“But?” I asked, hedging my bets.
Her lips twitched. “But, it’s absolutely perfect. I can’t speak for anybody else, but the holidays always stress me out.”
I lowered my voice. “Debra?”
She inched closer. “My mother-in-law.”
We shared a small laugh, the sound lost amongst a sea of crashes and bangs.
“By the way, assuming the Bennett Studios contract goes through, I want you to take the lead.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“Of course. You’re the best junior associate we have. You didn’t think we would give it to Geoffrey, did you?”
My cheeks flushed.
“Nellie!”
Speak of the nepo baby.
“We’ll talk about it more after the holidays,” Tabitha said, excusing herself just as Geoffrey sidled up next to me, twirling a hammer in his hands.A tool with a tool. Ha!
“This was a great idea, Nellie. Seriously, I would have never thought of this.”
He nearly jumped out of his Jordans when Anita from human resources swung a sledgehammer at a desktop computer, tearing through the iridescent bow wrapped around it. Who knew the gluten-free sexagenarian had so much rage brewing inside her?
“Then again,” he said. “You always come up with the best ideas.”
Slack-jawed, I stared at him, taken aback by the compliment. “Wow, thank you.”
“Don’t look so surprised,” he said around a toothy grin. “There’s a reason Tabitha always pairs us up or gives me your leftovers. She knows that I can learn a lot from you.”
Well, this was a startling development. A part of me was tempted to rip that ponytail clean off his head—this might be the only time I could get away with it. However, in the spirit ofthe holiday season and second chances, I decided to offer him a reprieve.
“Geoffrey, I’ve got something for you to work on. Something that we can maybe work on together after Christmas.”
“What’s that, Nellie Belly?”
“Boundaries.” I nailed him with a pointed look. “And my name is Janelle.”
He swallowed audibly. “Right. Good note.” He cowered under the arch of my brow. “Janelle.”
“Merry Christmas, Geoffrey.”
I couldn’t help but smile when he scurried off. That was nothing compared to the joy I felt when Austin stepped through the door, jumpsuit and goggles in place. I hobbled over to him, my right leg feeling more fragile than ever. It was going to take some time getting used to wearing shoes on both feet again.
“You look pretty hot in a jumpsuit,” I told him.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Mm-hmm. What are you doing here?”
“Well—”
My sister stumbled through the door. “He’s with me. When you told me about this place, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity for us to recreate this.”
She fumbled in her pocket before drawing out an old Polaroid.
