1
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Corina
I vaguely recall somebody famous once saying that your work life and your personal life are never fabulous at the same time. Sayings like that are not always believable, but I’ve been having major success at work, while my personal life is precisely as it’s always been. That is to say, non-existent.
Sure, I have my two best friends, and my monthly book club, as well as two online book groups. I’m fairly friendly with a few of my coworkers, but that mainly revolves around working lunches.
My friends Jenna and Brynn had suddenly found incredible boyfriends through their work. I was genuinely happy for them, but at the same time knew that they’d likely be much less available for our occasional Saturday night movie fests.
The thought that had been spinning around my head for the past month was that I really wished I had a boyfriend. Or even just a crush. Any love interest whatsoever.
As I tidied my office at the end of the day, looking forward to going home and diving into the ending of the amazing book I was reading, I couldn’t help but acknowledge a twinge of melancholy.
The one crush that I had back in high school hadn’t worked out well at all. Ethan was tall but skinny, with shaggy, unkempt hair. His sweet smile paralyzed me with fear, since I knew I’d never be able to really talk to him.
I was round and doughy, with my black hair shaved up the back in an attempt at an edgy style. It failed completely, since I didn’t have the attitude to back it up.
The one time we were partnered together in high school band, he was incredibly sweet, but I couldn’t talk about anything other than the project. We had to do a duet, with him on guitar, and me playing the flute.
At one point Ethan laughed with me when I referred to a note as a C-flat. That technically doesn’t exist – it’s a B. But in the moment of figuring out a tricky piece, it had sent us both into a fit of giggles that had ended up with his hand on my shoulder and my lips so close to his that I had honestly thought I was about to have my first kiss in the music room.
But he had backed away. There was no way such a sweet guy would really be interested in the weird girl, which I understood. I knew it likely also had a lot to do with the fact that I had skipped a grade, and was a freshman while he was a senior. Five years is a big age difference in high school.
Yet that was the first and only moment of pure heart-galloping lust that I’d ever felt coursing through my veins.
Checking my email one last time, I took my teacup to the kitchen to wash it, then grabbed my purse and went to the elevator. I’d been up late helping Jenna brainstorm a project over the phone last night and couldn’t wait to get home and into my fluffy slippers.
“Corina, perfect! Thank god you’re still here.”
I spun to see my boss, the ferociously cheerful Hannah Harper, charging toward me.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, turning toward her as I ignored the opening elevator doors.
“You like music, right?” she asked.
“Yes. Of course.”
“What about poetic indie rock?” She ran a hand through her short white hair, looking more frazzled than I’d ever seen her. Which is about ten percent as frazzled as I felt all the time.
“I’ll give any music a chance. What’s up?”
“I know it’s last minute, but can you meet with a new client right now?”
“Absolutely.” Automatically straightening up, I followed her down the long hall while she spoke low and fast.
“It’s the kid of an old college friend, so we’re doing a bit of a favor here. He’s apparently a super talented musician, but it’s hard to be noticed since the indie scene is so crowded. Luckily, his parents are putting some money behind him, so we’re going to give him a quick PR kick and make sure that his big showcase in two weeks is packed with both fans and the right media.”
“Two weeks?” I asked as we stood outside the boardroom door. That seemed awfully soon.
“Yeah, I know.” The shoulders of her stiff black blazer moved up and down as she shrugged. “That’s why I’m so glad I found you first. You’ve already helped run some successful events. You take in new information super fast. I’m running to another meeting, but he’s in there, and since time is of the essence, I hope you can start brainstorming tonight.”
“Okay, thanks.”
As she dashed off down the hall, I felt a twinge of pride. My boss was trusting me with a personal account. That had to speak well of her opinion of me. Or I was just the only person still in the office. Either way, I was going to make the most of this.