need to. But the poolhouse is nice, Taylor. And Cary’s closed up in the studio so much anyway. I used to work on my laptop out by the pool. You’re lucky it’s summer. Perfect timing.”
“Hmm. You make a solid point.”
She laughed softly. “Do what you’ve gotta do, but I’m telling you. The poolhouse is the way to go.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it,” I told her. “And, hey… thanks again, Courteney.”
“Thank you. I really, truly appreciate what you’re doing for me. And for him.”
My phone blipped from an incoming call, and I peeked at the screen. “I’ll let you know what I decide, okay? Danica is calling through.”
“For sure. Have a good night!”
“Good night.” Damn. She sounded so excited. I wondered if she’d be just as excited if I gave her absolutely any intel about her brother at all, short of “he’s not happy.” I blew out a breath and picked up Danica’s call. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Great! Sorry I missed your calls. We were doing sex stuff.”
Of course. Danica and her man were always doing sex stuff. They’d been married for six months and their honeymoon phase was still going strong. It was inspiring, really.
“My eyes are rolling right now.”
She laughed. “What can I do for you this fair evening?” she practically sang.
“Spoken like a woman who just got laid.”
“Guilty.”
“I just called to tell you, I think I landed myself a job today.”
“The Cary Clarke thing?”
“That’s the one.”
“That’s awesome, Taylor! Congrats. It sounds like a good gig.”
“Yeah. I hope so. But he just invited me to move into his poolhouse.”
Silence. Then: “He did?”
“Yeah. It’s this beautiful guesthouse in his backyard. There’s a bunch of trees and gardens… it’s gorgeous.”
“Okay…”
“I just talked to Courteney and she said it’s standard. His other assistant lived there, and she lived there when she was working for him. But I don’t know. It feels a little weird.”
“Why?”
“Well, it kind of raises the stakes, right? Now if I ever quit, I’ll have to quit and move out.”
“True. But if it works out… you get to live in a beautiful place and be close to his studio, instead of taking the bus all the time, right?”
“Right.” I sighed, deciding to confess. “I’m gonna tell you something you can’t tell your husband, okay? This is girl talk.”
“Of course. Girl talk is for girls, Tay. I tell Ash everything, but you know I won’t tell him your girl talk.”
“I know. I just had to make sure, because this feels really close to home. I don’t want the rock stars gossiping about me. I know how they get when the beers start flowing.”
“Okay. Vaulted. Lay it on me.”
“Cary’s hot.”
Silence.
“Hello?” I prompted.
“I’m here. I’m just digesting. How hot?”
“You need to Google him,” I told her, because apparently she hadn’t yet. Danica didn’t follow bands and musicians like I did; even I knew who Ashley was before she did.
“Okay. I’ll do that later. But for now… Are you telling me you have a crush on your new boss?”
“I don’t know him well enough to crush on him.”
“You don’t have to know someone to crush on them. You crushed on the members of Nickelback all through high school.”
“Only Ryan and Daniel,” I insisted, not for the first time. “And they are still cute. Everyone’s allowed a guilty celebrity crush, or two, so back off about Nickelback. Everyone loves ‘How You Remind Me’ even if they won’t admit it.”
“Oh, she’s touchy. You are crushing on your new boss.”
I groaned. “I can’t explain it, Danica. There’s something between us. Chemistry or something. It’s all static electricity and body rushes when he talks to me.”
“Body rushes?”
“You know, that full body rush thing you get when a man you want, really badly, brushes his lips against yours?”
“Taylor. Did he brush his lips against yours? In a job interview?”
“No. He didn’t touch me. He just shook my hand. But I got the full body rush. A few times.”
“Oh. Wow…”
“The man is a top shelf bang, I’m telling you. Hit up Google on that shit.”
“That’s amazing.”
“How is it amazing? He just hired me to work for him.”
“So? You dated one of your bosses before. Maybe just go with it and see what happens?”
“Says the girl who wouldn’t even touch the man she’s now married to, for weeks on end when she first met him, because she was redecorating his apartment.”
“Hey!” She laughed. “Low blow.”
“I’m just saying.”
“I know, but you’re not me. You’re not… sensible like me.”
I laughed, and she laughed, too.
“You are such a bitch sometimes,” I informed her.