“What?”
“Nope. It’ll be a surprise.”
“You’re a tease. Goodnight, Ryan.”
The line went dead before he could admit the secret Iz had figured out.
I love you.
thirty-nine
one gigantic nerd
On Sunday, Elissa did PowerPoint. All freaking day.
Her eyes hurt, her back hurt, and her head hurt by dinner on Sunday, but the PowerPoint brief for Karina was complete, fancy slide transitions and everything. Her boss was champing at the bit after being gone for weeks. And Elissa wanted nothing more than to hand over the responsibility so she could spend time with Ryan without the guilt weighing on her.
The presentation was a beautiful thing. The only application she liked better than PowerPoint was Excel.
“Nerd.” Jules’s voice pulled her into the present.
“What?”
“You’re staring at the presentation like it’s the second coming of Jesus. You, lady, are one gigantic nerd.”
Her friend handed her a glass filled with pink wine, her favorite.
“But you love me anyway.” She sipped the wine, slightly sweet and utterly refreshing after spending her entire day off hunched over the computer.
“I love you because of it.”
Jules had a beer. She did not like pink wine unless it had bubbles. Jules would drink almost anything if it had bubbles.
“Awww. That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.”
“Don’t get used to it. Does this mean I’m finally gonna see you for more than ten minutes at a time?”
“God, I hope so. I mean, I appreciate the opportunity, but the amount of work has been overwhelming.”
“Did you ask for help?”
Jules knew her well, but she could answer this honestly.
“Yes.”
“Did you ask for enough help? Because I doubt Karina worked this hard last year.”
“I don’t know. First year, and we were a person short, so probably not.”
“Baby steps. I’m proud of you. Got some leftovers from last night. Roast chicken and veggies.”
“Oh, yes, please. Feed me.”
Jules did, and Elissa took a bubble bath and went to bed at eight thirty. She slept surprisingly well given she had a big meeting in the morning, and rose, if not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, at least reasonably well rested.
Karina was already sitting at her desk when Elissa arrived a few minutes before eight. A wide smile greeted her.
“Elissa, thank you. Gary told me you handled everything like a champ.”
