Just Say Yes Read Free Page A

like “childish,” “dull,” and “conventional,” Quinn couldn’t help but apply every one of them to her life. She suddenly felt suffocated by all the things she’d never experienced because they were wrong, or against the rules, or dangerous. There was a whole world outside the confines of the office they all sat in. Its vibrant walls and trendy furniture made them feel hip when they were really just geeky posers who were able to string words together better than the average person. Suddenly, Quinn had an overwhelming need to feel deserving of the fuchsia Barcelona chair she was in. She wanted to belong in an office that had bright orange and lime green walls. A prudent, respectable girl didn’t belong here. A badass did. “I have an idea.”
    Everyone’s eyes swung to her, probably as shocked as she was to hear her voice.
    â€œWell?” Rita said impatiently.
    â€œI, um, was thinking that, um . . .” Quinn took a deep breath and organized her thoughts. Rita would never agree to the pitch Quinn was about to make if she couldn’t even get it out. “We should do a lifestyle column that focuses on doing things that people always wish they’d done but never
actually
had the guts to do.”
    Rita was silent for a beat as she seemed to turn the idea over in her head. “Like what?”
    â€œLike, uh, like . . .” Quinn hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Asking a stranger out on a date . . . breaking a law . . . things like that.”
    Everyone in the room was silent as they watched Rita think the pitch over. “I like it. You have until the end of July. Since everyone here seems to work at a snail’s pace, it should give you plenty of time to discover yourself before we need to go to print.”
    â€œWait—you want
me
to write it?”
    â€œIt was your idea, wasn’t it?”
    â€œYes, but—” Quinn stopped herself. It had come out as just an idea of something that she’d like to read about: how someone else took her life in hand and really lived it. She hadn’t considered being that person herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to be. Even though it scared the hell out of her. “Never mind. I’ll get started right away.”
    Rita gave her a curt nod before interrogating the rest of the group for viable articles.
    Which gave Quinn plenty of time to burrow back into her head and wonder what the hell she’d just gotten herself into.
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    Tim shoved his hands in his pockets as he got out of his truck and walked toward the white house with blue shutters that his brother had told him to look for. He was happy to be invited to Lauren’s parents’ house to celebrate the fact that Lauren had gotten her master’s in psychology.
    Withdrawing one of his hands as he approached the front door, he briefly wondered if he should just walk in, but decided against it before reaching out to ring the doorbell. Lauren’s mom had worked for Tim’s dad before he had died and Scott had taken over his medical practice. Therefore, he felt some level of formality was required.
    A small slightly round woman answered the door, smiling broadly.
    â€œHi, Mrs. Hastings.”
    â€œTim, I’m so glad you made it. And call me Pam,” she added with a wave of her hand.
    Tim nodded and entered the house when she pulled the door open wider. “Your home is beautiful.”
    â€œYou Jacobs boys are so polite. I’m not sure how either of you puts up with Lauren,” she replied with a laugh. “But thank you. Make yourself comfortable. The gang is all out on the back deck.”
    â€œThank you,” Tim said as he started for the back of the house. It wasn’t difficult to locate his brother; Tim heard his voice before he even reached the deck doors.
    â€œLo, if you don’t