Read Online Next Stop: Love by Miranda J. Fox - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Miranda J. Fox
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knew I sounded defensive, so I tried to temper my response. “He just makes slightly inappropriate comments sometimes, that’s all.”
Lisa laughed. “Those slightly inappropriate comments are called flirting, you dummy.”
“He’s not flirting with me,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s just his way of entertaining himself. He talks that way to all women.”
“Oh yeah? What was that about ‘I’ll show you the many varied benefits of chamomile tea’?” she asked, imitating a male voice.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by that,” I protested, chewing. “And if you don’t cut it out, I’ll stop telling you anything!”
She rolled her eyes. “God, Sophia, how blind can you possibly be? That guy is into you, and he’s flirting with you, and everyone in the universe besides you can see it!” She gave me a scrutinizing look. “Or do you just not want to see it?” she prodded me.
“I couldn’t care less what he’s doing.” I shrugged. “Our relationship is purely professional, nothing else. So are you coming with me to the company party?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject. I didn’t want to think or talk about whether he was flirting with me. He was a good-looking business professional who most likely slept with a different girl every week. Either way, I wasn’t interested.
“No time. I have to hand in my test report by Sunday,” she explained, chewing her pasta with relish. Well, great. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was showing up to a party alone. But I was new, so I couldn’t get away with just staying home.
After dinner, we headed into the living room and argued about our movie selection for the evening. Like always, actually. Lisa was only interested in fantasy films, of course, while I tried suggesting various thrillers. Eventually we agreed on The Hunger Games . Afterward, I had to admit I’d loved it, even though I normally wasn’t a big fan of sci-fi.
The office buzzed with excitement the following day. All anyone could talk about was the party and what decorations the fashion department had come up with this time. The theme was Prom, and suddenly I found myself wondering whether my dress wasn’t a little too plain, after all. Didn’t people usually go all out for balls? On the other hand, that wasn’t my style, anyway, and I didn’t want to steal the show from Mary, who’d had a dress specially made, as she’d proudly announced. Sad. In some parts of the world, people didn’t even have rags to cover themselves with, and here people had clothes custom made for something as unimportant as an office party. I knew why I’d gone to a secondhand store.
“Hey, Aileen, who are you bringing?” I asked.
“My mom,” she said. “She loves our parties.”
“Want to meet somewhere beforehand, or are you guys coming by taxi?” Under no circumstances did I want to go alone.
“Sure. We’re taking the tram from Alexanderplatz, so we can meet there,” she suggested.
“Great.” I stood up because my lunch break was about to start. “For that, I’ll bring you back a cupcake,” I promised, tossing my handbag over my shoulder.
“One of the white ones with rainbow sprinkles!” she called after me as I made my way toward the elevators. I saluted, then got into the elevator.
Mary got on at the third floor, saying a quick good-bye to Luis as she stepped in.
“You’re going to look fabulous, honey,” Luis told her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. “As always.”
“I know,” she purred, grinning. When she saw me, her smile took on a boastful note. “So, found a dress yet?” she asked without actually sounding the least bit interested in the answer.
“I’m sure it won’t be as grandiose as yours,” I said, since that was what she wanted to hear.
“No, I’m sure it won’t,” she agreed confidently. “I’ve won best-dressed female employee every year so far, and it’ll be the same this year.”
The
Lisa laughed. “Those slightly inappropriate comments are called flirting, you dummy.”
“He’s not flirting with me,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s just his way of entertaining himself. He talks that way to all women.”
“Oh yeah? What was that about ‘I’ll show you the many varied benefits of chamomile tea’?” she asked, imitating a male voice.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by that,” I protested, chewing. “And if you don’t cut it out, I’ll stop telling you anything!”
She rolled her eyes. “God, Sophia, how blind can you possibly be? That guy is into you, and he’s flirting with you, and everyone in the universe besides you can see it!” She gave me a scrutinizing look. “Or do you just not want to see it?” she prodded me.
“I couldn’t care less what he’s doing.” I shrugged. “Our relationship is purely professional, nothing else. So are you coming with me to the company party?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject. I didn’t want to think or talk about whether he was flirting with me. He was a good-looking business professional who most likely slept with a different girl every week. Either way, I wasn’t interested.
“No time. I have to hand in my test report by Sunday,” she explained, chewing her pasta with relish. Well, great. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand, it was showing up to a party alone. But I was new, so I couldn’t get away with just staying home.
After dinner, we headed into the living room and argued about our movie selection for the evening. Like always, actually. Lisa was only interested in fantasy films, of course, while I tried suggesting various thrillers. Eventually we agreed on The Hunger Games . Afterward, I had to admit I’d loved it, even though I normally wasn’t a big fan of sci-fi.
The office buzzed with excitement the following day. All anyone could talk about was the party and what decorations the fashion department had come up with this time. The theme was Prom, and suddenly I found myself wondering whether my dress wasn’t a little too plain, after all. Didn’t people usually go all out for balls? On the other hand, that wasn’t my style, anyway, and I didn’t want to steal the show from Mary, who’d had a dress specially made, as she’d proudly announced. Sad. In some parts of the world, people didn’t even have rags to cover themselves with, and here people had clothes custom made for something as unimportant as an office party. I knew why I’d gone to a secondhand store.
“Hey, Aileen, who are you bringing?” I asked.
“My mom,” she said. “She loves our parties.”
“Want to meet somewhere beforehand, or are you guys coming by taxi?” Under no circumstances did I want to go alone.
“Sure. We’re taking the tram from Alexanderplatz, so we can meet there,” she suggested.
“Great.” I stood up because my lunch break was about to start. “For that, I’ll bring you back a cupcake,” I promised, tossing my handbag over my shoulder.
“One of the white ones with rainbow sprinkles!” she called after me as I made my way toward the elevators. I saluted, then got into the elevator.
Mary got on at the third floor, saying a quick good-bye to Luis as she stepped in.
“You’re going to look fabulous, honey,” Luis told her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. “As always.”
“I know,” she purred, grinning. When she saw me, her smile took on a boastful note. “So, found a dress yet?” she asked without actually sounding the least bit interested in the answer.
“I’m sure it won’t be as grandiose as yours,” I said, since that was what she wanted to hear.
“No, I’m sure it won’t,” she agreed confidently. “I’ve won best-dressed female employee every year so far, and it’ll be the same this year.”
The
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