Page 57 of Ideal Life

“Erin, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she said, although it was apparent she was having to do some serious internal peptalking to hold herself together. It wasn’t easy to hear so many criticisms from a person you admire, especially when the meeting had begun with a dressing down.

Talia bit her lip, then touched her watch. “I really am sorry. Let me try that again.”

She turned the dial slowly backward, watching the scene in reverse as Erin’s face went from stiff and red to animated and normal-toned again, as she picked up her laptop and stood and walked backward to the elevator, until the doors opened and swallowed her inside.

“Do better,” Talia said under her breath.

The elevator chimed as the doors opened. Erin stepped out.

“Morning, boss!”

“Good morning,” Talia said quickly to head off any inquiries about Sam. “Thanks for agreeing to do your midsummer performance review up here. I’m on a tight schedule, so let’s dive right in.”

“Of course.” Erin sat down, flipped open her computer, and poised her hands on the keyboard. “Okay, I’m ready. Tell me what I can improve.”

Talia smiled, perhaps too hard. “You continue to impress me with your desire to push yourself. In the five weeks that you’ve been with us, you’ve already integrated so well with the team.”

Erin blushed. Her skin really did not hide how she was feeling.

“I appreciated your contributions at the recent marketing meeting,” Talia continued. “It’s smart to expand our audience to your generation, and I’d like to task you with brainstorming more ideas we could explore.”

“Oh my gosh, I would love to do that!” She blushed harder but then reined in her outward enthusiasm. “I mean, thank you, of course, I’d be happy to.”

“Okay then, great.”

Erin frowned. “That’s it?”

Talia smiled again. “Yes, you’re doing a wonderful job.”

“But what about improvements?”

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone enjoys having you around.”

“Oh, um, all right…” She closed her laptop and stood, hovering for a few more seconds before the awkward silence got her, and she walked back toward the elevator.

She stepped inside, but before the doors closed, she called out, “Talia, I’m really sorry if I did anything to disappoint you or to make you think that I couldn’t handle feedback. I want you to know I will study this morning and figure out how I can improve so that next time, I’ll be more prepared. Thank you for your time.”

The elevator doors shut.

Ah, dammit. Talia had gone too far on the other side of the spectrum and babied Erin, which is not what she needed—or wanted—at all. Erin deserved better from Talia.

“Let’s try this once more.” She rewound the watch crown, until Erin was back where she’d started, emerging from the elevator for the first time.

“Morning, boss!”

Talia’s stomach lurched, even though she’d turned the clock back slowly. The external world around her had stopped spinning, but her internal one still seemed to be going.

She thought she’d outwitted the nausea recently after getting better with the watch, but the vague motion sickness seemed to be creeping back. That and the fatigue that was always just under the surface nowadays, no matter how many hours she slept.

“Um, good morning.” Talia held the table with both hands to steady herself. “I’m… on a tight… schedule… Let’s get started.”

Erin didn’t sit like she had in the previous two iterations. “Talia? Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine. I got weirdly light-headed.” She forced a smile. “Anyway, thanks for agreeing to do your midsummer performance review up here.”

“Of course. It’s a nice change of pace. But I don’t want to make you run late on your next meeting, so I’m ready.” She sat down across from Talia and flipped open her computer, hands poised on the keyboard. “Tell me what I can improve.”