, we were total opposites. Susan was outgoing and sporty while I was bookish, shy, and introverted. But the moment we’d met, something had clicked between us and we’d been best friends ever since. Susan was also gorgeous, but even more important, she was confident. And that confidence landed her a lot of dates.
I’d gotten over being jealous of Susan and her dates long ago, but that didn’t keep me from the occasional moment of reminiscing and wishing that I was more like her. I envied Susan so much – her ability to pick herself up and dust herself off after a bad or awkward situation was something I’d always admired.
“I don’t know about him yet, to be honest,” Susan said. “He actually seems kind of weird. He called me like, three times in one night just because he wanted to know whether or not I wanted to go out with him the next week.”
“Wow,” I said. “That sounds…interesting. He sounds like he really likes you.”
Susan shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “Hey, he’s got a few friends who are single. We should double-date sometime!”
I shook my head quickly. “No way,” I told her. “Especially not now – I won’t have any free time, I can tell I’m probably going to be spending lots of long nights at work.”
Susan frowned. “Hannah, you’ll be a virgin forever if you keep saying no,” she said. “What would be so bad about just trying it out? This guy’s really cute, I bet he has cute friends.”
I glanced down at my dress, a find from a secondhand store in Manhattan.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, I don’t really think I’m pretty enough to have a boyfriend.”
Susan laughed. “It’s not about that,” she said. She eyed me. “Girl, we gotta get you some confidence.”
“Just loan me some of yours,” I told her. “I think I’d be good with maybe ten percent of what you have.”
It felt good to laugh with Susan, but after a couple of drinks, I knew that I needed to be getting home. After all, I had to wake up bright and early at seven in the morning in order to be at my office by eight-thirty, and I could only imagine what horrible trick Justin would have in mind for me.
“Shit,” I muttered as Susan and I walked out onto a much quieter street than we’d left before. “It looks like it’s gonna rain.”
Susan fumbled in her bag. “I’m gonna take a cab, you want to share?”
I shook my head, too embarrassed to tell her that I’d spent my last ten dollars of free money for the week on cocktails.
“Okay,” Susan said. She glanced up at the darkening sky. “Love you! See you soon!” She leaned in and air-kissed both of my cheeks, then skipped over to the curb and threw her arm into the air.
I smiled tightly as I watched my gorgeous best friend climb in the back of a cab. She has it so easy, I thought. I bet she’d know how to deal with Justin.
I guess maybe I’m not through being jealous of Susan after all.