38. Claire

We all watched Drew strut to his office, jaws on the floor. Total ovary explosion—until Jared broke the lust-filled haze. Summer and I burst into laughter and got back to work.

“Claire,” she called, and I looked up to see it was lunchtime. Summer was holding out my lunch.

“Oh, thanks, Summer. I appreciate you ordering one for me too. I’m a total spaz—I forget my lunch even when I’m early to work.”

She nodded and pulled over a chair. I guess we’re eating together?

I glanced at her with a tight smile. “No offense, Summer, but your perfume is about to make my lunch make a comeback.”

Summer laughed and scooted her chair a little further away. “Call me Goldie, please. I'm not used to people calling me Summer—it makes me feel like a camp counselor or something.”

I chuckled. “A camp counselor? Really? With tits like those? That wouldn’t have been my first guess.”

Goldie tossed her head back, laughing. “Yeah, yeah. Judge the boobs all you want, but they paid for college! Some rich guy used to come to the bar I worked at and told me I’d probably get more tips if I had bigger boobs. I’m all about women making their own choices, but he wasn’t wrong. He was four-times divorced and filthy rich, so he offered to pay. Every day until I left, he came in, had a few drinks, tipped huge, and stared at his investment—aka Lucy and Ethel. Needless to say, the tips poured in, and I got through college debt-free.”

“Lucy and Ethel? Really?”

Goldie grinned. “Yup. Total pain in the ass—well, the back—but they make people happy. I even tried them out on Andrew earlier, but nothing, nada. I’ve never seen a guy look away so fast; they may be losing their luster.” She glances down at her chest.

I dropped my fork and frowned. “Um, Goldie, you seemed like a cool person—at least five seconds ago. What possessed you to do that, let alone tell me about it? Is this for real? Am I getting punked?” I look around for the cameras.

She smirked. “I thought you didn’t want to be with him anymore? Word is, you packed up and left, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal. He’s a catch, Claire. You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

Oh, I see where she’s coming from. I really do. But if this bitch doesn’t get up and walk away in the next five seconds, I’m about to throw some hands.

“Listen, Glory Hole—I mean, Goldie,” I said with a smirk. “You should go back to your desk now, before you say something I won’t regret reacting to.”

Goldie bursts out laughing and shouts, “You owe me a hundred bucks, Jared!”

Jared came out of his office, hands on his knees, cracking up. “Holy shit, Claire! I’ve never heard you talk like that. You went full ‘hold my earrings’ on her. I underestimated your baddie level. Here’s your hundred, Goldie. But you owe me fifty for Drew’s reaction.”

Goldie shook her head. “Uh-uh. I agreed with you that he wouldn’t even take a second look. And I was right. He called me into his office and said my shirt was inappropriate, then offered me one of his plain white tees.” She made a gagging face.

I stared at them, blinking. “Um… can someone explain what the hell is going on?”

Goldie stood up and dragged her chair back to her desk. “Oh, I’m as gay as they come, Claire Bear. Drew had refused to hire a woman to be his secretary, but Jared and I go way back—he used to be one of my best tippers at the bar. He hit on me once, and I gleefully told him to save his breath because we’d probably end up hitting on the same girl before the night was over. Honestly, I’m more likely to hit on you than Andrew. So Andrew agreed to let me work for him.”

I sat there stunned. “I’m sorry to be staring, but my gaydar is usually 99% accurate. I didn’t pick up on anything.”

Goldie nodded. “I get that a lot. Let’s just say I’m an equal opportunity lover—but so far, only the ladies do it for me.”

Jared piped in, “I knew she was a lesbian the moment she said I made her feel dead inside—libido-wise. No straight woman could resist all this.”

Goldie made a gagging noise. “Ugh. Ew, Jared.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and working. Jared and Goldie told me about their failed wingman adventures—how they’d try to help each other hook up, only to end up fighting over the same girl and going home alone.

As we shut down our computers and got ready to head to the bar, Drew stepped out of his office.

“Everyone heading out?” he asked, looking between me, Jared, and Goldie.

Goldie answered, “Yeah, we’re grabbing drinks and maybe some food. You wanna come?”

Drew looked at me and Jared. “Yes. If that’s okay with you guys.”

Jared walked up and slung his arm over Drew’s shoulders. “Of course you can come, bro. We’d be glad to have you.”

I nodded at Drew. He looked thinner, with dark circles under his eyes. He was having a hard time. Jared wanted that bond back, and maybe tonight could be a step in the right direction.