Once Upon A Time(7)

There it was.

Kylie and I both worked at Blue Stone PR but, thankfully for her, she worked as Phil’s personal assistant. Phil Edwards was an amazing account manager and unbelievably sweet. Kylie really got the pick of the bunch when she applied for the job. Of course, I got freaking Shrek. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers. Right?

“Yeah, I got a client.” I laughed, shaking my head. “But I also got the threat that if I screw this up in any way, I'll be cleaning toilets at Starbucks.”

“Uh. Wow,” Kylie muttered, her eyes resembling saucers. “That’s a little harsh.”

“Ogre-ish would be more appropriate.” I groaned, sitting upright in my chair.

“I think...” My computer announced I had an email, with Kate’s email address appearing on my screen.



To: paytonmiller@bluestonepr.com

From: katemckenna@bluestonepr.com

Subject: Don’t fuck it up

Payton,

Remember what I said.

Attached is the info you need. Call me the minute you walk out of the building.



Kate



Opening the attachment, I grabbed a sticky note and wrote down the address and name of the prospective client. I noticed it merely said "Mr. Black." There was no first name or even an initial. I wrote down the address of his building, Black Enterprises. It was only thirty minutes from my apartment and I had to be there for 10am tomorrow morning. Simple enough.

Looking up from my notes, I spotted a very excited Kylie.

“What?” I asked. Why the hell was she looking at me like that?

She paused before clapping her hands together like she’d just won a freaking medal. “COCKTAILS!”

I balked. “No fucking way! I have to be completely sober for this meeting. I can’t roll up looking like I've spent the entire night sucking face with a sex on the beach.”

Kylie shrugged as she pulled out her cell from her back pocket, furiously hitting the screen with her fingers. What the hell was she doing?

As if she could read my thoughts, she answered. “Already texted Quinn. He’s in!”

“Wait. What the fuck, Kylie. I just said I need to be freaking sober!” I might actually kill her.

“And you may screw it up anyway and work for Starbucks. We need to celebrate. You've been trying to get Kate to notice how damn hard you work for the last three years! Now she’s given you a freaking client, let’s celebrate!” She smiled.

Well, thanks for that, Kylie.

“Woman, suck it up. We have some celebrating to do and there’s a cocktail with your name on it tonight.” With that, she left my freaking office with a hop, a skip and a jump.

Well shit.

Placing my arms on the desk in front of me, I threw my head on top. Surely the day couldn't be any more of a clusterfuck than it already was. Right?

The sound of my emails clogging up my inbox pulled me out of my thoughts; I needed to get on with my day and worry about what the night would bring later. Opening up the first email, I groaned in frustration.

“I love my job. I love my job. I love my job,” I chanted over and over before diving into my mailbox of hell.

The minute my ass hit my sofa in my living room a couple of hours later, I was immediately hit full force with exhaustion. My usual hours at work were 9am while 5pm. Yeah, I hadn't worked those kind of hours since my first day. Apparently, leaving on time at Blue Stone PR was frowned upon. I checked the time and groaned; it was 7:30pm. I had approximately thirty minutes to get my ass in the shower and ready for a night of cocktails. I didn't want to go. In fact, I would rather soak in the tub for an hour before curling up in bed, not to mention I needed to be up early the next morning.

Diving into my purse, which I’d unceremoniously thrown on the sofa next to me, I pulled out my cell, ready to call Kylie to let her know I was too tired to even think out leaving our apartment. But the moment I unlocked my cell, the apartment door swung open and in walked a very hot looking Kylie.

Her chestnut hair was pulled into a low chignon on the back of her head and I wondered where the hell she’d gotten changed. I presumed she ran over to Quinn’s apartment. If anyone knew hair and makeup, it was those two. She looked at me like I’d grown three heads.

“What the holy hell are you doing sitting there looking like a depressed Smurf?”

Oh ha! That was supposed to be a joke about my blue pencil suit.

Comedian she is not.

I sighed hard, exaggerating my exhaustion with a limp shrug of my shoulders. “Just so we’re clear, I saved for three months for this suit.” I shook my head, throwing my feet up on the coffee table in front of me. “I’m too exhausted, Kylie. Seriously, Kate managed to throw at least seven different contracts at me that needed printing, proofing, and mailing out to the clients. Do you have any idea how many times I've had to deal with her ogre ass today? I swear, I thought I was about to blow a gasket every time she breathed near me. That shit’s not cool, Kylie.”