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She leaves room for Drew to respond but when they don’t, Rose continues, “So they’re keeping me on since they’d have to pay for my plate anyway.”

Her chest hurt saying it, knowing how hard they would take it. But at this point, Rose couldn’t imagine having to work together again. Couldn’t imagine standing next to their intoxicating, citrus and bergamot smell and not caving. And maybe a part of her really wanted to, to let it all go and just be happy.

But everytime she thought about that, she knew she wouldn’t know where to begin or how to fix it. Not now.

“Got it. I always prefer to know why I’m being fired.” Just over the phone, Rose could tell they were pacing back and forth as they spoke.

“More like let go.” Rose tried to soften the blow. It was complicated, working with friends and… whatever Drew had been to her. She should’ve known better from the start but there was no changing that now.

After a moment, Drew tried to cheer up. “Do you think we could talk?”

It was all she had wanted to hear from them. But something stopped her from reaching through the phone and begging to see them. Maybe it was Ellen’s voice in her head, telling her that clearly Drew wasn’t perfect, that they didn’t have a right to behave the way they had.

But that wouldn’t be entirely honest about her role in all of it. She knew Drew’s baggage from Diana, knew that they would be sensitive to her seeing an ex without mentioning it. She even knew that this particular ex would be an issue. But she hid it from them.

And the truth was, she wasn’t ready to be honest about it.

“That’s all I have to say.” Rose muttered, barely able to let the words out of her mouth. “Bye, Drew.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear and heard Drew’s low voice, “Bye, Rose.” Hanging up the call, Rose slammed her phone onto the counter and turned it upside down.

Fuck that hurts.She shook her head. But now she was free, she had no reason to ever see them again if she didn’t want to. They had turned in Lauren’s pictures two weeks ago and with the wedding off Drew’s plate, they had completely detached.

But as Rose looked around, she couldn’t help but feel like her yellow apartment had lost some life along the way.

“I better not have to move to get away from this shit.” Rose shook her head as she plopped down onto her couch.

33

DREW

Tappingtheir finger along their desk, Drew couldn’t stop thinking about Rose. The shoot with Mac had gone perfectly and Drew was already halfway through developing the pictures.

In an unorthodox Drew move, they had agreed to rush develop ten pictures for the press. But the Tournament began next week and they still had a ways to go on the rest of the shots. Even so, they couldn’t focus as they tried to select the next batch of negatives to work on.

Putting their head down, Drew looked through the magnifier at their shots. Mackenzie looked incredible, her muscles were well defined and she looked like she was ready to go to war. Drew was proud of the work, they hadn’t handled a celebrity shoot before and by all accounts this was a complete success.

Just as they circled a few of their favorite images, their phone rang from the desk. Faster than they should have moved, Drew whipped their head around to see who it was.

Disappointed to not see Rose’s name, Drew sighed but it was Tommy. Which was either good news or really bad.

Swiping on the screen, Drew clicked the speaker symbol. “Hey, Tommy. How are ya?”

“Good, Drew. So I have a question for you.” Tommy sounded like she was leaning back in an office chair, throwing a tennis ball against the wall. It was a sound Drew had become accustomed to during their shoot with Mackenzie Bennett.

“Shoot.” Drew answered as they picked a few more negatives.

Tommy cleared their throat, sitting up as her chair squeaked. “Another agent at the firm represents a very famous singer who is returning to stage after a year of hiatus. They’re looking for someone to shoot the hometown, New York show. Can I put your name in?”

It felt like a no-brainer, but something in Drew hesitated. A part of them wondered how much fun Rose would have there. Anyone who had a phone knew exactly who Tommy was talking about. LAWSON was the only pop star who had disappeared as of late in a theatrical fashion.

“Drew?” Tommy checked in.

Shaking themself out of it, Drew sighed. “Yeah go ahead and put my name in. Just let me know the dates as soon as you can. I’m booked pretty far out.”

Tommy laughed. “No worries, thanks.”

The line disconnected and Drew was left biting the inside of their cheek. Anyone would have been thrilled. They had fought for the U.S. Open shoot and this was the benefit, a slew of celebrity clients ready to hire them.