Page 60 of The Rebel
Daisy: Thanks so much. This made the day so much better.
Anthony: I heard your yelp of joy. Wish I could’ve seen it.
That was almost crossing the line, but not quite. But it was the truth.
Then I reread her message and immediately went into her office.
“Did Gregory give you grief? Have you?—”
I stopped talking because Daisy was sitting on her desk. Her legs were crossed, her head tilted slightly backward, eyes closed. She was holding her drink just under her lips. She straightened up abruptly, putting it down on the desk and then hopping to the floor.
“Sorry, what?”
I grinned at her. “My apologies. Didn’t want to interrupt… whatever this is.”
“I was just thanking heaven for caramel.”
“Back to my question. Did Gregory give you grief? You said I made your day better.”
“You did, but that doesn’t mean it started off bad or anything. But this drink is a highlight.”
I made another mental note.
“Gregory was more than fine.”
“No fires to put out?”
“There are quite a few issues, but I’ll deal with them,” she said confidently as she sat behind the desk.
“Daisy, what’s going on?”
“I can deal with everything that’s come up,” she said again. As an employee, she really was a dream.
“You’re doing great work. I’ll do my best to persuade you to stay on.”
She pressed her lips together. “As much as I’m enjoying this, as soon as I get a position as senior marketing manager, I’m out.”
I swallowed hard. It was her prerogative, of course. I was certain Samantha would have something for her soon, but I didn’t want to think about it too often.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked.
She instantly blushed but nodded. “Very much so.” Then she clasped her cup with both hands, taking a sip. “But… it’s still not the weekend.”
I smiled. She smiled back.
“Fair enough.” I was so damn tempted to step inside, but I didn’t. I just had to hold back for one more day. “I won’t be in the office for the rest of the afternoon.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
“I’m just a phone call away if you need anything.”
“Of course.”
With that, I turned around and left. I couldn’t fucking wait for tomorrow. I couldn’t remember the last time I was so eager to take someone out. I tried to pluck that detail from my memory, but it was impossible. It was as if anything I’d had with anyone else was meaningless.
I generally loved Fridays and called it Family Duty Day. My life was fucking epic. I was running a hugely successfulbusiness, and yet my time was entirely flexible. I could do whatever I wanted when I wanted. I was completely aware of the privilege and was grateful for it every day.
Before picking Bella up from school, I dropped by Mom’s gallery. I bought a muffuletta sandwich for her and one for myself. Knowing Mom, she’d forgotten to eat lunch today because she was preparing for a big event this evening.
