Page 28 of The Wedding

“I see. How much longer?”

“I don’t know. She’s been in there for about an hour now. I think they started with lunch and moved here.”

Jamie squared her shoulders. “Is it a partnership interview?”

Natasha nodded.

“Then I’ll make sure not to bother her. I’ll hang out for a while in case it ends. If she asks… it’s not an emergency.”Just my feelings going haywire. Nothing new.

Jamie turned and saw someone sitting at the desk she used to occupy. She then turned back to Natasha and asked in a whisper, “That’s Amanda, right?”

“Yup.”

“She’s not in the meeting taking notes?”

“Nope. Ms. Coleman hasn’t been wanting anyone in there for those meetings. Super hush-hush.” Natasha slouched. “Don’t give Amanda too hard of a time. She’s nice and has a special someone. Who isn’t Ms. Coleman.”

“I heard that.”

“You were supposed to.”

Jamie scoffed. “You two friends, huh?”

Shrugging, Natasha said, “We have lunch. You’re funnier, though.”

That was good enough for Jamie. She fluffed her hair and checked her balance in her heels as she walked over to the personal assistant’s desk by the window.

“Oh… hi.” Amanda jerked back in her seat when she caught sight of Jamie. Naturally, she looked her up and down, seeing the high-class opulence that Jamie now almost took for granted.She should see me when I give a damn. “Can I help you?”

“Just thought I would properly introduce myself since we haven’t met before. I’m Jamie.” She didn’t think she needed any other introduction.

Amanda cocked her head, her dark blond hair threatening to fall out ofthe bun on top of her scalp. Her thin arms flapped like chicken wings as she scooted back in her chair and dropped her pen. “Oh, Jamie! You’retheJamie, huh?”

“The… Jamie?”

“Ms. Coleman talks about you all the time. At least once a day she asks me to write a reminder regarding you.”

“That so?”

“Wow… you’re really pretty.”

Jamie cleared her throat. “Is she taking good care of you? I used to have your job. It wasn’t easy.” Ahem.

“Oh, Ms. Coleman is a dream to work for. Brutal, sometimes, but I got into the swing of things pretty quickly.”

“Naturally.” Jamie couldn’t help it. Whenever she came into this office, she thought of many things… primarily having sex with Etta. They usually did it in her office, but the supply closet was not off-limits.My tits have been on that copying machine. As far as she knew, Etta still kept a copy in her bottom desk drawer. So how could she not assume that Amanda saw it the same way?A place she fucks my girlfriend. She knew that was foolish. Irrational. Etta was not cheating on her. She would be a total dumbass to do so.

Having attempted the bare minimum of niceties, Jamie detoured to the women’s restroom. By the time she emerged, Natasha waved at her from the receptionist’s desk.

“Her meeting is over. I told her that you were here waiting to see her, and she said to give her a few minutes to ‘sort things out.’ You can go in about another two.”

“Thanks,” Jamie said, already heading to the double doors leading to Etta’s office. “I’ll go in now. I’ll make sure she knows it’s not your fault.”

Etta sat behind her desk, bent over the trash can and dumping shredded documents. She glanced up when Jamie entered and latchedthe door behind her. By the look on her face, she was not impressed to see her girlfriend waltzing in ahead of time.

“Hey,” Jamie said, leaning against her desk.It’s exactly the same as when I stopped working here. Etta preferred minimalism in her downtown office – not like her home office was noticeably more cluttered. Then again, she didn’t entertain other bigwigs in her home unless she was on friendly terms with them. “Don’t worry, you didn’t make me wait long.” She tossed her freshly trimmed hair for emphasis.

Etta dropped the trash can and sat up straight, her face fluctuating between friendly and frustrated. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”