managing director like Michael.” He smiled at Olivia’s blush. “I run a big company, but I don’t like impersonal relationships even in business. Every other pitch I’ve heard from PE and investment firms felt impersonal. Yours didn’t.”
He nodded at the black car that’d just rolled up in front of them. The driver peered at his phone and then peered at Olivia. “I think that’s you. Good night.”
Winstock walked away, and she climbed into the backseat of her Uber, unable to hide her blossoming smile. Besides Sammy—whom, after some deliberation, she was no longer mad at for deceiving her about Jessica because she didn’t want to waste their remaining time together as roommates being upset over stupid stuff—nothing made her happier than excelling at work.
After a string of bad luck, things were finally looking up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“...Received the highest mark possible for all areas evaluated, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.” Michael adjusted his tie. “You’ve been an extraordinary employee, but I’m sure you know that.”
“Thank you.” Normally, Olivia would’ve glowed beneath all the compliments and her top-notch performance review, but all she could focus on was what Michael hadn’t touched on yet: her official request to transfer to the San Francisco office after she graduated next May.
Even though she disliked a majority of her SF coworkers, she’d do whatever it took to make her and Sammy’s relationship work this time around.
Sammy had offered to look into moving to New York as well, but Olivia wouldn’t let him. He was too close to his family to move across the country from them, and while there’d soon be a Crumble & Bake in New York, San Francisco was his company’s headquarters and flagship store. It held special sentimental value. Plus, he already owned a house here. He had far more roots tying him to San Francisco than Olivia did to New York. She loved the Big Apple and all it had to offer—the food, the shopping, the energy and endless sources of entertainment—but besides her job, Farrah was the only thing keeping her there. She’d miss having her best friend in the same city, but Farrah was married now, and she and Olivia were no longer roommates, so even that tie had loosened.
The fact Sammy had offered, though, reinforced Olivia’s belief she was doing the right thing. He was willing to make sacrifices for her; she’d do the same for him.
Except her company had to, you know, approve her request first. She’d applied for the transfer after returning from Lake Tahoe, and the status was still pending.
Michael leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “However, there is one thing we need to discuss that isn’t part of our official performance metrics, but which is still an important requirement for employees of Pine Hill Capital.”
Olivia’s brow creased. Huh. Whatever the “thing” was, it had never come up in her past performance reviews. “Of course.”
Her boss clicked something on his computer and spun the monitor around. “Have you seen this?”
Surprise washed through her. Was that...an Instagram post? Why the hell was her boss—who had no personal social media except for LinkedIn—showing her an Instagram post?
When she looked closer, though, Olivia realized why, and her blood iced over.
The post was a carousel by @influencerstea, a massive account that specialized in gossiping about (i.e. dragging) social media-famous personalities. Michael clicked through, and the temperature continued to plummet when images of Olivia and Sammy kissing and playing hacky sack in Dolores Park flashed past. The photos themselves weren’t scandalous—it wasn’t like they were having sex or anything. It was the caption that twisted things all out of proportion: Baking influencer and Crumble & Bake founder Sammy Yu spotted canoodling with a mystery woman in Dolores Park. Yes, that Crumble & Bake—the one that still hasn’t gotten to the bottom of the roach-in-a-cupcake incident that blew up earlier this month. Guess a food safety crisis isn’t enough to keep an influencer down. Now the real question is: did those stoners he’s playing hacky sack with offer him a roach? ;)
The roach pun was so bad whoever came up with it should be arrested, but the post still had over 60,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
Tornadoes of fury, disgust, and disbelief tunneled through Olivia’s system. There was so much wrong with the post she didn’t know where to start. Was it a fucking crime for a man to enjoy one afternoon out without getting lambasted for it? Yes, his business was in crisis, but that