A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “A little.”
Chris shook his head, the lines around his mouth softening just a bit. “The candidate before her ran out of here in tears. When she came into my office, she immediately stated that she didn’t think she would be a good fit, for that very reason.” His gaze lowered to the platinum band on his finger, the one Lucy had placed there when she recited her wedding vows. “I think I fell in love with her then and there. She was the first applicant who actually had a spine and a brain in her head.”
I drew in a soft, deep breath, not wanting to interrupt his reverie. After a moment, he blinked and lifted his gaze to me.
“You’re damn good at your job, Chelsea, even better than Lucy.” He shot me a sharp look. “And if you tell her that, I’ll deny it until my last breath.”
I grinned and nodded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Good.” He tapped the top of his desk with the tips of his fingers. “Now, go put the ad together and get it up this afternoon. I’ll speak with my attorney and we’ll get the ball rolling on the contracts and other paperwork. We’ll also talk salary and other benefits in the next couple of days.”
Since I couldn’t string a sentence together, I nodded again. I probably looked like a damn bobblehead, but my brain was racing a hundred miles per hour and I couldn’t latch on to a single word amongst my teeming thoughts.
After so many years of remaining unacknowledged and underappreciated, I finally had an opportunity to not only prove myself but to accomplish something worthwhile.
I wanted this, fiercely and deeply, but it also terrified me. If I failed, then it wouldn’t affect only me. It would affect Chris, and by association Lucy, and the enormity of that responsibility was intimidating.
As I left Chris’ office, I took a deep breath and released it slowly, imagining all my doubts and worries escaping with the air in my lungs. If I envisioned failure before I’d even begun, then failure would be the result. I had to remain calm, confident, and focused because success was my only option.
“You look…relaxed,” Tanyacommented.
I glanced at her briefly before returning my gaze to the menu in my hands.
After my talk with Chris that morning, I’d spent some time drafting the job listing and downloading it to several sites. Then I’d struggled to concentrate on the accounts Chris was currently handling until lunchtime. I paid extra attention to the information in the files since it was likely I would take over a few of these clients once I’d hired and trained my replacement.
I’d completely forgotten about lunch with Tanya and Grier until she called me at noon and asked, “Where are you?”
It was just the three of us today. Yancy was working from home since her daughter, Carolena, was ill with a cold. Carolena had cystic fibrosis and even a “simple cold” was never simple. It could easily result in a hospital stay for the little girl.
“You aren’t the first person to tell me that today,” I murmured.
“So why exactly are you so relaxed?” Tanya probed. Her expression was knowing and her tone sly. She understood exactly why I appeared so loose.
“I had a nice, quiet weekend.”
She blinked at me. “I thought you had a date with Landen on Friday.”
“I did.”
Her expression fell. “Oh.”
She looked so disappointed that I relented. “But I didn’t say I spent the weekend at my apartment.”
Tanya’s eyes lit up before shifting to Grier’s phone as it buzzed frantically against the table again. With a sharp sigh, Grier snatched the device up and shoved it in her purse. I could tell that Tanya wanted to ask her if there was a problem, but she wisely kept her mouth shut and looked at me once again.
“You spent the weekend with Landen?” she asked.
“Yep.”
Her eyes narrowed when I didn’t expand on my answer. “Well, how was it?”
“How was what?” I asked innocently as I glanced over the menu. It was all for show because I knew exactly what I wanted to eat. We came here so often I had the lunch items memorized.
Tanya tapped the top of the menu with her finger. “Hey, now. Spill.”
I groaned quietly and laid down the plastic page. “It was great.”
“What was?” she prodded.
