Ask Me (Mess with Me 2)

Mya lowers her voice. “I want to give you some advice. Something I wish someone had told me when I was younger.” She perches on the edge of her desk and picks up a picture frame. When she turns it, I can see it’s a picture of Milo.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Milo and I have worked together for quite a while.”

I shake my head. “I didn’t know. It explains a lot, though. You two are so in sync it seems like you’re reading each other’s minds.”

“Sometimes I think we are reading each other’s minds. But things weren’t always this way.” She points at the picture. “Look at him. He looks like a runway model. He’s always been like that, effortlessly gorgeous. Then there’s me, the short, plump girl who couldn’t even get a date in high school. I never thought he’d want me.”

I watch wordlessly as Mya sets the photo back down. It’s hard to believe what I’m hearing. This is gorgeous Mya Taylor, the woman all the men in the agency lust after. How can she not know that? Doesn’t she notice the effect she has on others?

“Mya, you have the kind of figure that can stop traffic. Women pay money to have curves like yours.”

“Well, thank you. But until I had the confidence to believe that, I pushed Milo away again and again. I almost lost him because I was too dumb to just believe what he told me.” Mya looks at me pointedly. “And I really hope you aren’t going to be as dumb as I was.”

I bite my lip. “Mr. Lavin is an amazing man but we don’t really have anything in common.”

“I’m not just talking about Mr. Lavin. Despite what men seem to think, the world doesn’t revolve around them. I'm talking about you, Casey. You have good instincts and an eye for what works. Take a chance, believe in yourself. Apply for the internship.”

I shrug but a tickle of excitement creeps up my spine. “I don’t know. I doubt I’d get it even if I applied. James probably won’t want someone who has already dropped out of school once.”

Mya sighs and walks back behind her desk. “You’re just as dumb as I was. Which is probably why we get along so well.” She claps her hands.

“Let’s get to work on this Gemini ad. That’s something we can tackle today.”

17

* * *

As we finish up a meeting with our CFO, Jason makes a face behind his back like he’s dying. This has been a day of never-ending meetings, one of my least favorite parts of the job. Gone are the days when I could sketch all day and sew all night. I cover a yawn with my hand.

After Casey’s talk with Mr. Nussbaum on Monday, it took the board only twenty-four hours to review my prior proposal and approve it. One day. It would be hard to believe if I wasn’t as firmly under her spell as everyone else.

Finally the meeting is over. Jason closes my office door and collapses back against it. “Man, I thought he’d never leave.”

“I hope nothing is wrong with the company because I wasn’t paying any attention.”

“That’s why you have me to run shit around here. I’m actually surprised you’ve been around this week.” He sits back down in the chair across from my desk.

There’s nothing I can say to refute that since it’s true. While I’m the CEO of the company, most CEOs rely heavily on their Chief Operating Officers to keep track of the different departments and make sure nothing goes wrong on a day-to-day basis.

“Where else would I be? It’s only a month until Christmas, then it’ll be New Years. There’s way too much work to do before the end of the year for me to take a vacation.”

Jason smirks. “Not a vacation. I just figured you’d be spending way more time on marketing lately.”

“Ah. Yes. Well, I haven’t seen Casey since Monday.”

He leans back in the chair and puts his hands on his head with a loud groan. “What the fuck are you doing, man? After all those months we couldn’t find her, I thought you’d be all over things now. What the hell are you waiting for?”

While I can understand his confusion, it still irritates me to hear him talk about her like that. Like she’s just some conquest or some chick I want to screw again.

“She’s focused and determined to make her mark in her career. I’m trying to respect her wishes. What do you want me to do, go stalk her when she’s made it clear she just wants to be friends?”

He looks chagrined. “Okay, I get it. But you can at least tell her that she saved the day with the board. Isn’t that a friend thing? At least give her the credit for that.”

I still have to get a budget approved for how much we can spend

on repurposing the scrap material into garments to donate, but the hardest part is over. She accomplished something I’ve been trying to get done for a long time. Casey is the entire reason that Lavin Couture now has a recycling program.

She definitely deserves the credit.