Page 1 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 1

The train stopped, and Abigail Price widened her stance to avoid falling over. She held on to the bar near one of the doors, trying to be patient as people loaded and unloaded from the car.

“Next stop, Summit Avenue,” the conductor’s thick Boston accent called over the system. It was something Greyson would have imitated for the rest of the trip if he were here.

Why she was still thinking of her former best friend? It had been over a year since he’d left for Princeton…with Hannah Stark, breaking her heart in the process.

But this new job, the opportunity to make some money, would help her have something in her savings account after graduation. She was grateful to her aunt and uncle for what they’d given to her over the past few years she’d lived with them, but there were only so many things they were willing to pay for.

Abby glanced up at the small marquee sign, the words matching the announcement from the T driver. She would get off at the next stop, where she’d walk over to Love, Austen, the growing Boston matchmaking company, and begin her first day of work as a writer and editor. She took in a long breath, trying to ease the mixture of anxiety and excitement flowing through her.

She’d interviewed with the owner, Meg Austen, the week before and had checked her phone at least fifty times the following day, hoping to hear whether she’d gotten the job. When the familiar number had popped up on her screen, she’d accidentally ended the call. Luckily, Meg was laid back enough to understand her plight.

The train stopped at Coolidge Corner and Abby stepped onto the sidewalk, looking for cars before walking across the street. As she stood in front of the small brick office and gazed up at the Love, Austen sign, she breathed out a sigh of relief. This was the first office-type job she’d ever had, having worked as a server for her Aunt Lucille’s many parties and as an assistant at a nursing home.

The bell above the door rang out as she opened it.

“You made it! Yay for your first day!” Tiffany called from behind the reception desk. As Abby’s college roommate, she’d told Abby about the job. It was one of the hundred reasons she would always be indebted to Tiffany.

“Yeah, I’m excited too.” Abby’s stomach tied itself in knots, but it felt like the first step in growing up, even though she had one more year of college left. “I think I misjudged the time it would take from my aunt and uncle’s house, though.” She glanced down at her watch. 9:15 a.m. Fifteen minutes late.

Meg stepped out of her office, dressed in black slacks and a light teal-colored blouse. “We’re all about flexibility here. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have you working for us. Now maybe it won’t take me weeks to update things on the website or send out poorly edited media.”

“I promise being late won’t happen again. Well, until classes start next week.” Abby flushed as the other two women laughed.

“Then that means this job is perfect for you with school. Just send me your final schedule so I know when to expect you in the office.” Meg took a few steps past her and waved to the room at the front of the office. From what Abby could see, the window had a view of Beacon Street, busy as ever. “I have an office mostly set up for you here. Jorge, our tech guy and app creator, came in on Saturday and got your computer ready.”

Abby smiled. An entire office to herself? She barely had a room in the attic at her aunt and uncle’s house, and this space looked like it was bigger than that. “Thank you,” she choked out, emotion springing up in her throat.

Meg nodded. “Of course. I have a conference call in a few minutes, but Tiffany will show you where we keep all the supplies and run you through the basics of the programs we use here.”

“Sounds great.” Abby grinned, all evidence of the anxiety in her stomach gone. She was going to like this place.

* * *

Later that afternoon,Abby set several organizer trays in the pull-out drawer of her desk. She’d loved the amount of supplies in what was essentially a closet back in the workroom and had gone out to buy the trays at a CVS down the street during her lunch break. Meg had been busy for most of the morning, so she figured getting things organized the way she wanted them would help with the workload she knew was coming.

After placing paperclips, pens, highlighters, and those small sticky tabs in their individual spots, Abby sat back, satisfaction flowing through her. She was a little obsessive about details like this, but now she could finally concentrate on the press release Meg had sent her to edit.

A knock sounded at the door, and Abby looked up, smiling at her boss. “Hey, Meg.”

Meg’s shoulders hunched over the large box she carried into the room. She stepped over and dropped the box down on a chair, blowing out a deep breath. “Oh man! That is a lot of papers.” Meg paused another second, tossing her long blonde hair back over her shoulder. “I’ve almost got everything rounded up. Are you ready for your first big project?”

As Meg grinned, Abby forced a smile, staring at the box. She stood and peered into it, removing a few folders full of papers. The rest were loose sheets. When she flipped through one of the folders, it was all handwritten in a slanted cursive.

Her eyes widened, and she glanced up at Meg. “Um, yeah. I take it I’ll need to go through all these?” She picked up a paper and scanned it with her eyes.Overcoming Boredom in a Relationship.Was this really something people needed to be taught? Abby wasn’t the most experienced in the dating area, and she’d never been in an official relationship with anyone, but if someone was bored, why wouldn’t they just call it off?

Meg had mentioned during Abby’s first interview that the person who got the job would need to organize all the notes from the extra classes for the app she’d hired someone to build. This had to be from one of those.

Meg leaned on the back of the chair. “Yes. This is the box from the lady who teaches the social aspects of the dating classes. She’s not good at technology, so these are all of her notes, which you’ll have to transcribe into the computer. I know it looks like a lot, but hopefully it won’t take too long.” She twisted her lips to the side, pity in her eyes. “The other teachers have more digital stuff I’ll have sent to your email.”

Abby took a deep breath as she thought of all she’d have to do for this project. But she’d agreed to whatever the job entailed when she first signed on, so this was just the beginning. Most of the on-campus jobs were already taken, unless she was up for working on what they called the Bullgang, the crew that changed over the hockey rink into the basketball court and vice versa. She was much better at writing than she was at lifting heavy things.

“Okay. This is for the app, right?” She pulled out a sticky note, jotting down a few details. “Which teacher is this?”

“Georgia Sanderson.”

After writing the woman’s name, she stuck it to the box. “Okay, I’ll get working on that. When do you need it all compiled by?”

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