“Why have eyes in your head if you’re not going to bother to use ’em?” She sounds exasperated.
“It’s not great. I’ll talk to them.” Bea nods in agreement. “I helped her get settled. Whole groups were coming in to chat with her as I was leaving,” I reassure Bea.
She turns to me, her eyes a bit wider than normal. “That was awfully nice of you, Holland.” She overly enunciates my name. “I also offered to tell her my favorite Brad-is-a-ding-dong story after the event tomorrow night,” she shares.
Of course she did.
“You might see me. I owe her a Spider-man chat,” I say like it’s something I do all the time.
Bea stops whatever she’s doing. Her eyes are practically saucers. I know she’s surprised. And I don’t want to get into it. I hope my face is screaming that very sentiment.
“Are you telling me you willingly included yourself in a social event?” she presses.
Guess it wasn’t screaming loud enough.
“It’s not a social event. It’s a drink.” I try to reassure Bea so she’ll stop looking at me like that.
“If you don’t plan to be social, do that poor woman a favor and stand her up.” Bea jokes.
I give her a side glance.
“Well, isn’t today full of all sorts of surprises?” Bea laughs and answers the ringing phone.
Saved by the ring.
I get away from Bea while I can.
Slate and I are on the couch. He’s snoring. I’m thinking.
About Ivy pacing and grappling with herself. And how it was completely out of her control. She was really letting herself have it. All over a work event. I’m wondering if my impression of Royce was a little more spot-on than I thought.
And then the way she looked at me when I stayed. Her expression was something like a mix of gratitude and relief. She still fidgeted enough for me to know that accepting help isn’t her norm.
I can’t stop thinking about one thing. Something specific.
In my thirty-four years of life, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen eyes that vibrantly green.
Chapter Eight
THE EVENT IS chaotic, busy, and a complete success. With Holland’s help, I was ready for the first swarm of people. Some came to pick up their individually packed bags, pleased they didn’t have to wait for their items. Hooray for a giant check mark in the win column of the wins and losses list I started mentally putting together earlier this morning. The poor win column was seriously lacking before this.
My favorite part of my job is collaborating with clients. Most of our work is done virtually, which is still rewarding, but it’s much better in person. I feel energized with each person stopping by the table.
I even fielded a surprise phone call from Jack with nothing but grace, reassuring him that everything was back on track.
Besides those I planned to see, I had time with probably ten potential clients, some of who were in the VIP group that Royce had brought in earlier. My shoulders felt twenty pounds lighter, seeing some faces that looked at this empty table this morning and still came back.
I even chatted with a previous buyer, who is now at a different company. They saw the table and raved about how much they loved working with us at their previous job. Those kinds of interactions are the best.
One of my favorite parts of functions like this is hearing the chatter. It’srewarding when someone you had a brief chat with is talking about it with someone else.
I text Vivian.
Crisis neutralized.
All done and it was AMAZING
VIVIAN
