Page 15 of Love's a Glitch
Her posture changed, the line of her shoulders pulling tighter. “Sure. If you like it, then it’s fine.”
Fine. I was beginning to hate that word. Her jumpiness also made me wonder whether my father or my brother were so stern that it’d left her scared to give her true opinion. Likely, my dad. He seemed to think the bossier and louder you were, the better you were at running a company.
“Thanks for your help, Heather. I appreciate it.”
Once she left, I poised my fingers over the keyboard. After digesting the amount of snark underlying Eloise’s email, my pride balked at the idea of telling her that she might have a good point or two. I’d read the analytics. Didn’t understand half of them, but the traffic and click rates were clear enough.
Since they’d present the website and new plan at the annual yacht-club party a month from now, so the pressure was also on.
The flashing light that signaled I had a voicemail caught my eye, and I decided to deal with that. As proof of how very important I was when it came to keeping the company afloat, the message was from my mom. She asked if on my walk home today, I could swing by the organic market and buy chicken breasts so she could use the rosemary she’d picked from her herb garden.
I texted to let her know I’d gotten the message and would pick up the chicken, wondering why she hadn’t left the message on my cell instead of my office phone. Due to the fact that my dad was an office desk man, I supposed old habits died hard. According to the web designer, I’d know, since my taste was so incredibly “old-school.”
With my phone in my hand, it was all too easy to pull up Ellie’s name.
Me:Any tips for sending an email you don’t want to? Also, how do I say screw you and sound professional at the same time?
Ellie:It’s funny you ask, because I had to send an email like that earlier today. I’m still worried the reply is going to be a doozy.
I grinned,not at the expense of her anxiety, but because she’d used “doozy.”
Ellie:I did my best to stick to facts and figures, while also being firm. I swear sometimes men will dig in their heels just because I’m a woman and they don’t think I could possibly know what I’m doing.
Indignance rose upon her behalf. How dare anyone treat her like that? Even though it was hard for me to imagine her being firm or reciting figures. Mostly due to her sunshine-y, hyperactive personality. She’d joked one of her hobbies was legal caffeinated substances, but I could drink four pots of coffee and not come anywhere close to the amount of energy she exuded. She was exceptionally smart, too, forever sprinkling our conversations with random trivia and obscure information that made me feel like I needed to amp up my learning game. The other night I’d tried to impress her with my knowledge on the difficulties in providing education to girls in Afghanistan, and Ellie jumped right in, already well-versed on the subject. How was it that I’d been there, and I still had to work to keep up with her?
That was a task for later. Right now, I’d focus on the guy being a jerk to Ellie.
Me:Want me to beat them up for you?
Ellie:I do, but I don’t feel like getting fired today. Maybe tomorrow?
Ellie:JK. If I survive the project, then I’ll plot my revenge.??
Me:Well, if you decide you need a Robin to your Batman, LMK.
I staredat the abbreviation for a second and then shook my head. Between my sister and Ellie and her LOLs, IMOs, and other shorthand phrases were starting to become part of my texting vocabulary too. Next thing you knew, I’d be adding a bunch of emojis that didn’t have anything to do with anything.
Ellie:?? ?? ??
It took me a second,but I got it. Batman loves Robin’s offer to help. Or something similar to that, anyway.
Me:Okay, facts and figures. Be firm.
Ellie:And so sugary sweet it gives the other person a toothache.
My thumbs hoveredover the emoji keyboard. Half the time, I still had to type out the word to find the stupid symbol I was searching for, which defeated the entire purpose. But I’d do just about anything to make Ellie happy.
I froze, my worries about getting in too deep drifting to the surface. Did I need to clarify what this was between us? How did I do that when I didn’t even know? I’d warned her I was only here temporarily, and it wasn’t like she’d hit on me or asked to take things further.Just enjoy it while you can. Worry about that bridge if you have to cross it.
It couldn’t be any scarier than that worn rope bridge from the picture I’d sent her. Which reminded me—she kept insisting I owed her an embarrassing photo. I’d have to do some searching, but I had just the one in mind. The real question was whether or not I had the strength to send it to her. Again, that was a quandary for later. First things first, I needed to respond to my combative web designer and her low blow email.
Luke:?? ??
In return,Ellie sent a gif of Yoda that said “No more training do you require,” and I sat there basking in the warmth cascading through my body and wondering if maybe I should take a step or two toward that bridge I was so afraid of crossing moments ago.
8
Ellie
