Elijah nodded slowly, momentarily thrown off by the compliment. He had been hard on them when he’d first started, pushing them all as much as he pushed himself. He’d assumed they resented his efforts. He was grateful for Adam’s honesty then and his words today. The trust he’d felt earlier expanded into appreciation to have such a good team behind him.
“I appreciate that you all stepped up to the plate and have made this department shine. Thank you all for being patient with me.”
“Same.” Adam cleared his throat and pointed to the door. “Now, get on out of here before you miss the pageant.”
Elijah chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter 12
Layla saw the red headband with silver rhinestones and ribbons that Jasmine wanted to wear in the pageant in her backseat and cursed. Jasmine had picked it out too because it matched the dresses the girls had picked out for their duet. Not only was she going to be late, but she’d forgotten Jasmine’s special headband!
Layla broke too many traffic laws to count as she raced to the school. Thankfully, her job wasn’t that far from her home or the school. She’d applied to Leisure Hotel Group because of the location of their corporate headquarters, but the traffic in Houston was no joke and what should have taken her twenty minutes stretched to forty-five. When she finally reached the school, she rushed inside, grabbed a program and tried to quietly enter the auditorium. The place was packed, so she pulled out her cell phone and texted Elijah.
I’m here. Where ru?
A few seconds later his response.Near front. Forth row, on right. I saved u a seat.
Grinning, she hurried down the aisle and spotted Elijah. He turned looking for her. He spotted her and waved her over. He moved his coat from the seat on his right and slid over so that she could have the seat he’d occupied.
“How much did I miss?” she whispered after she was settled.
He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “You’re right on time. The girls are next.”
She placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed lightly. “Good. I was worried I would miss their performance.”
“Things were delayed. Did you work things out at the job?”
She rolled her eyes but nodded. “Yes. The rest of the team is handling any remaining set ups needed for tomorrow’s meetings, so I could make it here.”
He placed his hand over hers. “Good.”
The kid on stage finished their signing performance and the principal came out to the microphone after the applause ended. “And next we have a duet by best friends Jasmine Townsend and Sabrina Holmes.”
Layla clapped and cheered along with Elijah. She leaned over as the principal left the stage. “I forgot Jasmine’s headband was in my backseat. Was she very upset?”
“She’s good,” Elijah said. Then pointed. “Look.”
She turned toward the stage and gasped. Instead of the red headbands Jasmine and Sabrina wore matching silver rhinestone headbands that worked perfectly with their red and silver dresses. “How?”
“I make a quick run to the mall and it was a blessing that there were two in stock,” Elijah said with an easy shrug.
“You did that before the pageant?”
“Of course, I couldn’t let the girls go without their matching headbands.” He spoke as if going to the mall and finding matching headbands after a day of work and getting the girls there on time was nothing.
She squeezed his hand and imagined all the ways she was going to thank him later. “You are amazing.”
He cocked a brow. “Remember that when we’re alone later.”
She grinned. “Oh, I most definitely will.”
The girls both looked out in the crowd. Elijah and Layla waved at them and they waved back. The music started, a pop song by a new girls’ group Jasmine and Sabrina loved. They began their rendition of the song and mimicking the dance routine they’d practiced from one of the videos the group posted. Sabrina dazzled the crowd by doing a cartwheel while singing her verse which dazzled the crowd. By the end of the song the audience was clapping and singing along with the catchy chorus. They got an enthusiastic round of applause after their performance.
The rest of the pageant went by quickly. Layla didn’t want to be biased, and even though she hadn’t seen the other kids perform, she believed that Jasmine and Sabrina were the best kids. The judges also agreed, and the girls got first place. Earning each of them a prize of $500. Layla was putting Jasmine’s prize directly into her college savings account.
She and Elijah joined the rush of other parents afterwards to meet their kids after the performance. When the girls ran up to them they both leaned down to give them congratulations along with lots of hugs and kisses.
“We won, Momma!” Jasmine said.
