He looked at her with no expression on his face and paused. “Cora Bellamy, according to Mia Neg-I-don’t-know-how-to-say-it.”
“Nguyen,” she said, correcting his pronunciation.
“According to Mia Nguyen, you are one of the final three trainers in contention forEveryday Dogs! Congrats!”
“No! Are you kidding? Oh my God! Seriously? Let me read it.” She grabbed the phone from his hands and, sure enough, the message congratulated her for her stellar audition and outlined the next steps. Her heart thudded in her chest. It was happening!
“I cannot believe it. I really thought I blew it ... I mean, the dog fell over in the middle of my demo!”
“Well, you obviously did something right. Congrats.” Eli reached out to hug her, and she stepped into his embrace. She ended up nestled under his chin, her heart at ease for the first time in days.
“So great ...you!” Eli said, pulling away and awkwardly patting her shoulders at arm’s length.
“Thanks, thanks. I’m in shock,” Cora replied, nodding and hot-cheeked.
“Keep me posted, I want to cheer you on. Okay? Text me if anything happens between now and next week. Oh, and can I get your autograph before you go?”
Cora laugh-groaned and waltzed out the door, feeling fizzy.
THIRTY-SEVEN
“Have you thought about something like this?” Cora held her phone out to Maggie, who was sitting in her closet, making piles of clothing and accessories. Josie lounged on a stack of pastel sweaters. Cora wanted to make sure that Maggie was in a positive headspace for her reunion with Darnell, since the gala was today.
“ ‘Institutional Giving Associate.’ Huh? What is it?”
“It’s a job, Maggie,” Cora replied. “The Circle Theater is hiring.”
“Theater? Seriously?”
Cora sighed. “Have you completely forgotten your theater roots? Remember, before you got sucked into retail? You getting a job in a theater makes perfect sense.”
“I’m not exactly qualified for this,” Maggie said as she read the job description quietly. “ ‘Securing support from corporate and government sources... grant writing... managing the donor cycle... stewarding relationships’... I’ve never done any of this stuff.”
“Yes, but you got people to part with their money every single day at Saks. Fund-raising is just like sales.”
Maggie stared into space. “I guess it sort of is. At Saks I could get an eighty-year-old woman in leather. I could get a twenty-two-year-old in culottes. Everyone I touched spent money.” She looked at Cora, her eyes shining. “I definitely could get old geezers and tech millionaires to donate some dollars to a worthy cause like the Circle Theater.”
“See? Try it, send your stuff in!”
“You know what’s even better? One of my Facebook friends from college works there. We’re not super tight, but maybe she could walk my résumé to the right person?”
“Meant to be. Oh, hey, before I forget, I’ve got someone coming over to do my makeup in a bit.” She said it casually, trying to play it off like it was an afterthought.
“Okay, cool,” Maggie said, her mind clearly racing toward her bright future as a theater fund-raiser. “Hey, C, thanks for finding this job. I never would’ve thought of it.”
“It’s for me as much as for you. I want my happy Maggie back. This sad girl stuff doesn’t suit you.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’m moving on. Look, I’m organizing my closet, getting rid of shit that reminds me of that place. I took a shower today. I’m on the road to recovery.”
The doorbell rang, and Josie roused herself from her cashmere bed. Maggie had followed Cora’s protocol for Josie’s front door barking, and now she only let out a few muffled woofs whenever someone came over. Fritz was already dancing at the door when they got there, his nose flush against the seam, inhaling deeply. He looked back at Cora expectantly.
“I know!” she whispered to him. “Uncle D! Shhh!”
Cora opened the door and put her finger to her lips.
“Did you tell her?” Darnell whispered to Cora over an armful of wet sunflowers. She shook her head.
“Sort of. So pretty,” she said, gesturing to them.
