“Not quite yet, but I will in approximately”—he looks at his watch—“five hours and thirteen minutes.” He grins.
“Okay, so don’t expect too much, but I just wanted you and Kat to know how happy I am for you. So, drum roll, please...”
Jonas gives me a drum roll on the table.
“I’ve arranged for you and Kat to have twelve ballroom-dancing lessons in the privacy of your home.”
Josh laughs. “Wow, T. That’s awesome. Thank you.”
“But, wait, there’s more. During each lesson, a chef will be hard at work in your kitchen, making you a five-star meal to be enjoyed when you’re finished dancing.”
“Amazing. Kat’s gonna be thrilled.”
“Plus, I’ve already chatted with Kat’s parents and Ryan and Keane and Colby and Sarah, and if you wind up taking some or all of the lessonsafterGracie Louise arrives, they all said they’d be thrilled to watch the baby while you and Kat dance and dine the night away.”
“Put me on the list of babysitters, too,” Jonas says. “I wanna cement my spot as Little G’s favorite uncle early on.”
“Oh, man, don’t let the Morgan boys overhear you saying that, Jonas,” I say. “At the pool the other day, all four of them almost got into fisticuffs about which one ofthemwas gonna be Gracie’s favorite uncle.”
“Shit. I forgot about those bastards,” Jonas says. “It’s gonna be awfully tough to compete in the Uncle Olympics with those motherfuckers. They’ve definitely got me beat in the goofy department.” He laughs.
My body floods with sudden warmth. “Those boys haveeveryonebeat in the goofy department, not just you, Jonas,” I say, my cheeks rising with color. “I justlovethat about them.”
Josh and Jonas exchange a look.
“Well, thanks, for your incredible gift,” Josh says. “And, hey, as long as you’re here, and Jonas happens to be here, too, there’s something I want to talk to you about. I was gonna wait ’til I got home from my honeymoon to talk about this, but now that we’re all here...” He sighs. “I’ll just get right to the point, T-Rod: you’ve grown a lot in the time I’ve known you. And, lately, it’s clear to me I’m vastly underutilizing your talents, solely out of selfishness.”
I’m speechless.
Josh looks at his brother, gets an encouraging nod, and looks back at me. “T, I’m gonna ask you a question and I want you to answer me with complete honesty, okay?”
I nod.
“Do you still feel like being my ‘executive personal assistant’ is enough for you, or do you have aspirations beyond that role?”
I pause. I didn’t expect to be having this conversation today, if ever. I take a deep breath. “I love being your personal assistant with all my heart—I really do. But, yes, if I’m being completely honest, I do have aspirations beyond that role. I mean, what I mean is...” I swallow hard. “I just feel like I could maybe delegate and oversee some of my more mundane tasks to free me up for tasks that require a bit more... high-level thinking?”
“Precisely my thoughts,” Josh says. “I couldn’t agree more.”
I exhale with relief. “Really?”
“One hundred percent.”
“For what it’s worth,” Jonas says. “I agree, too. Not that I have any say in the matter—I’m just a bystander. But I’ve watched you grow and blossom exponentially from the sidelines, and I think it’d be a crying shame not to acknowledge and foster that growth. Excellence isn’t magic—it’s habit, the by-product of doing something over and over and striving to be the best at it. Visualize the divine original form of yourself and then strive to become it. The sky’s the limit for you, Theresa.”
I feel my cheeks bloom. “Thank you, Jonas.”
“And thank you, Plato,” Josh says dryly. “So, okay, it’s settled, then. We need to think about how best to utilize you. It’s not something I want to figure out today—no offense, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry today.”
We all chuckle.
“But we’ll definitely put our heads together on this when I get home, okay?”
“Okay. Great. I’m excited.”
“I do have one idea I’d like to float past you now, though,” Josh says. “A little something for you to think about while I’m gone this week.”
“Okay.”
