“I hope so. It’s good to have you back. Whenever you’re ready, I can update you on where we are on all the clients.”
“Ten work for you? Gives me a chance to ease in, return some emails, and all that.”
“Sounds great. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
Elissa steeled herself. She saved the DeMarco account for last, and she would tell Karina about her relationship with Ryan. Let her know Mr. Samuels oversaw all her work, and she had Bailey spot check her and look over her calculations. Yes, she should have recused herself. Yes, she understood she could no longer work on the DeMarco account.
At least it would be out there, removing the weight from her shoulders. At least she could date Ryan out in the open. At least this would be over.
Ten rolled around and she popped her head into Karina’s office. Her boss was on the phone, looking like she was having the worst conversation ever. She waved Elissa in and gestured toward a chair.
“Yes, thank you. I will speak with my brother and we’ll call later.”
She hung up and pressed her fingers to her temples.
“I can come back,” Elissa said.
“Today isn’t going to work. Let’s plan Wednesday.”
“Anything I can help with?”
Karina smiled. “Just knowing we put our best junior accountant on these accounts has been extremely helpful.”
Guilt stabbed hot into her gut and twisted. Suddenly, Elissa regretted the oatmeal she’d had for breakfast.
“I’m glad I could help.”
“My mom is not settling in well to her care facility. I need to talk with my brother and get back to them by the end of the day. And despite having my email forwarded and everyone handling everything so well, I still have a ton of responses. And tomorrow…who the heck knows what’s going to rear its ugly head tomorrow. I’m fighting hydras.”
“I’ll send over a summary with the appointments I’ve already made for next week, and we’ll go over everything in what I’m sure will be excruciating detail on Wednesday.”
“Thanks, Elissa. You’re a rare bird, and I’m so glad we snagged you first.”
As she left Karina’s office, she doubted her boss would feel the same once she told her about Ryan. It wasn’t a red flag, but it wasn’t good. At least yellow, possibly orange. Hormones sucked.
She did not sleep so great the next two nights, tossing and turning as Karina’s praise ran through her head. She felt guilty enough that when Ryan texted, she responded with short sentences and emojis, afraid she’d give away something she shouldn’t. Even though they’d been talking normally for the past few weeks.
Wednesday rolled around, and Elissa went over the presentation again. Yep, she had about two hours left before her career got its first red mark. God, she’d always hated red ink.
She poured an extra cup of coffee and headed into Karina’s office at nine.
The first forty-five minutes went perfectly. When she reached the DeMarco slides, her palms started sweating, and she swore the temperature increased ten degrees in the first thirty seconds. Her voice trembled from time to time.
“Do you need a break, Elissa?”
“No.” Good, bad, or ugly, she needed this over. “Maybe a sip of water. I’m not used to talking for so long.”
She grabbed her water bottle and sipped, then sipped a little more.
You’ve got this.
Elissa finished the presentation with her initial recommendations and the date of their appointment with the DeMarco Properties board.
“Excellent. I couldn’t have done better. I knew you were the right woman for the job.”
Here goes nothing.
“About that…”
