Perfect for You

fallout from her parents' accident that Anna would never have to compromise her dreams like she'd had to.
    That meant she had to produce a kick-ass design.
    In the pit of her stomach she felt a spasm of worry. She'd been off her game—she'd never felt such an utter lack of creativity.
    She grabbed the notebook and opened it to her ad. She crossed it out and wrote
     
    Artist in trouble. HELP.
     
    The office door reopened and her best friend Evangeline poked her shiny blond head in. "You still alive in here?"
    Freya slapped the notebook shut. "For the time being. Did you hear your dad?"
    "Me and everyone else in the office." Eve closed the door and perched on the desk's corner. "I was just happy it was you and not me for a change."
    "Why do you let him treat you like that?" She shook her head. Charles loved Eve, but it was tough love. "He may be your boss but he's your father too. If you stand up to him, he'll respect you more."
    "I don't want him to respect me. I want him to leave me alone." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Besides, you're the fiery one. You stand up to him enough for everyone. Except for today."
    "I'm not fiery, and today was just strategic." Everyone assumed that just because she had cinnamon red hair she had a temper to match. Not true. Not that much, anyway.
    "Strategic?"
    "I didn't want to aggravate him any more than he was."
    "Hmm." Eve gazed at her like she didn't believe her. Then she picked up one of the discarded printouts. "Did you do this mockup?"
    "Yes," Freya answered cautiously.
    "It doesn't look like it."
    "What does it look like?"
    "Boring."
    "It's just a mockup." She stretched to take the paper, crumpled it, and tossed it at the trashcan.
    Eve leaned forward and picked up the notebook. "Interesting sketches."
    Freya groaned. "Give that to me. I was just messing around."
    "By drawing porn?" Her friend frowned as she flipped pages, faint parentheses lining the space between her eyebrows. " Artist in trouble ? Are you writing a personal ad?" she asked in a hushed voice.
    "Why are you whispering?"
    "I wouldn't put it past Dad—I mean, Charles to bug the place."
    Freya rolled her eyes. "Your dad is megalomaniacal but he's not that far gone."
    "Did he or did he not threaten to fire you?"
    "You heard that too?"
    "Everyone heard. He's a beast. Especially given how he knows you're paying for Anna's college and can't afford to lose your job. I'd call him something worse but it'd be too disrespectful." She tapped the notebook. "But let's get back to this."
    "It's nothing. A moment of insanity."
    "If it's nothing, why are you blushing?"
    "I'm not," she said even as she felt her face burn hotter.
    "Right."
    Eve stared at her with a narrowed gaze that was too much like Charles's for comfort. Then she said, "I have ways of making you talk."
    "It's really nothing." Freya sighed. "I had the fleeting thought that if I found someone who made me feel like a sex goddess I'd be able to channel that newfound sexuality into the design for Sin City."
    "And to find a sex slave you decided to do a personal ad?"
    "I didn't say anything about a sex slave, and I haven't decided anything."
    "Well, it's brilliant."
    Freya blinked. "Excuse me?"
    "It's brilliant. It's an inventive solution to a problem. You'll find a guy who'll help you get your sexy back so you can design something sensual and creative." She nodded. "It's just what you need. How long has it been since you've played footsy with a guy? The last one was Brad."
    Brad. She sighed. "He was a good kisser."
    Eve made a face. "He was boring. I rejoiced the day you broke up with him. You yourself said he didn't excite you."
    True. She'd liked Brad, but once he proposed to her she'd realized she couldn't spend her life with him. Something was missing. Sometimes she was afraid the something that was missing was her.
    "You know what you need?" Eve leaned forward, her gaze intense. "You need spicy."
    "Spicy gives a person indigestion."
    "You used to love spicy." She tapped the notebook. "Do the personal ad. It's the answer."
    "It was only an idea in a second of desperation."
    Eve shook her head. "No, it's a creative solution to a problem. It's old Freya shining through. It's exactly what I'd do in your place."
    "Yes, but you have a habit of coming up with crazy schemes that backfire. Like that time you and I went to Napa for a day at the spa—"
    "I just wanted to see what tipping a cow was like. How was I supposed to know that guy was out patrolling his