Undersold Read Online Free PDF Page B

mean?”
    “How’d you, like, make an app? And sell it?”
    I shrugged. “I worked hard, mostly. Some luck. It was lucky that the app was found by Adstringo and bought out. But mostly I didn’t do anything other than make the app.”
    “That’s not luck, Amy,” Jim said. “You’re the most talented person here. We all know it.” He was pretty drunk, and was leaning on the tabletop.
    “Thanks Jim. I try, I guess.” He was looking at me intently, in a way I didn’t recognized.
    “You guess? You’re amazing, Amy. You’re awesome. Sold an app, working for your dream company. Living the life. I think you’re amazing,” he said. He kept staring at me, and an awkward lull fell over the table.
    “Alright, I think it’s time to call it,” John said, breaking the silence, and patted Jim on the back. Darcy laughed.
    “What, I’m just sayin’,” Jim protested, but he let John stand him up.
    “I’ll get him home. You two clean up.” John led Jim outside and into the cool fall night. Darcy laughed again.
    “He has a huge crush on you, you know,” she said.
    “No he doesn’t, we’re just friends. And he’s my boss. Or was my boss.”
    It still hadn’t sunk in that I was no longer a minimum wage barista at a Swirl Café. I would never have to fill another coffee for a rude customer. I would never have to clean a spill or deal with impatient people. It was liberating.
    “Boss has nothing to do with it, that guy wants your sweet, sweet bod. Speaking of which, any hot men in your life right now?” Darcy was perpetually nosy when it came to my love life, even when that love life didn’t exist.
    I wanted to tell her about my texts with Shane, about figuring out who he was during the meeting earlier today, and about his weird admission at the end of our conversation at the bar, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I would leave out the bits about the sexy pictures and any details about the dirty messages, of course, but I wanted to describe his body, the way he looked at me, and the way it made me feel. But a large part of me knew that it wouldn’t be something he’d want. If he was as private as he said, and I thought he really meant it, then I shouldn’t tell anyone about what happened between us. Instead, I just shook my head. It was hard not to tell her, but I reassured myself with the thought that I’d fill her in when I could.
    “Nope, nothing special really.”
    “Seems like a shame to waste your youth working.” Darcy finished her drink, ever the party girl. She was smart and beautiful, but driven in different ways.
    “Not all of us an live the glamorous New York lifestyle, Darc.”
    “That’s so true, kiddo.” She laughed, and I felt like we were back in school.
    I smiled. “Let’s clean up.”
    Darc and I were like sisters in college. We were lucky enough to live together in the dorms our Freshman year, and we never looked back after that. In fact, the year I moved to Philadelphia was my first year living without her, and in a lot of ways my life felt emptier because of it. She always brought lightness and joy to everything she did, and it was something I desperately missed. Frankly, she knew how to party and to have a good time, but she wasn’t irresponsible. I had a tendency to overwork myself, to push myself to achieve my goals, and Darcy was good at evening me out. I was always more comfortable with my laptop alone in my room than I was with big parties.
    Just like she helped me loosen up, I think I helped keep her a little grounded, although she wouldn’t admit to that. I was jealous of her in a lot of ways, her long blonde hair, her thin waist, her green eyes. Boys died to be with Darcy, and I was always in her shadow, but I didn’t resent her for it. The pale brunette doesn’t always draw crowds, in my experience. It wasn’t her fault she won the genetic lottery and I was stuck looking as average as they come. I made up for all my faults in other ways, like an insane work