Page 60 of Isolation

Rave: Any specific reason why Milo personally has to be there? I came in to wake him up, but I think he is exhausted. I was wondering if someone else could cover for him.

Alexa: Any one of us can take the meeting, but Milo is the one who scheduled it. All of us just got done about an hour ago. I usually don’t mind covering for him, but I honestly don’t have the energy to get out of bed. Sorry, girl.

I frown at Alexa’s text. I feel bad for asking, as I am sure she is as exhausted as Milo. However, I cannot bear the thought of waking him up now that I know he has been asleep for one hour. So, I send her a dumb text.

Rave: I’ll buy you lunch for a week.

Then I send her a ridiculous text.

Rave: I’ll make you that couture outfit you wanted. The EXACT replica.

And the stupidest text of them all. Milo would laugh at me if he were awake right now.

Rave: You know how we decided you get 6% royalty for every dress I sell? Make it 7%

Alexa: You are a terrible negotiator. You should always wait for a response after the first offer, before spewing out more.

Rave: Will you take the meeting or not?

Alexa: How can I say no when you twist my arm into it like that?

Rave: You are the best.

Alexa: I am pretty sure that’s not true.

Rave: No, you are.

Alexa: No, I’m not. But now I understand why he always called you his Xanax. Girl, you just gave up part of your company so Milo can sleep through ONE meeting.

Alexa: Also, we need to have a serious discussion about your negotiation skills if we are going to be business partners. They are terrible.

Alexa: Correction, they are non-existent.

I laugh but lock my phone as Alexa keeps sending me more texts about my poor business skills. Reaching over, I turn off Milo’s alarm which he had already snoozed. He has one of those old fashioned alarm clocks.

That dork.

That old fart.

He is like an eighty-year-old man stuck in a twenty-five-year old’s body.

I am about to get up from the bed when Milo feels the shift of my weight on the mattress, and grabs my hand.

“Stay,” he mumbles hoarsely.

Instead of moving again, I sit still and stroke his hair. He always said it was like magic when I did that, alleviating his anxiety.

I hope I still have some magic left, and can somehow take away all of his fatigue and stress.

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Milo

“Oh please,” Raven laughs, dismissing me with a hand wave. “As if we don’t know of all the shenanigans you used to pull.”

I smile. “What shenanigans? I know not of any such thing. I am responsible.”

I got to sleep for a large portion of the day, thanks to whatever magic Raven must have pulled. I can’t imagine Alexa would have so easily agreed to take my meeting, which was supposed to last a few hours.