Ask Me (Mess with Me 2)

Two air kisses later she’s gone, leaving a cloud of expensive perfume in her wake.

That’s the kind of woman Andre grew up with. Even as I feel a shudder of sympathy, I envision the elegant women he’s probably used to. Surely they aren’t all this cold. One day, he’ll meet someone warm and interesting who happens to have the right bloodline. Someone who’ll fit in with his staunchly conservative mother and his exclusive social circle.

Someone appropriate.

It’s only a matter of time before he has no reason to come back to D.C. If we hadn’t made an agreement to be friends, there’s a chance we would have gotten caught up in the magic of how we feel and that would only make things harder in the end. The best thing I can do is forget what it felt like in his arms and concentrate on my own future. Maybe if I try hard enough, I can stop wishing for something that isn’t good for me.

Luckily Mya is expecting me back in the office to help out with the design for another client. That’ll cheer me up. I love assisting the designers because it allows me to see how the agency’s core business operates. There are so many intricacies involved in developing a marketing plan, from the colors used in the advertising, to the radio and television coverage of the company’s products.

After that pleasant little chat I need a pick-me-up.

I take a deep breath, resigned to brush off the negativity left from talking with Mrs. Lavin. Nothing the older woman said was a news flash. It’s not like I didn’t know all along our relationship couldn’t work.

I just didn’t expect the whole thing to depress me so much.

Traffic is horrendous which only adds to my grumpy mood as I make my way back to Mirage. I wave at Anya as I pass the reception desk, making a note to ask Mya about hiring some temporary help.

I was brought on to help out answering the phones so Anya didn’t have to do it all the time. Now that I’m doing some marketing work as well, I feel bad that Anya is stuck behind that desk again along with all her work assisting James.

“Casey, there you are.” Mya waves me in when I appear in the doorway to her office. “Close the door. I’ve already gotten started.”

I take a seat in one of the chairs across from her. “Sorry I’m late. I was…delayed.”

Mya looks up. “Are you okay?”

“Oh yes. Fine. I just feel bad that Anya is stuck doing all the receptionist work while I help out with this Lavin campaign.”

She takes a deep breath. “I want to say something and I hope this isn’t overstepping. But just because Mr. Lavin requested your help on this campaign, doesn’t mean you have to do it. I hope you aren’t feeling pressured in any way.”

“It’s not like that!”

Mya grins. “Oh, so it’s like that.”

My head falls into my hand. “God, I hope I’m never interrogated by the police. I would crack before they even asked the first question.”

“I’m not trying to be nosy but I just wanted to make sure things were on the up-and-up. Believe me, I’m not judging. He’s a good-looking man.”

“Won’t James be upset if he finds out.”

Mya sniffs. “James would be a hypocrite if he did. He was married to someone he worked with and now he’s with…. um, well. Now he’s just bitter.”

I’m pretty sure that wasn’t what she was going to say but there’s a chance she thinks I don’t know about James and Anya.

“Well, at least I can tell Ariana it’s not a secret anymore. I felt bad asking her to keep it from you. You’re her best friend. I’m sure she tells you everything.”

“Not everything,” Mya says. “Ariana is a vault. That girl has secrets upon secrets. I saw some things living in that apartment that I didn’t even want an explanation for.”

We both shudder. Some things shouldn’t be remembered.

“Anyway, the point is that as long as you’re happy, I’m happy. You’ve been a great help to me on this campaign and I think you have a lot of potential.”

She pulls a sheaf of papers from her desk. She slaps them down on the desktop in front of me. “For the past two years, I’ve been pushing James to start an intern program. It makes more sense to hire people as interns while they’re in college and then by the time they graduate, they’re fully trained as marketing associates. If I can get him to agree, would you be interested?”

“Um, yeah. That would be amazing. But I’m not sure if I’m what he’s looking for. I’m not really good with people.”

Translation, I'm a tongue-tied introvert with fashion issues. Not exactly marketing associate material.

Marketing associates are always outgoing and sophisticated. They hobnob with the clients and convince them to trust their company’s public profile to someone else. I never thought I’d actually be hired as a marketing associate for a place like this. I was expecting something less high-pressure. Maybe a marketing position for a chain store, where I’d be designing ad campaigns for batteries or shovels.