The Secretary and Her Boss

Chapter 10

Bullets rained down. Well, not bullets, more like paintballs. And no rain—just paint splatters flung across the field like a kid going wild with finger paints. But based on the warrior cries and the groans of pain, it sure felt like a war zone—so long as said war zone was neon-colored. 

I stood at the edge of a large grass field, tall gray walls scattered throughout— places to hide, with tall, thick trees that cast long shadows across the terrain, making it harder to find your target. People ducked, ran, rolled, and sprinted from place to place, eyes glistening with menacing intent as they scanned for targets. 

As I watched a girl sprint for a nearby wall and get shot five times in the back before she tripped and fell face first into the grass, I began to regret my desire to attempt to get out of my comfort zone and make friends. 

There has to be an easier way to make friends... 

"LILY!" a familiar voice shouted. Bex seemed to drop out of a nearby tree, landing in a crouch before bounding out of the grass as she made a beeline for me, face bright with mischief. She didn't have a spot of paint on her. "You came."

"Yeah..." I said staring out at the paintball field again, growing nervous. "I... don't know about this."

Bex began to tug me toward the check in counter. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll love it!" Her attempt to sound as chipper as possible sent my heart racing. She was trying too hard and that left me wondering how battered and bruised this girls night was going to leave me. 

A flash of rainbow hair caught my attention as I finished pulling on a protective vest. The twenty two year old rainbow haired girl, with a bounce in her step came over to Bex, eyes on me. "This must be Lily," she said, holding out her hand, eyes bright. Unlike Bex, Rainbow Haired Girl had a splatter of paint across her chest. It was probably due to the fact that she was covered in neon colored clothing. It probably made her an easier target to spot.

She held out her hand. "I'm Em. I used to work with Bex at 'Pizza Nerd,' she said by way of introduction, shaking my hand warmly. "And you are Lily, Bex's roommate." 

"The one and only!" Bex said, slinging her arm around my shoulder with a smile. 

I knew exactly who Em was. Em Springs was an ex-gossip columnist, who had become famous over night for starring in a movie with her now boyfriend and movie star Luke Walker. But after the movie finished shooting, she changed careers and was currently an up and coming podcaster, diving into conspiracy theories. 

Bex talked about Em all the time, and I felt like I had far more information about her than was probably appropriate to admit for a first meeting. It made me feel like a stalker. 

"EM!" A woman with glistening black hair said, stomping out of the grass behind Em, her purple painted lips in a scowl. She was dressed in all black, war paint underneath each eye, an irritated expression on her face. She clearly took the game very seriously. "You can't just run away in the middle of a round!" 

This was another face I recognized. Lavender West was an actress, famous for her action adventure movies and was ex girlfriend to Luke Walker. The idea that she and Em were friends was something I couldn't wrap my head around. But then again, I spent all day staring at my crush, after three years of obvious rejection so I couldn't really judge. 

Em turned to look at Lavender with a snort. "I wasn't running. Cute that you think I'm afraid of you. Just meeting the new girl." 

Lavender turned to me, brow raised as she took in my nervous expression. Then her lips spread into a slow smile. "Ah. You've never played before, have you? I call dibs on her for my teammate."