He relaxed slightly, but wasn’t sure if it was from her reaction or the way she was wiggling some tiny muscle that seemed to anchor his entire shoulder. “It’s mostly analyzing and managing a process to create the best and most effective method,” he said. “Then recording the steps so nothing gets missed and it can be replicated with the same result.”
“So, if someone gets a new job, you make a list of the stuff that needsto happen before they start and give it to all the managers?” She spoke with the bitterness of a person who had arrived on their first day to nothing ready and the feeling of not being wanted.
Nico waited for her to release the grip on his neck. “Exactly.”
“Why do you like it?”
“I like things to be logical and well ordered,” he said. “Good workflows mean people don’t waste their time or energy.”
“I love this,” said Valerie. Her fingers dug in with her enthusiasm. “Do you get to do this in your work with Roger?”
“No, but a job came up at a different company that looks interesting,” he said, thinking of Gia’s email. He hadn’t told anyone he was considering leaving, but it was easy to tell Valerie.
“What’s stopping you?”
“I’m needed here.”
“You could apply just to see. You don’t have to take it.”
Just to see.That wasn’t usually how he ran his life. He looked for certainty. Stability. “I’m here for the summer, anyway.”
“It might be good to have a change that you want. You’ve been with Roger for a while, haven’t you?”
Her tone was merely inquisitive, but it sounded like she was echoing Madison’s accusations of being stuck. “How about you?” he asked to change the topic. “Why did you go from weddings to memorials?”
“Would you believe me if I said it was an untapped market?”
He thought. “You have the entrepreneurial smarts to take advantage of that,” he said.
“Aw, you charmer.”
“It’s more, though.”
She worked on his lower back for a minute and he tensed in anticipation that she might go further down. She did not, to his relief and chagrin. “It is, a bit. I loved working with Ruth, but then I went to the memorial of a friend’s grandmother. She was worried she wasn’t givingher grandma’s memory the effort it deserved, because all she wanted to do was hide away and cry.”
He wanted to see her face, but she had him pinned with iron fingers. “Did you want to do full funeral planning?”
“I never wanted to be a funeral director or deal with questions about embalming or cremation and casket costs,” she said. “I see my role as providing people with a final way to send off their loved ones and helping them celebrate their memories instead of dwelling in the grief.” She paused. “It’s a beautiful way to help people in need that I didn’t feel planning weddings.”
“I can see that.”
“There was one client whose mother had always wanted to learn to surf,” she said. He could tell she was smiling. “It was one of her biggest regrets that she never did. We had the celebration of life in a surf workout studio that used stationary boards so guests could learn a few moves out of the water. The family loved it, and it made them feel like they were living one of her dreams.”
“That’s incredible.” He never would have thought of that. “What’s going on with Ad Astra now?” She must be dealing with it on the rare occasions they were apart, because he never saw her working. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“I’m still thinking about it.” Was that extra pressure on his neck a warning, a subconscious stress gesture, or sheer coincidence? “Alexis wants to partner with me and turn Ad Astra into a bachelorette planning company.”
“Is that a thing?” He had a distant memory of Stefanie’s bachelorette years ago. Kimmy had gotten the bridesmaids matching shirts and they’d gone for dinner and to a bowling alley. He didn’t recall it requiring intensive scheduling.
“It could be. I worked with a bride who dumped her maid of honor because the woman booked them first-class flights instead of charteringa private plane to Sifnos. Lots of people would prefer to pay to have a proxy yelled at instead of themselves.”
“Is that something you want to do?” Surely she had left the wedding industry for a reason, and this seemed like diving back in.
She made a noise halfway between a raspberry and a groan. “Well, you saw the aftermath of my last event. Penny told half the city how bad my company did, and the other half saw it online for themselves.”
This was true and there was no point trying to tell her it wasn’t. Most small businesses existed on a knife edge, and reputation could tip the blade. “Roger said he would help.”
“After what happened, I owe him, not the other way around. It is what it is. My mother always points out that I give up everything I start. Like quitting a good job with Ruth.”
