"And who are you?" she raised her head.
"Edie Evans," she closed her eyes slightly in regret.
"Scratch that, I know who you are," I chuckled.
"It's okay, it happens to the best of us," I told her and she gave me a hug.
"Miss Evans, it's an honor to meet you," I chuckled.
"Yeah, please point me to Derrick's office. I don't want to be late on my first day," she pointed me to the right corner of the building.
"The last office on your right," I nodded as I walked towards Derrick's office.
I was walking down the hall with my 'I've done this for years' look when I knocked on the door.
"Edie Evans, no way," I blushed and gave him a hug.
"Derrick Thompson, my favorite human from college," he pulled me in for a hug.
"Thank you for accepting to come work for me," I chuckle.
"With the money you are offering, if you ask me to jump, I'm asking how high," he pressed a button on the intercom.
"Gina, get some coffee in here," I chuckle.
"This place is intimidating," I say as I finally take a seat.
"For you or for me?" We both giggle.
"For me, of course," he tilts his head to one side, staring at me from the corner of his eyes.
"Nope, not true. You're being too humble. A five-time best presenter of the year, four-time best talk show host of the year, or am I missing something?" I chuckle, scratching my line a little.
"Just the fact that I've been the best radio host of all time. No, you didn't miss anything," he chuckles.
"See what I'm talking about, Edie? It's an honor having you here," I flush.
"May I have the pleasure of giving you a tour of your new office?" he asked as we neared the expansive workspace. The room was adorned with towering windows and also adorned with stunning art pieces by Eva Tango, an artist I deeply admired.
"Well, this is certainly a sight to behold," he chuckled.
"I'm thrilled that you appreciate it. Feel free to make any alterations you see fit," he offered. There's already a vision of how I wanted to personalize the space danced in my mind, The first day had been a success.
Later that evening, I meet Tia in a nightclub in Soho, and we go dancing at the club; she informs me that Joey is bringing some buddies, and I resume dancing. Tia notices Joey coming in and yells into my ears above the screaming cacophony of two drunk men checking out women dancing. She returns with a two of males."Joey," I hurry along and hug him while we all talk loudly. Joey tells us they want to go somewhere else that isn't as noisy. We go to a pub."Edie Evans, thanks for finally moving here, I always knew Dylan guy was up to no good." I grin, it's been six months, at least I can joke about it now. We arrive at the new location, and I notice my handsome neighbour sitting on a stool by the bartender table. "look here Edie this is my friend Liam, I'm guessing you two met last night ?" I nod . "Hi, Liam," I say brightly as I twirl toward him. " Hello, Edie. How was your first day? "It was okay," I finally say, taking a seat. "this is Scott but we call him Scotty boy" We shake hands. "Conrad Is not here yet but he will soon be" I shook my head.Tia pulls me along while announcing to the other guys that we're going to the restroom .
We are in the ladies' room, she checks to make sure all the toilets are empty before she speaks.
"Edie, this is Men 101. Liam is a nice guy, he's got his life sorted out, he's looking to settle down, the kind of guy who is going to make a good husband. Meanwhile, Scotty is the life of the party, he has wealthy parents, he's always having fun, and oh, he has a baby mama. So, not quite the guy I want for you."Well, I'm not looking for anything serious right now, I haven't been with my rebound guy," she chuckles.
"That brings me to Conrad. Conrad is a whore, in simple terms, Edie. He's been with everyone you know, everyone I know, everyone in the whole of New York"
"He's fun, but he's not someone to take seriously," she says, and I can already see why I like him. "I know you usually go for the bad boys, but don't get too serious with Conrad because it will end up hurting you." I laugh. "Relax, I've had my fill of bad boys and players." "I'm looking for a nice guy like Liam, but first, I need to deal with my rebound guy," Tia said, feeling embarrassed. "I'm over the bad boys and the players. I really want someone good like Liam, but that will come after my rebound guy." We return to our table, and the guy from the studio is talking to Joey. "There she is, Edie! Edie, this is the one and only Conrad Howard," Joey announces as Scotty plays a drumroll. "Hi, Conrad," I say, feeling like I'm blushing. It's too bad he has such a reputation. "Hey Edie, didn't we run into each other at the Hot room this morning?" He reaches out his hand, and I shake it. "Yeah, you were that good-looking guy by the entrance. Oh no—I can't believe I just said that!" "So, Tia, Conrad was just telling me about being catfished," he says. Liam comes back with at least four bottles of beer. "Here you go, cheers to your first day at work!" I grab a bottle, and we all clink them together. "To new beginnings!" I reply, agreeing with Tia's words. "To new beginnings!" Our bottles clink together again before Tia drags me into the crowd. "This is our song!" I agree with a nod.
After an hour of at least three half-shots and four bottles of beer, I'm ready to head home and embrace my bed.