Page 4 of The Law of Attraction
Adam Cortinas could shove his reference and his attitude straight up his Grade A Prime ass.
Chapter Two
Olivia sat cross-legged at one end of the couch in her best friend Penny’s Culver City apartment.
It was similar to Olivia’s apartment in Santa Monica, only three times nicer, thanks to Penny’s neat streak and flair for decorating. Whereas Olivia’s apartment was cluttered with multiple craft projects in progress, old mail, baskets of laundry that would probably never be folded, and the spoils of her last Target trip still waiting to be put away, Penny’s place was always tidy and immaculate, from her perfectly fluffed matching throw cushions to her dish-free kitchen sink.
The first thing Olivia had done after her encounter with Adam in the break room was send Penny an SOS text to let her know she’d be needing some wine and BFF therapy tonight after work. Penny worked from home as a patent examiner, so by the time Olivia showed up at her apartment door that evening, she was ready and waiting with not only a bottle of rosé, but also a batch of freshly baked cookies.
Penny was truly the best of best friends.
Over a plate of her favorite sea salt chocolate chip cookies, Olivia blurted out the whole humiliating saga of her conversation with Adam.
“I can’t believe he said no!” Penny exclaimed when Olivia was done. “What kind of person says no to something as simple as giving a reference?”
“Apparently this guy,” Olivia said around a mouthful of cookie.
“I thought the rule was that you just sucked it up and tried to write something generically nice no matter how you actually felt. I mean, maybe you could plead that you don’t have time if you really don’t want to do it. But to flat-out refuse because you don’t think someone’s worthy? Only a sociopath would come right out and say that.”
“Thank you for validating my outrage.”
“Have another cookie.” Penny pushed the plate toward Olivia as she leaned forward to top off both their wineglasses. “I’m right, aren’t I, Caleb?”
Penny’s boyfriend looked up from the cookie sheets he was hand-washing in the kitchen. “You’re asking the wrong guy. I’ve never written a reference in my life.”
Ever since Caleb had moved in with Penny last year, he’d become a de facto participant in Olivia’s BFF therapy sessions too.
It had taken some time for Olivia to get used to Caleb being a fixture in her life. The last guy Penny had dated hadn’t really been around all that much—because he’d been cheating on her, it had turned out—so he’d never gotten in the way of their one-on-one BFF time.
But when Caleb came into Penny’s life, everything had changed. He wasn’t anything like Penny’s shitty last boyfriend. He was nice, for one thing, and treated her like she was a queen and he was her loyal subject. The two of them were pretty much inseparable. But also, Caleb actually seemed to like Penny’s friends and enjoy spending time with them.
Which was sweet, but also a little weird for Olivia sometimes. It meant he was suddenly a part of everything. Olivia didn’t get Penny to herself anymore. It was always Penny and Caleb. Together. A matched set.
Which was great. Good for them. It was just…for years, Olivia had been the number one person in Penny’s life, and now Caleb had come along and usurped her position.
She wasn’t bitter though. At least, she was trying really, really hard not to be bitter. Caleb made Penny happy, and Penny deserved to be happy. You’d have to be a real festering shitbag of a human being to be resentful over your best friend’s romantic happiness.
Caleb was a great guy, which was all that really mattered. Olivia genuinely liked him, but more importantly, she liked the way he treated her friend.
“I’m right,” Penny said, turning back to Olivia. “That guy’s a dick.” Penny hardly ever swore, so her calling Adam a dick meant she’d gone full-on angry mama bear.
“I can go kick his ass if you want,” Caleb offered casually. He could probably do it too. He was even more muscular than Adam, and he’d grown up in a military family with two brothers, so he probably knew how to throw a punch.
Penny shot a disapproving look in her boyfriend’s direction. “No one’s kicking anyone’s ass. Even if he is a big, honking jerkface.”
“It’s very sweet of you to offer though,” Olivia told Caleb. “You’re like the big brother I already have, only much nicer.”
Her own brother had never once risen to her defense, even when they were kids. When Cody Briggs had called her a booger-eater on the playground in second grade and teased her until she’d cried, her brother had laughed along with his fourth grade friends, then told her she needed to grow up and fight her own battles.
Olivia would trade her brother for Caleb in a hot second. But she’d also probably trade her brother for a handful of fake magic beans and an expired Bed Bath & Beyond coupon.
Penny reached for her wineglass and looked at Olivia. “Who else can you ask for a reference? I’m sure there are loads of other people who would be happy to do it.”
“I don’t know.” Olivia couldn’t stand the thought of extending herself all over again. She wouldn’t be able to deal with another rejection. Her soul would probably depart her body, leaving the empty husk of her earthly vessel behind to crumble into dust, and it didn’t seem fair to make the janitorial staff clean that up.
“It won’t be this bad the next time,” Penny said, reading her mind.
“Yeah, because maybe there won’t be a next time.”
