Page 19 of The CEO I Hate

“Shit, girl. That sucks,” Tanya said.

“It’s definitely been tough. He really loved being a firefighter. He was always so committed, so active. The kind of guy who’d throw himselfinto everything one hundred and fifty percent. You know the type, right? And now he’s in a wheelchair, struggling to figure out what comes next. It’s been a big adjustment. But even when he’s dealing with his own stuff, he’s always supported me. He was the one who helped me get this interview, so I want to work extra hard, you know? To make him proud.”

“Aww, I love that,” Kait said, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.

“As for me…my big struggle has been to get people to take me seriously as a writer at all. My parents are still waiting for me to give the whole thing up and find a more ‘stable’ job.”

“Preach!” Jerome sang out.

“My last few shots at a writers’ room sort of crashed and burned, like I mentioned in the interview,” I continued. “It just feels like I’ve been working so long and not making any headway.”

“Been there,” Kait said as Jerome and Tanya nodded along. We’d likely all had similar novice writer experiences. “I got brought in for the last season ofCrimson Tidesonly for them to sideline me. I only got to touch edits on one episode the entire time I was there. Don’t get me wrong, I totally appreciated the experience, but I didn’t get todomuch.”

“Yeah, that was like my experience onLassoed,” I said.

“Oh my God, I miss those cowboys!” Jerome complained. “They were so damn hot.”

“I did some rewrites on their last season,” I said. “Thought it would be around for at least a couple more before it was canceled.”

“They deserve a reboot. I was certain another platform was going to pick them up.”

“I think you were the only one watching it regularly,” Tanya joked.

“Girl, I was deep in the fandom, okay?”

“Oh, I know you were. Probably bought a Stetson and cowboy boots.”

Jerome smirked. “You know me so well.” They did a complicated handshake across the table, and I felt like I’d been accepted into a secret little club. Jerome nabbed an edamame with his chopsticks. “So, tell us about this webcomic you write. Something dark and slutty, I hope?”

I burst out laughing. “The complete opposite, actually. It’s sorta based on my life, with a twist. Lots of melodrama, but everything is reframed to be set in a high school. The teens really seem to like it.”

“Oh, you mean something likeHeart and Hustle?” Tanya said.

My cheeks pinked. “Not justlikeit. That’s…um…that’s it. I writeHeart and Hustle.”

“That’syou?” she squealed. “My cousin loves that comic. She’s always yattering on about how she can’t wait for high school because of it.”

Jerome whipped out his phone. “Looking this up right now.”

My cheeks flushed even more. My worlds were colliding.

“This is just likeHigh School Musical,” Jerome said as he started scrolling.

“Just less singing,” Tanya said.

Jerome cackled. “Sign me the hell up.”

“God, I had the biggest crush on Zac Efron when that movie came out,” Kait said. “So many posters on my wall.”

“Same!” Jerome said as our waitress brought us out another round of sushi rolls. He lifted his chopsticks in a toast. “To our new head writer.”

We all copied him, lifting our chopsticks in the air.

“May you forever reign in the writers’ room,” he said solemnly, making Kait giggle.

“Thanks.” I grinned. “And here’s to us kicking ass on season two.”

I was so stuffed by the time we went our separate ways at the restaurant that I was ready to go home and pass out on the couch in a sushi coma. But as I made my way through North Hollywood, I was still riding such a high that even the traffic didn’t annoy me. I was so stoked that I dialed my parents before I reached the apartment.