Company Ink by E.L. Lewis

t h r e e

No amount of RuPaul's Drag Race could have prepared me for what I experienced tonight. The entire bar was buzzing with positive and vibrant energy. During each performance, my mouth was hung open in awe of the skills these queens possess. From the extravagant outfits to the impeccable make-up, acrobatic finesse, and lip-syncing talent; for a full hour, I thought I died and went to entertainment heaven.

"Holy shit, Kai!" I yell over the thumping loud house music. "That was phenomenal! I didn't know you were so limber!"

Kai lets out a boisterous laugh. "Years of yoga, honey!"

Funny, I've been doing yoga for years myself and yet I can't do the splits standing up. I look over at Axel, my eyes still wide in amazement. "Your boyfriend blew my fucking mind!"

Monique and I met Axel and Kai a year ago at a social the University of Washington held for alumni. They were two of the best dressed attendees there, so I just had to go up and introduce myself. It's not every day that you meet people with the same love of runway fashion as you. We automatically hit it off and now they're two of my closest friends.

When Kai announced, he was going to enter an amateur drag queen competition, Mon and I were completely floored. Not because we didn't think he could do it, but because we were shocked, he wasn't already a star. Kai's got the energy of a thousand burning suns and the stage presence of a sassy Goddess. His drag queen name is Roxie Dart, inspired by Renee Zellweger's character in the movie Chicago. I think Kai's been wanting to explore this side of himself for a while but he works at a high-end brokerage firm, so I think he was nervous about his co-workers finding out. But seeing as three of his colleagues are sitting at our table, I'm thinking they're not as close-minded as Kai thought they were.

"I was pretty fucking great, wasn't I?" Kai laughs, handing everyone at the table a shot of vodka. "Cheers to me, I guess!"

We all down the vodka in unison. I've only spent twenty-five dollars tonight, which is an all-time record at Jux. I mean, I'm not as drunk as I'd like to be, but at least Monique isn't shooting me death glares.

"So, are you going to keep performing here? Or was this just a one-time thing?" Monique asks. Kai told us he has a bucket list with things he wants to do before he's thirty and I guess performing in drag was one of them.

"I had so much fun but holy crap, the amount of hours I spent rehearsing was insane! I don't think I have enough time to do this every week, not when I work like sixty hours a week," Kai explains.

A server stops by the table and hands me a cosmopolitan. I narrow my eyes in confusion. "I didn't order this," I inform her.

She nods towards the other side of the bar. "It's from the guy in the blue shirt."

"Oh," I hum, fluttering my eyelashes. ‘Guy in the blue shirt’ looks like the poster boy for a surf brand; messy blonde hair, tanned skin, and pearly whites that are blinding even from here. I pull out a scrap piece of paper from my purse, jot down my number and name, and hand it to our waitress. "You can give him this."

My friends stare at me as I take a slow sip of my idol Carrie Bradshaw's favorite drink. After I watched Sex in the City, I stocked up on Vogue magazines and overhauled my entire wardrobe. I'm not too sure how Carrie managed to live in a Brownstone and purchase Manolo's on her salary, but I guess it's fiction, so I try not to think too hard about it.

"Ooo," Axel sings, an infectious grin catching his Scandinavian features. Seriously, he looks like a clean-cut Viking. "Cassie's on the prowl."

"I'm not on the prowl, but I'm not going to turn down a potentially fun night with surfer boy Ken over there." I glance over briefly to check if he's still looking at me. He is. I flip my wavy hair in a flirtatious manner and smile at him.

"Wait," Kai frowns, popping a French fry into his dolled-up mouth. "Weren't you seeing that editor? What's his name..." Kai's eyebrows squeeze together. "Brody or something?"

"Yeah, but we broke up last week," I state casually. I met Brody when NVP hosted a private book signing for one of our authors. He was tall, cute, and funny and we dated for several months. He could do this thing with his mouth that should be borderline illegal, hell, it might be in Texas. It was going extremely well until he suggested that we move in together. Who moves in together after six months of dating? "He got a little too...attached, so I had to cut the cord."

Monique rolls her eyes. Oh, here we go. "Wow Cassie, with the amount of cords you cut, people might start mistaking you for an obstetrician."

Rude!

"I resent that!" I exclaim. Axel and Kai snicker behind their pints of lager. I glare at them. Traitors! "It's not like I date these guys knowing I'm going to break up with them, okay? It's just, something usually comes up, and then I stop feeling it. Am I supposed to drag out a relationship when my heart's not in it anymore? Huh?"

"I agree with Cass," Axel jumps in. "If she were a guy, no one would bat an eye." He smirks at me, clicking his drink against mine. "You do you, girl."

"Thank you! At least I have one friend here," I joke. Axel's usually on my side whenever Kai and Mon go all Dr. Phil on me. He and I have a very similar outlook on life; live it!

"Okay, but one of these days you're going to have to put in the work. Relationships aren't always smooth sailing, sometimes you'll hit choppy water," Monique says in a philosophical tone.

"Good thing I stick to boating on lakes," I laugh, my martini glass vibrating along. "Much calmer waters and far less work."

Monique is about to say something when Kai lets out a long, exaggerated gasp. "Oh my God, I almost forgot!"

"What?" I ask, mentally thanking Kai for cutting Monique's moment of wisdom short. She and I have been friends for nearly ten years, whatever she was going to say, I've most likely heard it before.

"I saw your tweet earlier. You lost your job, right?" Kai asks, digging around his wallet. "Here." He hands me a business card. "My sister works in HR at a firm downtown, and she's been complaining for weeks that they can't find someone to cover a six-month maternity leave. Apparently, it's hard to find someone for a short-term position. Send her your resume, Nadine will hire you on the spot."

I whip my head and toss my skeptical roommate a triumphant smirk. "See? Twitter! It works!" I look down and read the business card. My smirk fades into a deep frown. "It's a law firm? I didn't know they had Event Coordinators."

"Oh, the position is for a Personal Assistant to one of their Senior Associates," Kai clarifies. "Basically, you'd handle their calendar, schedule meetings, and do general admin shit." I give Kai a questionable look. He seems to know a lot about this job. "I have a PA, that's what she does for me."

"I guess working at a law firm could be fun. I wonder if I'll get to tag along and interview witnesses." A wave of excitement washes over my body. "Oh my God, I could be like Rachel from Suits!"

"Honey, this isn't a criminal law firm. It's corporate law. Like mergers and acquisitions?" Kai laughs. "Plus, Rachel was a paralegal not a PA, big difference."

"Oh..." I huff in disappointment. "Mergers and acquisitions? That sounds so dry."

Monique grabs the card out of my hand and pulls out her phone. "Cassie, it's a job that's available right now. Who cares if it's dry? It's only six months. You can look for a job in events while you're working there," Mon says, not looking up from her phone. What is she searching? "This is actually perfect. You can take your time finding a job you really love, and you'll be taking home a paycheck. It's a win-win."

I bite my lip as I think. "I suppose I can survive six months. How hard could being a PA be?" I turn to Kai. "Is there a lot of spreadsheets involved? ‘Cause I'm not the biggest fan of Excel."

At NVP, I would manage our timelines and budget, but I had our junior coordinators input all the numbers and account information. I know how to do it myself, but I find the task so monotonous. One time we had a girl go on sick leave, so I had to do all the entries myself, and by Friday I was convinced I had carpal tunnel.

Axel and Kai chuckle. "I'm not sure how it works in a law firm but yes, my assistant does a lot of data tracking for me," Kai answers. "Honestly, Cass you should just do it. Nadine can probably interview you over Skype tomorrow, that's how desperate they are."

"Hey, Kai?" Monique asks slowly, her eyes still glued to her phone. "What's the name of the lawyer Cass would work for?"

"Uh..." Kai stammers, looking sideways. I can see the gears spinning in his head. "I think it started with an ‘A’? I remember the last name sounded kind of Spanish."

"Does the name Adrian Cavallero ring a bell?" Mon asks, her eyes growing wide and a knowing grin forming on her face.

What is going on?

"Yeah, that sounds familiar," Kai confirms. "Why?"

Monique laughs. "Cassie, I think you're gonna wanna see this." She holds out her phone. "I don't think this job's going to be dry."

"What?" I grab the device. She's on the Pearson & Associates website on the 'Meet the Team' tab. A few profiles have no pictures but the one she's zoomed in on is...holy shit. My jaw drops. This is how lawyers look these days? No fucking way. Adrian's sexy deep brown eyes stare at me through the screen. His mildly dark complexion and pristine bone structure force me to lean in closer, my face mere inches away from the screen. "How does his hair look messy yet totally styled?" I mutter to myself. "This must be photoshopped."

Axel yanks Monique's phone out of my hand. "Well, hello there daddy!" He coos, his eyes wide as mine. "Look, babe." He tilts the phone towards Kai.

"Oh my God!" Kai laughs. "You are so taking this job. Because if you don't, I will."

Axel smacks Kai's shoulder and pouts. "Excuse me!"

Kai rolls his eyes. "I'm joking, I'm joking." He nudges Axel playfully. "You know I only date blondes!"

"Okay, enough gawking boys. Give me back my phone." Kai hands Mon back her iPhone. "So?" Monique asks me, a smug smile on her face. "Are you going to send Nadine your resume?"

"Send it?" I chuckle. My mind still frazzled from the gorgeousness of ‘lawyer man’. "I'm going to hand-deliver that shit. What's your sister's address, Kai?"

"Okay, real talk for a second," Monique interjects. "If you get the job, you know you can't actually sleep with him, right?"

"I know that," I lie. They don't need to know what happens behind closed office doors.

"Cassie, I'm serious," she says. "You could get fired."

"Jesus Monique, I'm not even hired yet and you're already talking about me getting fired. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I can keep it in my pants, you know?"

"Oh honey, but what about on the days you wear skirts?" Axel quips, smirking.

"Wow," I say in a drawn-out breath. "Nice to know that you think I'm a slut."

"You're not a slut babe, but you're also not a nun," Axel laughs. "Don't worry, I'll pray for you."

"Me too," Kai chuckles. "May the chastity gods be with you."

"Thanks for that," I scowl, turning my head to Monique. "Anything you'd like to add to this week's roast? Hmm?"

Monique's eyes crinkle as she tries not to smile. God, my friends are dicks. "No, I think Kai and Axel covered it all."

A server brings over four shots of whatever Kai ordered when I wasn't paying attention. "To Cassie! May her legs stay closed!" Axel jokes, holding his shot up in the air.

"To Cassie!" Kai and Monique shout in unison and down their drinks.

I reluctantly take my shot. "You guys suck," I murmur.

"We do," Kai agrees with a cheeky grin. "You just have to remember not to!"

I need new friends.