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“What were you doing before?”

“Temping mostly.” Haylee hated talking about her past work history. It was abundant, and really only a strong reminder of just how many jobs she’d had that she couldn’t keep. She’d always temped jobs with hopes of permanent positions, but most of those long-term appointments asked her to leave before the time was up, or she chose to.

“Where did you work?”

Haylee sighed. “A lot of different places. I’ve done accounts receivable, office management.” Haylee moved her hands out to indicate the office they were in. “Substitute teaching.”

“Did you go to school?” Allegra genuinely looked interested.

“Yeah. I majored in social work.”

“Did you finish your degree?”

Haylee frowned. “No, I didn’t.”

Allegra hummed. She glanced toward the door she’d just come in, as if she was looking to see if Febe or Cherish were going to show up. “Ever thought about going back?”

“Not really.” Sudden guilt hit Haylee. She couldn’t even finish a four-year degree. She wasn’t made for things that lasted, which meant all these daydreams she was having about Cherish really did need to stop. Nothing ever lasted in her life.

“What do you want to do, Haylee?”

“Excuse me?”

“You strike me as someone more than capable of running this office, but you also strike me as someone who hasn’t quite found her passion yet.”

“How did you get that out of a two second conversation?” Haylee raised one eyebrow, giving Allegra a pointed look.

Allegra grinned broadly, satisfaction at hitting the nail on the head oozing off her in waves. “Answer the question.”

Haylee blew out a breath. “I want to start a specialty here to focus on veteran families. Not immediate families. Think like the aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses to the siblings. I think they’re a missed part of our society, and often don’t have the resources—good resources—that they should have in order to thrive after leaving the military or even while still in it. Their families are also deeply affected by their work, and while military families have strong ties, there is a sense of shame when one is struggling in ways that aren’t acceptable.”

“That’s fair.” Allegra shifted, the lines of her body moving in a way that Haylee would have once thought enticing. But now she was so focused on what she wanted to do that she couldn’t even think of Allegra in that way. “And how can Febe help them?”

“She’s created specialties before. She did that with the queer community, so why not do it with this?” Haylee shifted in her chair, really feeling like she should be standing up for this conversation instead of sitting down.

“But it’s not her passion.” Allegra winked. “It’s yours.”

“Fair.” Haylee gnawed on her lip.

“Do you know what the Holbrook Foundation does?”

“Ms. Ilic!” Cherish’s voice was near a screech. When had she gotten there? Haylee hadn’t even noticed the door opening, but Cherish stood in it, jacket over her shoulders, cheeks red, and eyes wide. “Ms. Aarts isn’t here yet.”

“I know.” Allegra faced Cherish with a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes, not like the one she’d given Haylee a few minutes ago. “I have a meeting with her.”

“No. You don’t.” Cherish glared at Allegra seconds before flashing that glare to Haylee.

What was going on? Did Cherish think something more was happening here? Had she heard what they were talking about?

“I do,” Allegra placated. “I scheduled it with Haylee the other day when she called requesting a meeting.”

Cherish paled. Haylee wanted nothing more than to stand up and run over to comfort her. She was only trying to protect Febe. That was it. Everyone in the room knew that, didn’t they? Why was Cherish acting like this?

“Did you schedule a meeting for Ms. Aarts with Ms. Ilic?” Cherish’s jaw clenched, anger seething in her tone. Haylee wouldn’t miss that if she was a mile away.

“Yeah, I did. Ms. Aarts requested a meeting ahead of the gala.”

Cherish’s mouth pulled tight. “Fine. There was a car accident on the highway. She’s going to be late.” Cherish stalked to her desk and slammed her purse onto it.