Page 98 of Hooked
“You could keep a room at your parents’ house.”
No one spoke.
“I know it’s not ideal. But Tayla, think about it. They have room. It wouldn’t even be a question whether you could live there one week out of the month, and the commute is completely reasonable.”
Tayla felt sick to her stomach. “On the surface, that might seem like a good idea, but I think you’re forgetting that my main objection to my parents’ house is thatmy parents live there.”
Daisy was wincing. “Emmie, I don’t think—”
“You have one set of parents,” Emmie broke in. “One. Bianca and Aaron are the only parents you have. And they’re still living. At some point you’re going to have to come to terms with them.”
“Why? I’ve spent years trying to move past them.”
“You can’t pretend they don’t exist.”
“Really? Because I’ve been doing that pretty successfully for years.”
“Your whole reluctance toward adult relationships has been because your parents are so unhappy,” Emmie said. “Don’t you think it might be good to examine that—possibly with them—before it causes you to sabotage something that’s important to you?”
Daisy wrinkled her nose. “I hate to tell you this, but Emmie has a point.”
“You’re going to have to deal with your parents someday,” Emmie said. “And maybe you’ll decide that you truly want nothing to do with them, but it won’t be this avoidance tactic you have going right now. You don’t hate them, Tayla. Especially not your mom. And at some point you’re going to want to introduce Jeremy to them. You might have children someday, and they’re going to want to know who their grandparents—”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Tayla waved her hand at Emmie. “Let’s not get too crazy with the kids thing, okay? I’m still getting used to admitting I’m in love with Jeremy.”
Daisy leaned forward. “Would you consider this as an option? In theory? If you can sell this idea to SOKA—”
“Which is a huge ‘if.’Huge.”
“But not impossible,” Emmie said. “I’m just saying this could be a good opportunity to make some positive change, both for you and your parents. You could be with them for a week, come back home and take a break. But you’d go back. And they would know you’d be coming back. It might be what they need to start talking to each other.”
Tayla pursed her lips and considered what Emmie was proposing.
One week in the city. Meetings with SOKA. Employee dinner. Collaboration meetings. Maybe grab a concert or a museum exhibit. Three weeks in Metlin. Nights with Jeremy. Weekends with her friends. Trivia night.
She could do it. In fact, it would be everything she wanted. The question was: Would SOKA be interested?
“If I proposed this,” she said, “I’d have to convince SOKA they would be getting a better employee in the process. Otherwise, what’s in it for them?”
“A happier Tayla. A more productive Tayla.”
“You could also bribe them with food,” Daisy said. “We grow everything around here. Pistachios. Almonds. Grapes. Oranges. And don’t forget the cheese.”
Emmie asked, “Where are their other offices?”
“Nairobi and Chiang Mai, Thailand. And then the main office in San Francisco.”
“All big cities.”
“Yep.”
“But you living in Metlin not only makes a happier Tayla, it also keeps you in touch with a more rural market. Lots of people only buy clothes and house stuff online around here because the choices are limited in the shops.”
She nodded. “That’s a good point.”
“You can sell this.” Emmie leaned forward and put a hand on her arm. “Tayla, you can sellanything. You’ve sold thrillers to little old grandmas and young adult fiction to farmers. You can sell staying in Metlin to SOKA.”
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