I looked over my shoulder. There were tons of people standing in the living room of our apartment.
“Surprise!” Melissa yelled. Everyone else quickly yelled surprise too.
I could feel my face turning red. Had they all heard what I just said? I quickly turned back around to look up at James.
He smiled down at me. “For one, you’re very bad at telling when you’re being thrown a surprise party. Congratulations, baby.”
Saturday
“Well that wasn’t awkward at all,” Rob said as he leaned down and hugged me.
“So everyone did hear?” I asked. I had talked to almost everyone and escaped to the kitchen to catch my breath. I wasn’t as good at parties as James was. Networking wasn’t something I was good at. And I had just embarrassed myself in front of all my friends and a few people I’d probably consider more of acquaintances. They’d probably remain acquaintances now.
“That you were about to give James head to extract information from him? Oh, yeah, everyone heard that,” he said as he let me out of his embrace and handed me a drink.
I laughed. “Well, no one’s mentioned it but you. Not everyone has as dirty of a mind as you.”
“Or you.” He winked at me. “How was lunch with my parents?”
“They canceled again.”
“You’re kidding. They’re really holding out.”
“Holding out for what?”
“James to change his mind, I guess.”
Right. My biggest fear was that they’d just start throwing women at James that were way more suitable to be their daughter in law. I looked down at the drink Rob had given me. “What is this?”
“Trust me, you’ll like it.”
“You’re not roofieing me, are you?”
He laughed. “The girl my brother is about to marry? I would never.”
“I never believe anything you say, you know.”
“That’s how I prefer it. But it’s just a sex on the beach. If you’d prefer the actual thing, I think we could arrange that, though.”
“I’ll take the drink. Are you still enjoying living on campus?” I took a sip of my drink. It was sweet, but very strong.
“Of course. That’s a ridiculous question. I’m living the dream.”
“Taking advantage of innocent young women?”
“What, like you?” He smiled at me. “Shagging your professor wasn’t so innocent, Penny.”
“Is Rob harassing you again?” Bee said and leaned against the kitchen counter next to me.
Rob laughed and looked down at his watch. “Is it time for me to move on to you already?”
“You can focus on Penny tonight,” Bee said. “It’s her big day. Congrats, again,” she said and squeezed my arm.
“Thanks, Bee.”
“And congrats on the new job too. James just told us about it.”
“Did he?” I looked over at James. He was sitting on the couch next to Mason. As if he could feel my stare, he turned away from Mason and smiled at me. He raised his left eyebrow and lifted his glass slightly. Mason laughed beside him and gestured for Rob to join them.
“I’ve been summoned,” Rob said. “I’ll let you two ladies talk. I’ll be back when you’re done that drink, Penny. You won’t even be able to resist me.” He walked over to the couch and plopped himself between Mason and James.
I looked down at the drink. He was joking right? “On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that this drink has a roofie in it?”
Bee laughed. “Like fifty.”
“That’s what I thought.” I pushed it aside and grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray that a waiter was walking around with. “Okay, so I have a question for you. What’s it like working with Mason?”
Bee smiled. “Wonderful.”
“Really? It doesn’t make it hard to keep your work and personal life separate?”
Her cheeks turned slightly red. “We don’t really keep it that separate.”
I laughed. “I’m guessing the blurred line doesn’t mean you go over reports in bed at night?”
“Not exactly. We share an office, though. What do you expect?”
“Right. But it’s not going to be like that if I work with James. Or, for him, I guess is a better way to put it.” Bee and Mason were an amazing power couple. They had grown their advertising firm to seven figures within just a couple months after their launch. Now it was one of the top agencies in the city. And even though they worked a lot, they still looked at each other in that way that made your heart melt.
“I doubt he’s going to make it feel like you’re working for him. And either way, it’ll look great on your resume. You still have different last names, you can take advantage of that. Use it as a stepping stone. And your next employer doesn’t have to be any the wiser when you use James as a reference.”
I laughed. “I’m pretty sure he’s sabotaging me from getting any other jobs.”
“I’m sure that isn’t true.”
“You have no idea.” I took a sip of my champagne.
Bee laughed. “I think he and Mason are pretty similar. They’re both used to getting whatever they want. I’m not sure they understand the word no.”
I laughed. “Shh, they’re coming over here.”
Bee smiled as Mason wrapped his arms around her. “What are you two talking about?”
“How stubborn you are,” Bee said. “What were you two talking about?”
“James’ bachelor party,” Mason said. “Rob and I have so many good ideas.”
“Trust me,” Bee said and grabbed my arm. “You do not want Mason planning James’ bachelor party.”
I laughed even though she didn’t look like she was kidding. “I’d rather him plan it than Rob. Whenever Rob and James get together they always do something stupid.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” James said and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I’m not having a bachelor party.”
“Of course you are,” Mason said. “I already bought the tickets. It’s going to be awesome.”
Bee frowned. “Where exactly are you guys going?”
“I can’t say,” Mason said. “It’s a surprise.”
Bee shook her head.
“We’re not going anywhere,” James said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You should have a bachelor party,” I said and looked up at him. “Isn’t that like a rite of passage?”
“Yeah, but I’ve already had one.”
Every now and then I let myself forget about his past. I downed the rest of my champagne and picked up the sex on the beach. I kind of hoped it was laced with something. I hated thinking about finding a job. I hated thinking about James’ parents not wanting to meet me. But most of all I hated being reminded of Isabella. I took a huge sip of the drink. “You should still go, James. You’ll have fun.”
“See,” Mason said. “She wants you to go.”
James squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll think about it.”
“Are you ready to get going, Bee?” Mason asked and removed his arms from around her. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed.