“I saw the photos of Robert.”

Jules sat at her desk with a heavy sigh. “Okay, it’s shitty. She took it on the chin, though.”

“She always does.”

Jules fought down a silly, warm tingle of pride. “Yeah, she does.”

Simon gave her a long look, but all he asked was, “So everything went okay, assistant-wise?”

She was catapulted back to the night Simon had interrogated Jules about Vivian’s pregnancy. Vivian had asked Jules why Simon would do such a thing. Jules had said it was because Simon trusted her.

Simon could trust Jules to be loyal to Vivian. He should appreciate that. Weren’t they both on Vivian’s side, after all?

“It was fine,” she said. “She kept me busy with work.”

“Work and the New Year’s ball at the Dorchester. Did you follow her around taking notes?”

“Mental ones, yeah.”

“Jules. It is insane that she took you.”

“She needed a plus-one! Robert—”

“It. Is. Insane.”

They glared at each other.

“I’m an assistant,” Jules said. “Don’t worry. I got the message loud and clear.”

Simon sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I’m not bashing you or implying—hell. It’s just weird. I know Vivian has her whims and it’s not up to mere mortals to question them. And I know you were just doing your job.”

Yeah. My job. That’s all it was, Jules reminded herself. Straight from the clotheshorse’s mouth. Stop being stupid.

Luckily, she knew a welcome change of subject. “Oh, hey! Guess what? I submitted an article for The Cut that got accepted. You know that column ‘I Think About This a Lot?’”

“I do.” Simon’s eyes lit up with genuine interest. “That’s great. What did you write about?”

“Working Girl. Sigourney Weaver and Melanie Griffith’s characters bonding. And don’t look at me like that.”

“Why would I look at you like anything? An ingenue bonding with her cold-blooded boss. Doesn’t ring a bell at all.”

Did Simon think Jules had written a veiled version of her own dynamic with Vivian at Du Jour? How ludicrous. It was totally different! For one thing, Melanie had fallen for Harrison Ford, not Sigourney. For another thing…

Jules would come up with the other thing later. “If you’re implying I wrote about myself, you’re wrong. You should rewatch the movie.”

“With Harrison Ford in his prime? Twist my arm. When’s your column coming out?”

“Two weeks. I’m about to make the edits and send it off.”

“I look forward to reading it.” Simon tilted his head to the side. “Congratulations. A first step. So what’s your second?”

Jules groaned.

It earned her a finger wag. “You can’t slow down,” Simon warned. “Not yet. Chase that dream.”