Page 100 of Tilly in Technicolor
“End?” I whisper. “Tilly, this is only the beginning.”
Chapter 43Hellos and Goodbyes
TILLY
My attention is split between painting Marcus’s and Micah’s nails. After seeing how damn photogenic (and adorably touchy-feely) the couple was at the beach, Mona recruited them as additional hand models. Micah is practically vibrating with excitement.
“Not to be dramatic,” Micah says, voice dripping with exactly that, “but I’m fairly certain this color was made for me.”
Micah lifts their free hand, tilting it in the sunlight streaming through the window. “Like… am I a Ruhe muse or what?”
“Calliope has nothing on you,” Marcus says, leaning over and giving Micah a kiss on the cheek.
“Where are you shooting today?” I ask Ollie from where he’s perched on Mona’s couch. We’ve been back in London for almost a week, and he’s walked me all over this gorgeous city, pointing out things only his sharp eye seems to notice.
“Queen Mary’s Gardens is our first stop,” Ollie says, looking up at me. “Then off to the library. Mona helped organize access to some old book collection or the like. Going for a bit of a back-to-school theme.”
“Love it,” I say, putting the finishing touch on Marcus’s nails. “Don’t you dare smudge,” I add, giving him a stern look. He sticks his tongue out at me.
“Oh, Tilly, I wish you could come with us today,” Micah says wistfully.
“Seconded,” Ollie grunts from the couch. I laugh at him.
“Believe me, I would much prefer to wander around gardens and libraries than meet my executioner.”
Ollie looks at me, tilting his head, before closing his laptop and sliding off the couch to the floor. I bear crawl to him.
“We have all the time in the world to explore,” he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
I grin, a golden swell of feelings swallowing me whole.
He’s right, we do have as much time as we need.
I went to the onboarding meeting withIvya few days ago, and it was absolutely amazing. Everyone on the team seems smart and kind and filled with so much passion I thought my head would explode.
And, to top it off, the company actually seems tocareabout its employees… what a novelty. After going over some logistical points with Ellen, she was more than willing to let me work remotely, especially as it’s part-time right now.
“Many of our employees transitioned to the hybrid model,” Ellen told me. “I see no point in forcing people to come into the office space if it isn’t working for them. Accommodation seems to only spur creativity and work output in my experience.”
Needless to say, I’m totally obsessed with my badass new boss.
I’ll still go to Paris a couple times a month for various meetings and other work that will be easier to do in-person, but I couldn’t be happier to let my roots grow in London.
It feels like, for the first time, I’m exactly where I belong.I’m willing to do a bit of commuting and hustling to keep this dream.
“It’ll be good to see your mom, rip the Band-Aid off,” Ollie continues, tapping his fingers against my leg.
I groan. “We do not speak of it!”
My mom arrives today, and I’m nervous as hell to see her. Part of me, of course, is excited. It’s my mom. I do love her, no matter how much I don’t get along with her. But it’s easier to lean into the dread—this premonition of things going wrong—than to get my hopes up that things will go right.
A knock echoes through the room.
I freeze, staring with wide eyes at the door.
“Damn it,” I whisper to Ollie. “You’ve conjured her.”
“Stop it,” Oliver says.
