Page 2 of Austen, Edited

“Jorge emailed me earlier today. He said he’s got a lot of the background work figured out, but he’ll be by on Thursday to walk us through what he’s created and see what else we need. What he can change as far as style, formatting, and all that. I’d like you to be in on that meeting because the next big chunk is compiling all the information of our classes into the app in an appealing and user-friendly way.”

Abby chuckled, more out of fear than real laughter. “No pressure, right?”

Meg took a step closer and rested her hand on Abby’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Everything in your resume and interview told me that you’re the gal for the job.”

“Are you sure? Because my experience in the corporate world is about three hours at this point.” She gave a short laugh, suddenly overwhelmed. She knew how to tune-up a lawnmower and rethread a weed whacker in just a few minutes, and her knowledge of cleaning the grout in a bathroom was extensive, but she still couldn’t believe this job was paying her to read and write.

“You have such strong writing skills from everything I read, and you put up with Tiffany out there on a daily basis,” Meg said, scrunching her nose and jutting her thumb back over her shoulder.

“I heard that!” Tiffany called from the other room.

The tightness in Abby’s chest loosened under Meg’s comforting gaze.

“You know we love you, Tiffany,” Meg called over her shoulder, grinning at Abby. “Okay, so let’s have you start by entering in this box of information, and I’ll get after the other teachers to send you their course notes.”

Clearing her throat, Abby asked, “I don’t have to have it done by Thursday, though, right? I mean, I’ll do my best to get it all into the computer. I just…there’s a lot.” Her hands had been moving the entire time, and now they hung limp against her sides. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she hoped Meg wouldn’t think she wasn’t up for the job. Four days was just not long enough to complete the task.

“Oh no. Thursday is a beginning meeting now that the bigger stuff is in play. But the sooner we have all the information in, we can play around with the setup and get some of the beta testers to give us feedback on what works and what doesn’t.” She paused a moment, tapping her pointer finger against her lips. “I’d say three weeks, maybe four? Is that enough time?”

Nodding, Abby was more confused than ever. “Okay, so do it as soon as possible. I can finish the press release about the fall sale and then get started on it.”

“Perfect. I have to run out for another meeting, but I’ll be back this afternoon if you need anything.” Meg left the room, and a few seconds later she passed Abby’s office again, this time with purse in hand. “And I forgot. We need to have you take the test.”

“Test?”

Meg nodded. “Our matchmaking test. I like to have everyone take it. The more tests I have means more data, which can always help us in this business.”

Shifting against the back of the office chair, Abby frowned. “You’re not going to use it to match me with anyone, right?”

“Not without your permission,” Meg said, a mischievous grin on her face. “Just tell Tiffany when you need a break from inputting notes, and she’ll set it up for you. Good luck!” Before Abby could respond, Meg turned and strode out the front door.

Abby sat back in her chair, glancing around her office. But her mind called up a picture of the brown-haired, blue-eyed guy she’d had a crush on for at least half her life. Just as quickly, she pushed him out of her mind, not wanting to deal with his betrayal right now.

Maybe having Meg match her up would be a good thing. She’d tried just about everything else, but would she be able to stop making everything into a competition with Greyson Campbell as the benchmark?

“How’s it going in here, roomie?” Tiffany asked, walking in. “I saw that box, and I’m glad I don’t have to do all that.” She gave Abby a broad smile and sank into the other chair in front of Abby’s desk, the back of her hand against her forehead, acting like she’d fainted. Abby laughed harder than she had in a while.

“Are you sure you’re not supposed to be a drama major? I mean, I get wanting to learn psychology, but I think you’re wasting some good talent here.”

Tiffany shook her head. “Yeah, then I’d be officially cut off from the little money my parents send me as it is. When are you moving back into the dorm?”

Abby turned to her sticky note list of to-do’s, addingpackto the list. “My Aunt Lucille is throwing a garden party on Saturday that she’s asked me to help serve at.” She paused, rolling her eyes. As kind as Aunt Lucille and Uncle Carl had been to take her in over a decade ago, there were still some aspects of the Harringtons’ life she would never quite measure up to. It was a topic she’d shared with Tiffany several times over the past three years.

“I think I’ll just bring everything over on Monday. That will give me a few hours to settle in and get things organized before the new semester begins.” Next to the word pack, she wrote Sunday.

“Why not Sunday night? Then we can do something fun for Labor Day.” Tiffany leaned forward, giving Abby her classic puppy-dog face to sway her.

With a wave, Abby said, “Depends what you mean by fun.” She raised her eyebrows, waiting for Tiffany to respond.

“There might be a few guys interested in you, but you’ll never know if you don’t at least give them a chance. You deserve to move on from Greyson.”

Abby’s chest tightened at the mention of the blue-eyed boy next door, her former best friend. “I’ve been over him since he left for Princeton. I just think I need to make it through this year of school instead of worrying about whether or not a guy is going to call me back after a date. My uncle isn’t going to pay for grad school, and getting involved with anyone will just make it harder to survive after graduation.”

“I get it. But you can’t just put off life forever. At the rate we’re both going, we might be roommates forever.” Tiffany frowned as she glanced at her fingernails, her expression revealing the possibility of her words.

“What about Steve?” Tiffany had been dating a football player for the last year, and when they were together, it was a little nauseating on the PDA scale. But Tiffany had gone to the Cape for a few weeks, and Abby must have missed some news.

Shaking her head, Tiffany sighed and tipped her head onto the back of the chair. A mixture of resignation and relief passed over her expression. “It was time. He’s been so busy preparing for the season opener in Florida that we just decided to call it. I’m not good at the whole long-distance thing anyway. He’d be off to a new city every week with his team, and I know I’d just be worried about all the girls trying to go after him. I mean, there were groupies when he was in college, but as a professional athlete? Yeah, that’s a whole new level.” Tiffany scooted forward on the chair and glanced up at Abby. “So I’m back on the market.”

---