Jesse took a startled step back, his eyes incredulous. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Why are you acting this way? Are you angry with me? Did I forget something? Oh!” His voice gentled into a placating whisper. “Is it that time of the month?”
Eliana closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath—tuning out Jesse and whatever bullshit he spewed next. Her mind drifted back to Martha, the flower shop witch, and her hex offerings. Wishing she’d gotten more information.Although . . .
Marthadidtell her to call back anytime.
“—that you’re not reallyhearingme and my concerns,” Jesse was saying when Eliana tuned back in. But instead of addressing the asinine words, she turned on her heel and exited the room.
“Where are you going?” Jesse called, annoyance clear in his tone.
Eliana didn’t bother to look back as she pulled out her phone. “To make a call.”
15
I’M LEARNING
Skip the hex and curse his ass.
I’m sorry . . .. ORNAMENTAL?
Love sees beyond imperfections, but without it, one has no choice but to see others for who they truly are.
Very hypocritical that Josh is hung up on his wife not working, but doesn’t mind Brielle working? Make it make sense.
Release the honey badger!
Eliana took a slow, calming breath as she knocked on Milo’s door on Tuesday morning. He’d asked her to come over once Abby and Zoey were at school so that they could review the responsibilities of her new role—before they left for the first meeting of the day.
Her mind was reeling, excitement and fear warring as she waited. She knew next to nothing of business orconsulting, despite having watched dozens of YouTube videos and reading even more articles on the topic yesterday.What if she misunderstood something vital? What if she missed an important note? God forbid, what if sheembarrassedhim by saying something ignorant?
But then Milo was pulling the door open, a mischievous grin on his handsome face as he said, “Hey, Bugs!” And just like that, the anxiety simply . . . melted away. This man had already proven that he was in her corner. He certainly wouldn’t leave her hanging out to dry when his professional reputation was also on the line.
Eliana snorted. “So the nickname was a little . . . unexpected.”
“Yeah . . .” Milo rubbed his neck sheepishly. “It hit me in the moment. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble going off-script.”
Eliana shrugged, remembering her fight with Jesse and the fact that he still wasn’t talking to her three days later. “It worked out in my favor.”
“You like it then?”
Eliana stared, surprised by the note of uncertainty in Milo’s voice. Then she nodded. “I do.”
His answering smile was brilliant as he stepped back, pulling the door open further and ushering her inside. “Alright then. Now we’ve got that sorted, let’s get to it.”
So, that’s what they did. For the next hour, they walked through all the processes she’d be taking over—schedule maintenance, phone calls, intaking inquiries, vetting out new client backgrounds. Then they packed up and headed out for his scheduled meetings with current clients.
Eliana had every intention to stick to the edges of the rooms, minding her own business, but Milo had other plans. He introduced her warmly as “my new assistant, Eliana” to each person she met, and he made sure she always had a seat in the middle of the action, right at his side.
The conversations, as Milo predicted, were often dull, but Eliana was well-practiced in the art of idle listening. After years of patient multi-tasking while her girls droned on and on about new pop culture references that made no sense, or Jesse talked her ear off about some ridiculous office drama—she found the unexpected skill to be transferable as she followed the discussion with her notes. She focused on picking up context clues and making sure to write out any specific terminology that she didn’t recognize for later research. It did move quickly at times, Eliana mused, but it wasn’t near the breakneck pace and constant vigilance that keeping book at a tournament 12U softball game required. This was child’s play in comparison.
If topics strayed away from the technical specifics and into more ethical territory, Milo would glance over and askheropinion on the matter. She’d been so startled the first time it happened that the truth had come unbidden to her tongue.
“I think that choosing to withhold information from the associates is the same thing as lying. Even when the news is bad, the employees will respect it a lot more if they hear it from the mouth of the company before they start piecing it together themselves.” She glanced around at the executive leaders sitting at the table and sucked in a breath. Regret left her winded, as effective as a sudden punch to the solar plexus. “I’m so— That’s not to say— I just?—”
“Eliana,” Milo interrupted. “This is a working session. All viewpoints are relevant and help us develop a well-rounded, thoughtful plan. You did good.” The last sentence was delivered softly, with a subtle wink, before he turned to a portly, kind-faced man sitting across the table. “Marvin, as the communications lead, what is yourrecommendation?”
