“No!” Cleo shouted, throwing a pillow at Lola, who ducked so it landed behind her.
My phone sounded again, and we all jumped. I peered down, expecting more from Hayes. Instead, it was a number I didn’t recognize.
Hi Franny, this is Serena!!! Hayes gave me your number. I’d love to hop on a call to discuss possibly working together. I moved a couple of months ago and my apartment needs major tlc. I’m in a 2br right on Gramercy Park. Xoxoxo
“Oh boy,” I said with a big sigh, and read it out loud to my friends. She lived in one of the most exclusive parts of the city, where residents got a key to a private park.
“Wow, it’s like she has a sixth sense,” Cleo mused.
“This is crazy,” I said, unease settling in my bones. “What now—I’m going to make out with the guy she was dating and then also decorate her apartment?”
“I mean, yeah.” Lola gave me a confused look. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“Nope. No.” I shook my head. “This is who I’m supposed to follow in the Hayes Montgomery dating pool? A hot woman who can afford to live on Gramercy Park? I should have never kissed him.”
“I’m sure it’s family money. No one our age could afford that on their own,” Lola grumbled with a knowing eye roll as Cleo gave me a serious look.
“Franny, please don’t get in your head comparing yourself to her again,” Cleo said as she leaned closer. “He asked you to dance at the gala, remember?”
“Yeah, after she dumped him! I was probably some in-the-moment rebound.” I closed my eyes to think for a minute. My face was hot. I felt so foolish.
“Did I like kissing him? Yes,” I said finally. “But it feels like a mistake. And I have to be my own boss here, and boss Franny is saying a client/designer relationship is a no.”
“But a Hayes/Franny relationship is such a yes,” Lola said, hands in the air, as if it were obvious.
“I know we can’t tell you what to do…，” Cleo said.
“You can’t,” I interjected.
“But I think it’s a mistake not to pursue this with him,” she finished.
Lola nodded in agreement. “Also, we never even got to double-date,” she said with a pout.
“Obviously, you should do what you think is best,” said Cleo, sounding resigned. “And we’ll support you no matter what.”
“Great,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “I’m gonna nip it in the bud now.”
“Can we at least help you craft this text back to him?” Lola asked.
“Obviously,” I said, and we huddled around my phone.
Forty-eight minutes later, I hit SEND.
Hey! Happy to hop on the phone, or we could meet up tomorrow somewhere if you feel like coffee. Brooklyn Bridge Park?
I’d spent fifteen minutes debating a reply to his comment about being charming, but decided against it. Better to set up this boundary now. Even if it was cute. And charming. Which it was.
Damn it.
A couple minutes later, my phone rang: Hayes. “Oh my god, it’s him,” I whispered to my friends.
“Ooooh boy,” Lola muttered as she reached for the container of scallion pancakes at the same time as Cleo said, “Why are you whispering?”
I waved them off with my hand.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant and like I hadn’t spent almost an hour composing a two-sentence text with my best friends.
“Franny, hi,” Hayes said, and his gentle voice instantly hit a soft spot inside me.
“Hi,” I said again.
“I thought hopping on the phone might be easier?”
“Sure,” I said, my voice chipper. But I felt a twinge of disappointment that I wasn’t going to get to see him in person, which was not at all what I wanted to be feeling. I pushed it aside. Not now.
“Hayes, look. I’m sorry for being so wildly unprofessional last night.”
Oh god, I sounded absurd. And he sounded…quiet.
“It’s just that,” I said quickly, desperate to fill the awful, humiliating silence, “I think I should stick to being professional with you for now, if that makes sense.”
“Oh,” he said, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. And then, “Of course. I totally understand that.” His tone had shifted quickly. Now he was all business.
Was he relieved? I couldn’t tell. “Just ’cause, you know, I’m trying to focus on my work and business,” I added.