Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
“Eleanor, I’ve been at the studio over a month now.”
“Yes.” Was he going to ask for a raise?
“Aren’t we due for some kind of team outing?”
“You want a team outing?”
Back when I was still at Nyx Collective, I’d been dragged to a few of those.
Awkward small talk, limp appetizers, fake bonding.
I spent most of them calculating exit strategies.
So, no, I’d never thought about planning one for my own studio.
Prescott shrugged.
“Not an official outing or anything. There’s only three of us. But we’ve never grabbed dinner together. Feels weird, considering how well we get on.”
“Sure. Ask Priya when she’s free, and I’ll take you both out.”
He beamed.
“I’m on it.”
He bolted down the stairs, trainers slapping against the concrete.
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
Business had been non-stop lately.
The budget line from that affordable luxury collection had finally started trickling in.
Prescott’s timing wasn’t bad.
I could treat them to a meal and sort out bonuses while I was at it..
Two minutes later, he galloped back up.
“Priya says she’s free whenever. What about tonight?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You’re that eager?”
He scratched his head, still grinning.
“I’m just saying, if we wait, we’ll probably end up buried in deadlines again. Plus, you offering to pay? You’re absolutely going to forget by next week.”
“Charming,” I said.
“Fine. Tonight it is.”
I texted Sebastian to let him know, shut the place down early, and dragged my two favorite overachievers out for dinner.
We went to a seafood buffet that charged like it was fine dining.
It was pricey, but I didn’t care.
Plates piled high, crab legs cracking, butter dripping-we cleared the table like it was a sport.
Prescott kept throwing out stories that got progressively more ridiculous.
Priya laughed so hard she had to dab under her eyes with a napkin.
By the time we were picking through the dessert trays, Prescott piped up again.
“It’s still early. If I go home now, I’ll just end up scrolling till two. Let’s hit a bar. Couple of drinks, maybe live music. Helps with digestion, right?”
-I glanced at Priya.
She nodded.
Prescott clapped once.
“Great! I’ve got a place. Just opened, already viral online. Some influencer sings there, or something. Not far, either.”
“Fine,” I said.
“Lead the way.”
He dragged us to this quiet little spot tucked between a yoga studio and a frozen yogurt shop.
No neon signs, no queue, no bouncer.
A guy on stage was strumming an acoustic guitar barely amplified, voice low and slow.
We found a table near the back wall.
Dim lighting, soft cushions, decent air-conditioning.
I hadn’t sat down before Prescott was already halfway up again.
“I’ll grab drinks. Elean, can I order the expensive stuff?”
I leaned an elbow on the table.
“Order whatever you want. Just keep mine and Priya’s on the lighter side.”
“Got it.” He snapped a mock salute with two fingers.
“Sweet and overpriced. My specialty.”
He jogged off to the bar.
Right after he left, the music cut out.
Total silence for a beat.
Then the crowd burst into loud, scattered applause.
I looked up.
The guy with the acoustic guitar had left the stage.
A new one was already strapping on a matte black electric.
Skinny jeans, black jacket, studded leather boots.
Hair dyed silver, shaved close at the sides, slicked back on top.
The lights hit it like foil.
The first chord snapped out from the amp, sharp and fast.
The whole place shifted.
More bodies stood. More drinks spilled.
He jumped and danced on the spot as he played, grinning at the front row, voice rough but in tune.
I leaned forward.
I knew that face.
Cade Lawson. Yvaine’s boy.
Right, she’d said he played at a bar.
I just hadn’t expected this.
He looked exactly like the clips she’d sent me.
Same lean build. Same too-pretty face.
The lights smoothed out every flaw.
Not that he had many.
I raised my phone and snapped a photo, then sent it to Yvaine.
[Your BF can sing.]
Prescott returned to the table and sat down across from me and Priya.
“All sorted,” he said lightly.
“They’ll bring it over in a minute.”
“Why are you out of breath?” I asked.
“You look ke you’ve been jogging.”
“Do I?” Prescott ran a hand over his face.
“The bar’s crowded. I had to elbow a couple of guys to get my orders heard.”
On stage, Cade strummed his last note and gave a quick bow.
The crowd erupted.
“One more!” someone shouted.
Others echoed it, louder and louder, but Cade didn’t stop.