Stay by Paige Prince Read Free Book Online

chef’s hat every day, but I really liked wearing it down. Having it tied back all the time sometimes gave me a headache, and I didn’t want to go into a job interview with the beginnings of a migraine.
    Chewing on my bottom lip, I decided to add my lucky earrings to the outfit—my grandmother’s small diamond studs given to me by my mother when I graduated from college. As I turned to exit the bathroom, I tripped over my own feet and faceplanted on the floor.
    Please don’t let that be an indication of how today is gonna go.
    When I pulled myself back to my feet, I noticed the small slit in my skirt now extended almost all the way up the back. If a breeze blew on my way in the building or a fan happened to be running, everyone and their dog would be able to see my ass.
    I trudged back to my room and stripped off my beautiful pencil skirt to swap it out for slacks. I also kicked off the pumps in favor of more sensible flats. Since I never wore heels, I didn’t have much practice walking in them, and I was far less likely to break my neck walking across the room in these than in the death shoes. God only knew why I had them to begin with.
    Once I was redressed, I did one final check to make sure I didn’t have any random dirt smudges or tears in my shirt before I headed out the door. I knew I’d get there about thirty minutes early, but I believed showing up on time for anything was arriving late. My insistence on being at least fifteen minutes early to everything had driven Kaleb crazy.
    I guess a lot of things drove him crazy.
    Locking the door to my apartment, I shook my head. There was no damn reason to think about him. Ever.
    The drive to Mystique was only seven minutes, another reason for wanting to work there so badly. The drive to the main office of the Gazette had taken forty minutes with no traffic. And I never got off work in time to beat rush hour, so my drive home usually lasted anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the number of fender benders that day.
    I’d moved to a suburb of Houston to avoid the hassles of big city living, and that included the traffic headaches. So it figured my first move out of college would be to get a job downtown, smack-dab in the middle of the whole mess.
    When I pulled into a parking spot at Mystique, I sighed in relief. Seven minutes exactly, and I’d caught every light on the way. What a wonderful commute. Please, oh please, let me land this job.
    My phone chimed as I got out of the car, reminding me I needed to put it on silent mode before going inside. When I checked the message, I saw it was from Evan.
    Just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you. Good luck on the interview. I know you’re gonna nail it! See you in a few days. –EMR
    My face hurt with the ear-to-ear grin, but I didn’t mind at all. With one simple text, he’d managed to calm me down and give me the confidence boost I needed to go in and kick ass.
    Thank you. I needed to hear (read) that. Perfect timing. I’m about to go into the restaurant to meet with the manager.
    I glanced at my watch, wanting to make sure I stayed within the fifteen minutes early time frame. Then I did some mental calculating, tried it again, and finally gave up and asked Siri what time it was in Tokyo.
    What are you doing awake at 4:30am? That’s insanely early, even for you. Also, what’s the “M” stand for?
    The little dots popped up almost immediately, indicating his forthcoming response. According to my watch, I only had two minutes left before I had to walk in, so I hoped he’d type quickly today.
    You told me your interview was at 3:00. I wanted to wish you luck before you went in. Gonna go back to bed in a minute. And I’ll tell you the next time I see you. Better head in or you’ll be 14 minutes early instead of 15. ;)
    I rolled my eyes then remembered he couldn’t see me. Brat. I’ll talk to you later. Get some rest so you don’t get hurt tonight! :-*
    Setting my phone on silent and