16 Spilling Tea

"Oh, that kind of tea," I laugh. "Well, I did hear one thing. You were promoted to COO. Congratulations."

Dex smiles, but I can tell it is loaded with a variety of emotions. "Was Lawson the one who told you?"

"Oh, uh… yes. I heard it from someone else before him, though. Word obviously gets around fast." It's meant to be lighthearted and honest—a simple fact that everyone knows. There is a lot of office gossip. But then Dex looks at me again with his full attention and pauses like he is searching for the right words, weighing them carefully, and I wonder if I haven't said something wrong.

"I have just gotten here, but I want you to know something. I have worked with my brother before." He sighs, still searching for the right words it seems. "How long have you been here?"

"A few months."

Dex nods and grimaces before rubbing his chin. "Be careful." He squints as he says it like he's immediately apologizing.

"Be careful?" I repeat like I have no idea what he's referring to. Meanwhile my mind is going in so many directions. The date… the favor…

"He has a reputation with… women." He glances at the door connecting their offices. "I love him dearly. I just don't want to see you hurt. If it's not too late already…"

I shake my head quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "No, we don't… I have never…"

And then he gives me a look, one eyebrow arched, that indicates he knows more than I realize. "He just gave you his number though, didn't he?"

My mouth opens to form a response, but it can't think of anything. He must have seen the scribbled number on the back of Lawson's business card before I hid it.

Dex chuckles at my reaction. "I have no business in my brother's romantic life, but I feel like I should just warn you now. Don't date Lawson. He will never be serious about a woman from work."

There's a polite smile that forms on my face as a default response—like what your face does when it doesn't know what else to do and you're in a professional setting—but a cascade of so many things are happening behind this facade of mine. I didn't expect Lawson to be serious with me, but… but I was going to go on a date with him Friday before all of this happened, wasn't I? And what if I had slept with him? And then what if I did form feelings… only to be crushed at a later time? Dex arriving here and this fake assistant position opening up saved me from that.

My sister was right. Lawson was probably just planning on using me to sleep with until this other opportunity presented itself to use me.

"Thank you," I say softly and look at my feet. "I hadn't heard anything like that about Mr. Lawson."

"He has non-disclosure agreements with dozens of women, I'm sure," he mumbles. "Please, don't tell anyone I said that," he adds, glancing up at me again. "I probably shouldn't have even told you, but… like I said, you seem familiar." He smiles then—probably at how ridiculous it sounds. That kind of ridiculous I can definitely identify with.

"You seem familiar too." It comes out before I can even think to stop it. That was never something I intended to confess. But Dex doesn't question it, only gives me a crooked smile and nods like he suspected it all along.

"Perhaps we knew each other in a past life," he offers.

A deeply rooted truth seems to be plucked by that suggestion, and it resonates in my chest, calling to attention all the possibilities that something like that would offer. I don't believe in multiple lives, but if I did… that would certainly bring all of this mystery together in a satisfying way. The dreams. The familiarity that we both share. It actually makes more sense than coincidence or group hysteria. We just… knew each other in a past life. That's all. Simple. No big deal.

"Well in this life, how do you like your coffee? Or your tea?"

"Are there different options for coffee?" He leans back in his chair again.

"Sure. We get whole beans from a local roaster called Moxie, and it's really great. This week the blonde roast is 'Morning Paradise' and is made with dried cranberry, pineapple and molasses. The medium is called 'Wilder' and has pomelo, rose petal, and peach. And the dark roast, which actually tastes more medium to me, is 'Modern Explorer' with clementine, red apple, and honeycomb."

"Wow, that is a lot more information than I anticipated," he chuckles. "I think you could sell it well. What did I have yesterday?"

"Wilder, the medium. It's a pretty safe bet, and I forgot to ask you prior. It's usually flavorful enough that milk or creamer or anything really spoils it, in my opinion. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes, it was good." He smiles, and I swear I could just get lost in that smile… especially with those dimples that are so unfair. Anyone with dimples has an advantage. They can appear sweet even when they aren't, but I get the sense that with Dex it isn't an act. I would hate to be wrong though… just like I was wrong judging Lawson. "Let's try the blonde roast. What was the name?"

"Morning Paradise," I say with a small tilt of my head.

He has a small chuckle at that—for what exactly, I don't know, but I feel my cheeks warming.

"Yes, that one."

"Okay," I nod and turn to leave.

"Why don't you bring a coffee for yourself too, and we can figure out what this position of yours is all about."

"Sure."

When I return with the two mugs, Dex gestures toward the chair across from him for me to have a seat. We both take a sip, staring at each other over top of the mugs and the steam until I glance away.

"How is the advertising for Moxie? I don't recognize the name."

"They just started up. As far as I know, they do self-advertising on social media."

"Have you considered doing some mock ads for them?" He sets his mug down and glances at his laptop. "You have a marketing portfolio from college, right?"

"Yes. It's small," I smile sheepishly.

"Well now is the perfect time to add to it. Do you have a website for yourself? Do you do photography?"

"I did have a website," I grimace. "I couldn't afford to maintain it after I graduated. Not yet anyway. And I've done a bit of photography. I really enjoy it. I just don't have that much experience."

"If you want to be on a creative team here, the best thing you can do right now is add to your portfolio and get your website up again. We're paying you for this internship, I hope."

"It is paid," I say slowly. Barely paid.

"But you're not paid much?" He asks, seeming to read my thoughts.

"It's… no, it's fine. The experience is so worth it." I don't want him to think I'm ungrateful at all.

"Well, experience getting coffee and sitting outside my office is not what you're looking for. I'll take a look and see what we can do about giving you a raise. After all, you've moved into a new position, and the new COO is counting on you to help him keep on task," he winks. We both know he doesn't need me to help him do that.

After typing away for a few moments, his eyes go wide and he looks back at me. "Auraya, on behalf of Möbius Media, I apologize for starting you at such a low salary. Not to undermine whoever hired you…"

Laurel, I grumble in my mind.

"It's a little ahead of your ninety day eval, but I can do 50% for now. Give me some time to work on more."

"Fifty… fifty percent?" As in a 50% raise? My mouth drops open.

"For now, though I am sure I can get you more… especially if we have you on track to transition into creative. I can't imagine what you're making now is even a living wage."

"Th-thank you, Mr. Dex."

"Instead of worrying about answering calls for me, why don't you work on developing ideas for Moxie? If what you create is good, we can run something by the creative team in the future. You'll want to have a good sense of the culture at Moxie and the presence they are trying for online."

"Of course." I'm sitting straighter in my chair, suddenly so excited about the prospect of doing something I actually enjoy while I'm at work.

"Do you have something to take notes with?" He asks, reaching for his bag like he is already anticipating the answer.

"Laurel said there is a laptop coming for me today…"

"Excellent. That will be helpful. You definitely need one of those," he chuckles. "Here, you can use this for now."

Dex slides a small black notebook across the desk, and I almost spit out my coffee. It's the exact same moleskin notebook that I have in my drawer at home. By my bed. The one that has every single detail of every single dream that I've had the past eighteen nights.