BooksBarbecue
Back First Comes Love
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

“As I’m sure you’re aware, I can’t discuss any details of the proceedings with the counterpart. You can expect to hear from us soon. Have a good day.” Indira ends the call and gives me the phone back. “Let the vermin squirm in fear for a little longer.”

Our eyes meet, and we collapse in a fit of laughter. We stop, try to remain serious, only to burst out worse than before. It takes Richard passing by and asking us what’s so funny for me to sober up. I give Indira a warning stare. I’d rather the boss didn’t know I’m so lame my ex sent me a confidentiality agreement about his affair.

Indira shrugs. “Girl stuff.”

I shrug as well, making an innocent face.

Richard shakes his head and moves along. “I suppose I don’t want to know.”

“Sage, boss,” Indira calls after him.

We share another secretive smile and get back to our respective jobs.

Since my center of gravity shifted to Brooklyn, this is the first time I’m glad for the forced change of scenery.

I can’t help but think my old colleagues would’ve been more snickering than supportive about my breakup with Gerard. Everything at Évoque was so competitive. All people thought about was who had the best job, clothes, boyfriend, house, vacations. No one would’ve had my back the way Indira did today. The bitches would’ve probably been happy my perfect lawyer boyfriend had ditched me. At Inceptor, I feel part of a family.

***

When the first editorial photo shoot of Saskia goes live, it’s an instant hit. In its first week, it gathers so many page views that I’m sure I’ll be able to pay rent this month. That five-percent commission didn’t turn out to be so bad after all. Anyway, one success—however big—doesn’t mean I can rest on my laurels.

“Do we have the budget to rent a car?” I ask Indira.

“Honey”—she detaches her gaze from her screen to fix me with a look—“after your Saskia Landon stunt, you can ask for a Ferrari.”

“Thanks, but a compact for the day is plenty.”

“That will do, too. Where are you going?”

“Cherry Hill, New Jersey.”

“What for?”

“I want to convince a big makeup house to sponsor a regular feature. I convinced Adam’s wife—the photographer for Saskia’s shoot—to video blog for us. She’s a YouTube tutorials star, and she’s agreed to work with me. Now we’re only missing some cool products for her to vlog about.”

“When do you need the car?”

“Tomorrow. Please make the pickup time as early as possible and in Manhattan, near my house. The drive to New Jersey will take at least two hours.”