My cell rang, and despite the fact that I was still avoiding him, my heart leapt with the thought that it might be Sebastian. I got it from my purse, slightly disappointed to see my boss’s name. She rarely called after eight o’clock, so it had to be important. I muted the TV toanswer.
“Georgina?” Dionne said. “I’m glad I gotyou.”
“Is everythingokay?”
“Yes.” She hesitated. “Well, maybe. I’ll get right to the point. I caught wind thatModern Manis going to offer you ajob.”
I sighed. “They alreadydid.”
“I see.” She blew out a breath. “You know I’d never keep you from doing what you need to, which is why there’s nothing in your contract that says you can’t leave to work for a client. But I hope you’ll give me a chance to convince you tostay.”
“I’m not going to take it,” I told her. “But you and I need to have a meeting about salary. What Vance offered me made me realize I should be makingmore.”
Dionne hummed. She couldn’t really argue considering she’d taught me to constantly reevaluate my worth. “We don’t need to meet,” she said. “I’m going to pay you more anyway, considering you’ll be running the agency forme.”
I blanched. “What? Where are yougoing?”
“We’re opening a second location in Boston. It was between there and Philly. There’s been a lot of demand, what with some media companies being priced out of thecity.”
“But what about you?” I asked. “Are you movingthere?”
“No way, just getting things up and running for the next six months or so. I’m already interviewing people to manage that office so I can begin training as soon as Iarrive.”
I picked through the couple gray hairs around Bruno’s snout. “What happens to my job when you getback?”
“You’ll go back to what you’re doing now, but at the new, higher salary. We can discuss that once we see how the next few monthsgo.”
I should’ve been elated that I’d be getting more money to do the same job, not to mention a change of pace, but was she only handing me this to keep me from leaving? I hadn’t even argued a case for why I deservedit.
“I appreciate it, I really do,” I told Dionne, “but I think I need . . .more.”
“More money?” she asked. “We haven’t evendiscussed—”
“No. Just more.” I took a breath. It felt weird to say since I’d been pretty content up until recently. I supposed I had Sebastian to blame for reawakening this in me after Neal had killed it—the urge to do better. Be better. “I don’t know what that means yet. I’m happy to take your spot while you’re away, but when you get back, I need something else. Something to push me. I’m afraid I’ve gotten toocomfortable.”
“Something like Boston?” she asked. “If you’re looking for a challenge, you could always go open that office instead ofme.”
That wasn’t what I’d meant, but the suggestion made me pause. “Open it asin. . .?”
“Move there and run it,” she said simply. “Whynot?”
I’d thought there wasn’t any higher to go under Dionne, but managing my own branch was certainly a step up—maybe several. “You’reserious?”
“Absolutely. Now that I think about it, you’d be a great fit, Georgina. With the aptitude and knowledge you bring to each assignment, plus a process you’ve honed over the years, you could easily take this on.” I heard her smile over the phone. “How does the idea of assembling your own teamsound?”
“It sounds . . . interesting, if not a littledaunting.”
“You never back down from what I give you, even if it feels like too much. You know you’re a naturalleader.”
I tried the designation on for size. Hadn’t I ledModern Manaway from the brink, along with many other companies? I didn’t often think of my role in those terms because the teams I joined were always temporary and usually had their own leaders, likeSebastian.
“Would I still get to work with clients?” Iasked.
“I should hope so. Only the ones you choose to, since you’ll eventually get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the people under you. And who knows, Georgina. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough, like me, to find someone tomentor.”
A leader and a mentor. Maybe those were the ways to enrich my career outside of promotions and money. What I got out of my work wasn’t just a paycheck, but a sense that I had helped. If it weren’t for me, perhaps some of these companies would’ve gone under by now. Along with theiremployees.
“I like the sound of it,” Iadmitted.
