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Sam looked at her curiously for a moment before realization dawned on her face, and she burst into another laugh.

“It’s clean,” she said, taking a sip of the coffee. “I promise.”

Jess hummed, moving around the arm of the couch to sit on the opposite side before setting her drink down on the small black coffee table.

“So,” she began, leaning back into the cushions, her gaze flicking to Sam, “what happened to taking the morning off?”

Sam pressed her lips together, giving a small shrug. “I tried, but couldn’t really sleep in even though I’m tired from last night.”

Jess smiled, her features softening. “Last night was fun. Really fun. It’s been too long since I’ve had a night like that.”

Sam turned, resting an arm along the back of the couch as she angled her body toward Jess. “Why? You have your best friend here.”

Jess gave a light shrug. “Scarletts settled down more since she met Terrence.”

Sam snorted, raising an eyebrow. “She seems exactly the same as always to me.”

Jess smirked, taking a sip of her coffee before setting it back on the coffee table. “I think that has more to do with you being back here than anything.”

Sam cocked her head. “Really?”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Jess said with a light laugh.

Sam’s lips curved into a faint smile as she brought the cup to her mouth. “You and Liz don’t go out a lot?”

Jess glanced away, thinking. “I go out with her and her friends sometimes,” she replied. “But it’s just different, I guess.”

Sam watched her intently, waiting for the deeper explanation.

“I mean—don’t get me wrong,” Jess added quickly, “They’re great, and Liz is too, obviously.”

Sam nodded slowly, adjusting the cup in her hands. “Well, she’s a lot better than some of those other girls you dated. Better than that one girl from college.”

Jess’ face scrunched in confusion. “Which girl?”

Sam shot her a pointed look.

Jess’ eyebrows tugged together as she cocked her head. Then a look of realization dawned on her. “Tess?” she asked with a laugh.

Sam groaned. “To this day, every time I meet a ‘Tess’, I instantly can’t stand them.”

Jess burst into laughter, shaking her head.

“I thought I could get along with almost anyone, but man, that girl,” Sam muttered, a grimace pulling across her lips.

“Oh stop. You like everyone.” Jess said, reaching forward to grab her coffee. “Besides, she wasn’t that bad. You were just jealous.”

The words landed hard, like a small bomb dropped between them. For a heartbeat, Sam just stared at her, caught off guard. And she saw it in Jess too. The momentary pause, like she hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

And that realization filled her with a quiet satisfaction.

“Whatever,” she muttered, a smirk ghosting across her lips.

Silence hung between them, and she let it stretch for a moment longer, savoring the rare crack in Jess’ composure. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one having trouble with what to say and what not to say. But before she could press further, Jess cleared her throat, reaching into her bag for the stack of papers she’d brought.

“I brought a few mock-ups for the PR campaign idea I told you about,” Jess said, her tone shifting to business. “Figured we could go through them and pick what you want to send out to new clients about the possible acquisition.”

Sam leaned forward, taking the thick stack from her hands and flipping through the pages. They were good. Better than she’d expected, actually. But she wasn’t surprised. Jess had an eye for that kind of thing—making hard tasks look polished and effortless.