Page 111 of Bargain With the Boss

I was tempted to say the word. Scream the word, yes. Please come here and let me lean on someone.

But I didn’t. She didn’t deserve to sit here in my condo while I worked. While I tried to save my team by facing my mother.

Thanks. I didn’t know I needed to hear that.

Claire:

Should I book?

I’ll let you know.

Claire:

Okay. Don’t work too hard.

No guarantees.

I took a moment to fluff and deadhead my flowers while drinking coffee as the sun peeked from the rooflines of my neighborhood. It was time to face the day.

The ride into work was on autopilot. No one knew I was coming back, least of all my mother. I parked in the garage, frowning when I didn’t see my mother’s car in her usual spot.

Great.

I dug out my phone and finally read the texts from her. She was going to London for three days.

So I did all this for nothing.

That’s what I got for not checking my messages. As if ignoring things would make everything okay.

Hadn’t I already learned that lesson?

I sighed and got out of my car, crossing to the elevators. Instead of going up to my floor, I went right to the studio on the lower level. Lynn, my head of graphics, was busy behind her massive three screens. She took care of our social media photos of the new collections. She had a whole bedroom, living room, and kitchen set up in the massive space.

Like our very own IKEA showroom.

It was her job to show off the line to its maximum potential. Then the individual stores would take cues from her and create similar displays. We allowed them to take liberties and make each store special, but Lynn had a knack for finding the best way to work with each piece.

A Home You Love was a bit less clean lines and more elegant over the top. We were on the cusp of summer, but a twelve foot Christmas tree was already decorated in the Charlotte printribbons. Fat white and silver ornaments filled the tree along with picks of massive white poinsettias to fill in the spaces.

It was fussy as hell, but as usual Lynn made it work.

There was a couch with the same blue tone of the pattern with decorative pillows in the French pattern. Club chairs in the Charlotte pattern flanked a long coffee table, with candles and ornaments artfully arranged in a long tray.

“You outdid yourself.”

Lynn’s head popped up. “Oh my God, you’re back.” She rushed over to me, throwing her arms around me.

I patted her back. I’d become a bit easier with hugs thanks to my time in Crescent Cove, but I hadn’t been expecting one from Lynn. “Nice to see you, too.”

“It feels like you’ve been gone forever.”

“Not even a month.”

“Couldn’t tell it by anyone around here.”

“Hey, kiddo.” Pete’s booming voice had me twisting around.

I rushed over to him. “I thought you were fired.”