A sher laughed as she read the response from Stephania and typed a message.

Asher Hahn : Can you even meet in public? Do you have to wear big sunglasses with that hat?

She waited, but it didn’t take long.

Stephania : I can probably get away with not doing all that around here. It depends on where we go, I guess. You’re a local. Where could we meet where I might not get recognized?

Asher thought about it. She knew it was way too risky to just agree to let Stephania come to her apartment, where they could be alone, but she was tempted. She supposed they could meet somewhere outside of the city, but that would be a drive, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go that far when she was meeting a stranger. The closer she was to home and her friends, the better.

This was stupid. Asher shook her head at herself. Why did people engage in this kind of behavior, to begin with? She was trying to arrange meeting strangers on apps. She’d heard horror stories about how people had done this and decided to meet at someone’s house only to have the person they were meeting steal their stuff or worse. When did it become old-fashioned to meet someone in a public place while you were on a walk or grocery shopping? When did it become too hard to find someone in the world, so people resorted to finding them on their phones? Asher missed the good old days a little, but she supposed there was something thrilling about this.

Someone saw her picture and thought she was attractive enough to reach out to. Someone was messaging her right now because they wanted to meet with her and go out on a date. It was much easier to scroll through profiles than sit in a bar somewhere, waiting for someone else to approach her , because she had never really been the woman to walk up to a guy and ask him to buy her a drink or for a dance. It was nice to just have to pick up her phone, see if someone messaged her, and decide what she wanted to do from there.

“Hey,” Asher said when she looked up and caught sight of Linden, who must have just returned from lunch.

“What’s up?” Linden asked.

“Did you and Bryce take care of Sophie’s surprise?”

“Yeah,” Linden said simply and didn’t appear to want to elaborate.

“Good. Okay.”

“Yeah,” Linden repeated.

“Do you happen to know a place where I could go that’s close but no tourists? I don’t want a local dive, either. A nice place,” Asher said.

Linden walked into her office and asked, “What for?”

“A date,” she replied. “Well, a meeting more than a date. Maybe we’ll do the date after. I don’t know.”

“Oh,” Linden let out, crossing her arms over her chest. “Stephania is real.”

“I think so, yes. She sent me a video and used my name in it. She pointed out the studio behind her. She’s here.”

“Cool,” Linden said.

“Her schedule opened up, and she’s free tonight.”

“Tonight? Oh. Cool,” Linden said again.

She was saying, ‘Cool,’ a lot.

“So? Know anywhere I can take her where she’s likely not to get recognized?”

“Oh. No, not really,” Linden replied. “I guess just go somewhere in CBD. Maybe that diner that’s over by Bridgette’s office. She said it’s pretty local.”

“The Central Business District? A diner? You want me to take a supermodel to–”

“You asked,” Linden interrupted her. “I’ve got to run.” She hooked her thumb toward the door. “I have a meeting.”

Asher looked down at her laptop and said, “Shit. I do, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Carolyn wanted to talk to me about something,” Asher said, standing up. “I’ll have to get back to Stephania, I guess. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure,” Linden replied.

Asher walked past her, carrying her phone and laptop, to meet with her boss, the owner of the company, who had requested a meeting that morning out of the blue. Typically, when that happened, it meant that Carolyn had a high-profile client for her to meet with because, as one of her top earners, Asher was often the first choice in wedding planners.

“Hi,” she said as she walked into Carolyn’s office.

“Oh, hey. Can you close the door?”

Asher stopped in place for a second. These meetings always went the same way. She’d walk in, sit down, Carolyn would tell her about the client, and Asher would leave with her marching orders. In all her time at the company, she could only remember her boss telling her to close the door a couple of times, and both of those times had to do with someone else getting fired and Carolyn needing her to take over their clients or some of their other work.

“Sure,” she replied and closed the door. “What’s up?”

“Have a seat.”

Was Asher about to get fired? No, she was the number one planner. She was the most requested planner. She made this company a lot of money and never had any complaints. There would be no reason to fire her. She sat down, holding her phone and computer in her lap, and tapped a foot on the carpeted floor.

“When I first created this place, it was just me on the floor of my living room in my one-bedroom apartment.” The woman shook her head. “I had a list of people who I knew were getting married from someone who’d stolen it for me from another wedding planner.” Carolyn laughed to herself. “Not exactly ethical, but I made the calls and got a couple of them to agree to let me plan their weddings. I’d gotten the bug when I helped my sister plan hers, and the rest is history.”

Asher had heard the origin story of the company before when she’d first interviewed for the job, as well as at every holiday party since and at every big company meeting.

“Anyway, now we’re all here. I have fifteen planners in this office, twenty-two assistants, and more in administrative staff. I could retire now if I wanted to.”

“Amazing how you have been able to make it grow,” Asher said because she felt like it was something to say.

“Soon, Dallas will be open,” Carolyn said.

“Yeah, in a few months,” Asher replied.

“And I need someone to run it.”

Asher froze.

“You’re my top planner, Asher, and you’re great with clients and the staff here. You have a way with vendors that gets clients the best deals and doesn’t impact anyone’s bottom line. I want you to run Dallas for me. It would be a change, I know. You’d do what I do: plan fewer weddings and do more on the business side. I get to do about one to two really big accounts a year, and that’s enough for me now. We could transition you slowly to that. Maybe four of the big ones next year, like usual, and then one to two in the second year of the office. You’d be full salary with no commission, though, but I’m willing to talk about a bonus structure based on the office’s performance. You’d end up with a raise in the end.”

“You want me to run Dallas?”

“Yes.” Carolyn nodded. “I thought about going myself and leaving this place for you to run – it’s new territory for me, a new challenge, and it’s a competitive market – but my life is here. My husband likes his job, and our kids are still in school, so I don’t want to uproot them. Dallas would be a new challenge for you, too. I’m going to make offers to two planners here to join you and one of the assistants to start, and you can hire the rest yourself.”

“But…” Asher paused. “I’d be moving to Dallas.”

“Yes,” Carolyn said with a nod.

“Dallas, Texas,” Asher added.

Carolyn laughed and replied, “That’s the one. It’s a short flight away, and I’ll be there to help at least once a month in the beginning. Then, we can work out my travel schedule and how often you need to come back here.”

“Oh,” she said.

“You don’t sound excited.”

“I’m just surprised.”

“You’re surprised? You didn’t see this coming? You’re the best planner I’ve ever had, Asher.”

“But I’m a wedding planner. I don’t run the business.”

“You help me all the time when I need you. You know what you’re doing, and you’ll hire people that will help you. If you want to make offers to a couple of admins, I’d be okay with that. There’s Eric in accounting. He’s ready for a promotion.”

“I just… I… Can I think about it?”

“I thought you’d say yes,” her boss revealed.

“It’s a big change, Carolyn.”

“I know. We will pay for relocation, if that’s something you’re worried about.”

“That’s great. I have a lease here.”

“We can talk about any fees you’d have to pay to get out of it.”

“Okay,” Asher said.

“Okay, you’ll take it?”

“Okay, can I have a day or two to consider it?”

“Yes. But I need to know soon, Asher. We have planning and hiring to do before the office opens, and you’d have to move.”

“Right,” she said, still in shock.

“So, can you let me know your answer by the end of the day tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Asher repeated after her and then stood. “Okay.”

She wasn’t convinced she’d have an answer for her by tomorrow, but she didn’t really have a choice. When she left Carolyn’s office, she walked like a zombie back to her own and closed the door behind her, needing privacy. This was a lot to think about. She had been to Dallas a few times, but she had never thought about living there. Asher also hadn’t planned on starting a new office for Carolyn. She had always thought that if she opened an office, it would be one of her own. Now, she needed to pull up an apartment website and check out the Dallas area. How much would rent cost? What kind of an apartment could she get with her budget?

Then, she remembered Stephania’s message.

◆◆◆

“Asher?”

Asher looked up and saw a supermodel standing right in front of her; all six feet of her. It was real. This was really happening. Stephania was standing in front of her, and she had a smile on her face as she looked down at Asher.

“Hi,” she replied in a higher-pitched voice than she’d thought she possessed.

“Hi,” Stephania said and sat down in the hardbacked booth across from Asher. “So, a pizza place?”

“Yeah. Sorry. It was all I could think of. It’s not somewhere I expect to see a lot of tourists, and it’s usually not that busy this time of the night.”

“Do you come here a lot?” Stephania asked.

“Sometimes. With my coworkers. It’s one of our lunch spots,” she said.

“So, it’s nice to meet you in person,” Stephania noted.

“You too. I’m still kind of surprised that I’m actually meeting you and not some crazy person pretending to be you.”

“The video didn’t help?”

“No, it did. I wouldn’t be here without the video. But it’s still hard to believe that you ’re on a dating app.”

“It’s hard to believe you’ re on a dating app.”

“Me? Why?” Asher asked.

“Because you’re gorgeous. And from your profile and our messages, it’s clear that you’re accomplished, successful, and kind of funny.”

“Kind of funny?”

“Your messages; some of them were funny.” Stephania shrugged a shoulder. “Some were adorable.”

“Oh, God. I’m a mess, aren’t I?” Asher laughed a little.

“No,” Stephania replied. “It was just cute that you told me that you had friends in low places in case I wasn’t who I said I was.”

“I didn’t know how else to say that.”

“Where are these low places, anyway? Are we talking mob connections here?”

“No,” Asher replied with a laugh. “Just my friends on speed dial in case I need them to rescue me. I also chose this place because there’s a front and back door for customers.”

“So that you could make a quick exit?”

“Exactly.”

“Smart, too. I like that,” Stephania said with a nice smile.

“Practical,” Asher pointed out.

“Practical people just meet maybe-not-models at pizza places?”

Asher smiled at her and said, “We order at the counter here.”

Stephania leaned back and looked up at the giant menu board behind the counter.

“Okay. What can I get you? Want to share a pizza or get one of your own?”

“You eat pizza?”

“Yes, I eat pizza,” Stephania told her with a laugh. “I’m lucky: I have a high metabolism.”

“So, the model stereotypes don’t apply to you?”

“I’m sure some of them do,” Stephania replied.

“I usually get a salad when I come here,” Asher said of herself.

“You get salad at a pizza place? Who hurt you?”

“You sound like my best friend,” Asher said, laughing.

“She hates salads, too?”

“She thinks healthy food tastes bad, so I should eat the junk stuff.”

“She’s right. Well, sometimes, I’d say. I’ve had healthy food that’s really good, but my guess is that the kind of salad you’re getting at the pizza place is just a pile of lettuce with some onions, maybe some cheese, and croutons on top. Am I right?”

“They have a chopped salad here that I usually get. It doesn’t stop Linden from making fun of me.”

“Linden is the friend?” Stephania asked.

“Yes. We also work together.”

Stephania nodded and said, “And she eats a lot of junk food?”

“Constantly,” Asher told her with another laugh. “She’s a horrible influence on me. She made me bacon for breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

“This morning,” Asher said.

“She made you breakfast this morning?”

“Yeah. Do you want pizza, though? They have a great white pizza here.”

“Is that the one Linden usually gets?”

“Yeah. Why?” she asked.

“No reason,” Stephania replied.

Asher met her eyes and saw something there.

“Oh, no. It’s not–” She stopped herself. “Linden is just a friend.”

“Straight?”

“No, she’s gay, but we’re not like that.”

“You never dated?”

“No. I just came out.”

“Oh,” Stephania said.

“I’m really doing this wrong,” Asher added. “I’m bi, I think. I like men, too, but I recently figured out that I’m attracted to women as well. Linden came out not that long ago, but I’ve been watching her discover this new part of herself, and it inspired something in me, I guess. Now, I’m on this dating app because I don’t know where else to meet women, and here I am with you.”

“But she’s just a friend?”

“Yeah,” Asher replied.

“And she made you breakfast?”

“I stayed at her place last night because we’d been staying at mine so much.”

Stephania’s eyes went wide, and she leaned forward.

“Not what I meant,” Asher added. “We didn’t…”

“Asher, I’m good with this being a date where we get to know each other and see if we want to get together again, but we can also just hang out tonight. A new friend thing, maybe.”

“Hang out?”

“Yeah. And you can tell me about your obvious crush on your gay best friend,” Stephania said. “Does she feel the same way?”

“Shit,” she let out, lowering her gaze. “It’s obvious?”

“The way your face just lit up when you started talking about her? Yes. And I’ve been there myself, so I get it. I have a model friend I’ve had a crush on for years. She’s straight and married, though, so at least your friend is gay. Is she married? In a relationship?”

“No.”

“Then, why are you here with me and not going for it with her?”

“Because I can’t tell her. It’s been ten years.”

“You’ve liked her for ten years?”

“No, we’ve been best friends for ten years. And now, I might be moving anyway.”

“Moving?”

“To Dallas. I got offered a promotion today. I wasn’t really expecting it.”

“Ah… So, you like her, don’t know if she likes you back; you’ve been friends forever, so you don’t want to risk it; and now, you’re moving, so there’s no point.”

“Exactly,” she said. “But the first thing I thought about when my boss told me about the offer was that I wouldn’t get to see Linden every day anymore.”

Stephania nodded and asked, “It’s more than just a crush, isn’t it?”

Asher nodded then and said, “It is. I’m so sorry.”

“Well, let’s order some salads and pizza, and we can just hang out and talk. No pressure. I wouldn’t mind making a new friend out of this, like I said.” Stephania smiled.

“Why are you so nice? You should be mad that I’ve now wasted your time when I’m falling for my best friend.”

“I think you might have already fallen there, Asher. And like I said before – I’m good with whatever. I want to meet someone soon, yes, but I’m not going to try to force anything. Hey, maybe we can go through the app together, and you can help me pick someone else out to try to go out with.”

“You are a supermodel. Why are you even using an app? Just walk into any bar,” Asher suggested with a smile.

“This is more fun,” Stephania said with a smirk.

“What kind of pizza do you want? I’m buying. It’s the least that I can do since you’re not getting a date out of this.”

When Stephania told her what kind of pizza she wanted, Asher walked to the counter and placed their order for food along with their drinks. Then, she walked back to their booth with their order number and placed it at the end of the table for their waiter to see. She didn’t know what else to do on this date that wasn’t a date anymore. Stephania was great, though. Asher could see them maybe being friends after this. Still, as gorgeous as this woman was, there wasn’t a spark.

When their would-be date ended with Stephania kissing her on the cheek and getting into a town car, Asher stood on the sidewalk, trying to think about what to do for the rest of the night. It was only eight. She could meet up with Linden, but she’d wanted that boring night in and had only changed her plans when Stephania had become available. She could do with a nice glass of wine, a boring movie, and some sleep, so she started in the direction of her apartment. When her phone pinged in her purse, she went to check it, expecting it to be Stephania since they’d exchanged numbers.

Linden Washington : You’re moving to Dallas?