Normally, a workday spent offsite with AJ would have been fun. Even though they had a ton of work to do, she was doing it with one of her best friends. Today was hard. She just couldn't focus. Her mind kept drifting back to what Tiffany had said. As much as she hated that bitch… she was sort of right. Em had no idea what she was doing with Quentin Blake, but she knew it wasn't sustainable long term. It wouldn't be long before Quentin had to cut it off so he could be in a real relationship with someone on his own level. If it wasn't Tiffany then it would be some other supermodel nepo baby. If it was going to end anyway, why not end it now.
"What's eating you?" AJ asked. They had stopped for lunch at some sandwich place after spending all morning running around looking for a public-friendly conference space that was available next week. After checking out five spots, it was starting to feel impossible.
"I'm okay. Just thinking. It would be ridiculous to hold it outside, right?" AJ thought about it.
"Not completely ridiculous, especially if we could lock in a highly trafficked outdoor space downtown. But it would be a damn miracle if we did. We'd also have to take the weather into consideration."
"Let me see if anything's available." Em turned to her laptop, and AJ did the same.
She was pulled away from her work by a loud crash. Em turned to see a little girl standing frozen in front of a man in a bespoke suit. Tom Ford? That wasn't important. The girl had apparently stumbled, spilling her hot chocolate all over the floor and leaving several noticeable spots on the man's shirt. Em leapt to her feet. There was broken glass all over the place, and the kid was wearing sandals. She looked around, but it didn't look like her parents were around.
"I'm so sorry…" The girl was looking up at the man, her eyes full of tears. Em knelt down next to her.
"It's completely fine. Don't worry about it. Are you okay?" The man said. Em would have thrown an actual fit if he got mad at this child. The girl shifted.
"Sweetheart, could you take a step back?" Em guided her away from the glass. She took a step back and stumbled again, reaching out to Em for balance. Em let the girl lean on her shoulder, and looked down at her feet. She had a small cut from where the glass must have nicked her, but Em was more concerned about the redness emanating from her heels. "Do you mind if I pick you up?" The girl shook her head, so Em picked her up and sat her down at the table with AJ. She knelt down again and removed the girl's shoes. There were lines pressed in everywhere the sandal straps were, and big angry welts at the back of both her heels.
"Ouch." said Em. AJ handed her bag down to her. "I've got something that can help you, I think." She dug through her bag and pulled out her mini first-aid kit. She opened up a disinfectant wipe. "This will sting a little bit, but it will make sure you don't get sick later." The girl nodded.
The man knelt down next to her. Em hadn't even noticed him following them over here.
"What's your name, kid?" He asked. He gave Em a quick nod. This would be a lot easier if she was distracted.
"Emma," The girl said.
"Oh, cool!" Em smiled at her. "My name is Em! We're like twins!"
"Your name is Em?"
"Well, it's a nickname, but yeah." She finished disinfecting the girl's cut and turned her foot a bit, to make sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere else.
"I always wanted a nickname, but my name is too short."
"Well, nicknames don't always have to be shorter. You could add something to it."
"Like what?"
"Hmm… Emmalicious?"
"What? No!" Emma giggled.
"Emma-tastic? Emma-ceptional?" Em pulled out some cloth bandaids.
"Emma-zing." The man chimed in. Emma giggled even more.
"Emmagical."
"Oh, god no." The man laughed.
"Do you have a nickname, mister?" Emma asked.
"I do! It's Dom, short for Dominic."
"That's a cool name." Emma said.
"You're all bandaged up. I think I have some socks in here…" Em rifled through her bag and found a pair of white ankle socks. She pulled them onto Emma's feet, covering all the lines and bandages.
"I think I can loosen those shoes up a bit." Dominic said, picking the sandals up off the floor.
"That would be perfect." Em smiled at him. He fiddled with the buckles and straps for a bit, and then put the sandals on over her socks.
"Are you comfortable?" He asked. Emma nodded. Cautiously, she slid out of her chair. When she was certain she could stand without pain, she walked over to where an employee was clearing the shards off the floor.
"I'm really sorry." She looked at the ground. The employee smiled.
"Don't worry about it, kid. But shouldn't you head back to your mom?"
"Oh, yeah." Emma looked at the clock, gasped, and ran out of the room.
"Hey, wait!" Em called after her, but she was already gone.
"She's fine." The employee said. "Her mom works right upstairs."
"Oh, good." Em breathed a sigh of relief. She had her mom. She would be okay. She turned to look at the man - Dominic - who was only now paying attention to the state of his shirt. It wasn't a terribly large stain, but it was obvious, and it had already dried. Dominic seemed… mildly annoyed. "You're awfully calm."
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked.
"Because that shirt costs at least a grand. It's Tom Ford, right?"
"Yeah, it is. Are you interested in fashion?"
"I only know a little. Enough to know that your suit is expensive as hell, though." She looked over at AJ. "Do you still have my Tide pen?"
"Oooh, yeah I think so." AJ started digging through his backpack.
"You're ready for anything, I see." Dominic said.
"Yeah, I'm a real boy scout."
"... what?"
"You know, 'Always be prepared'"
"Honestly, I was never a boy scout."
"Me neither." Dominic laughed. Not one of those polite chuckles but a real, honest laugh. Em couldn't help but smile. AJ poked her with the Tide pen.
"I've got a lead on a venue I want to pursue, but why don't you go help him clean up his shirt." AJ winked at her, crunching up half his face in the process. He was not even a little bit subtle. Em rolled her eyes… but she did want to help him. She was an expert stain-remover, after all.
"I could help, if you're comfortable with that. I used to be really clumsy, so I'm good at getting rid of stains." She briefly wondered if she was making herself sound incredibly lame.
"If you're okay with it, I would really appreciate that." He smiled. "There's a sink in the family bathroom."
"Oh, perfect." Em took the pen and headed to the bathroom.