Page 14 of Atlas
“Of course.” I pushed up from my chair as she continued talking.
“I might as well warn you not to buy Saffron some extravagant gift. Liv won’t have it. She says we’re all spoiling her and that it’s unhealthy.”
“So no pony?” I opened the door with a smile and let Lumi exit first.
“You were getting her a pony?”
“I wouldn’t dare. Liv gave me the same speech about Saffron having a normal childhood and not being showered with gifts. Charles isn’t making it easy because he can’t help himself. She’s his first daughter.” As soon as I said it, I backtracked. “I mean, biological daughter. I know you’re his adopted daughter.”
Lumi waved a dismissive hand. “I knew what you meant. It’s okay. I’ve never seen Charles and Liv as my parents. They’re too close to my age for that.”
I nodded. “Liv also asked me to stop calling Saffron gorgeous and pretty all the time. Apparently, it’s damaging to her personal development.”
“In what way?”
“It was something about beautiful children getting stifled in their development when they aren’t forced to develop humor, charisma, or a charming personality because they get attention for their looks.”
Lumi pressed the elevator button as I continued, “Liv says that Saffron has much more to offer than a pretty face and that we should help her discover other qualities about herself.”
“Maybe Liv has a point.”
“Maybe.”
A low “ding” sounded, and the doors to the lift opened. On cue, Lumi moved close to hug me. “I’ll see you in a little over a week then.”
I took in her familiar scent from her shampoo and felt grateful to have her in my life. “Count on it.”
Letting go of me, Lumi, walked into the lift and asked a man close to the control panel to press one for the lobby. Just before the doors closed between us, we exchanged a smile that warmed me to my core. Of all the people in my life, Lumi was my anchor. She was level-headed and not afraid to speak her opinion, which kept me on my toes. With her, there was no need to explain or hide anything. We shared the same traumatic past, and I knew I could count on her.
Walking back to my office, I thought about what she’d said about men being intimidated by her. I could see why. From a distance, my sister might look like a dream woman with her long black hair, feminine curves, and beautiful features, but all she had to do was give you one of her penetrating stares, and any man would know he wasn’t dealing with a pliable, easy-going woman.
Lumi was tense and focused on results. She needed to remember to have fun once in a while. I knew she wasn’t a one-night stand kind of woman, but damn, she could benefit from getting out of her head and into her body for a while.
She’s not the only one.
I stopped at my desk, tapping at my keyboard to make my screen turn back on, deliberately ignoring the voice in my head telling me that I too needed to find a better balance in life and that it had been way too long since I’d been with a woman.
CHAPTER 4
Agenda
Jolene
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man.”
Walking down the hallway at C.M. Research, I already knew who was behind the loud Dolly Parton song blasting from the office that I shared with my co-workers, Brian and Diane.
“Brian, you can turn that down,” I shouted once I entered the office, zig-zagging between boxes and equipment. The four desks in the room were along the walls, with Brian and me facing each other, while Diane’s desk was up against the opposite wall facing Atlas – when he was there.
I would have swapped places with Diane on the spot if she’d been willing to sit with Brian. Atlas only popped by a few times a week, and he didn’t spend more than a few hours at his desk.
Brian, on the other hand, was like one of my former students with attention deficit disorder. The man couldn’t sit still and focus for more than ten minutes at a time before he began talking, whistling, or drumming on his desk with his hands.
This morning, he had his feet up and was singing along to the Dolly Parton song that I’d been named after. “Your beauty is beyond compare, with flaming locks of auburn hair, with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green. Your smile is like a breath of spring; your voice is soft like summer rain. And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.”
I gave him a strained smile and pointed to the speaker on his desk. “Turn it down, please.”
“All right, all right.” Wrinkling his nose, Brian removed his feet from his desk and turned down the music. “I just thought, I’d make you feel extra special this morning since it’s your one-month anniversary.”
