Page 27 of Tied Up in Riches

I review his pep talk from when he asked how much I thought I was worth, still surprised by how he seemed to believe in me despite the lack of time we’ve spent together. “Nope.” I smirk. “Not sure there will be enough time between you telling me how amazing my idea is.”

“I like it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s not exactly conventional, but outside of the box is exactly what gets attention.”

“OH. We could even have Charlotte and Emma come to one of the meetings and educate everyone too. They could test their product. Surely it would make it onto everyone’s social media. And we’d get content for our own marketing of course.”

“Do your ideas ever stop?”

“Honestly, I haven’t felt this creative in a long time. Between you giving me control over helping Emma and Charlotte and indirectly free range with no guidelines for this idea, I think the freedom sparked something great.”

“I do too.” He pauses. “I know you keep telling me you’re not staying and that you don’t want a long-term job . . .”

He holds his gaze to me as if he’s waiting for me to contradict him, but I think I keep showing up so he’ll keep asking me if I want to work for him–if I want to stay.

“Take the lead on this project.” He doesn’t ask. “Feel free to check in if you need something from me.”

“You trust me to figure it out?” Bosses don’t give their employees this much control.

He gives me a quizzical look. “Should I not?”

“No. I mean, I got this. Thank you,” I concede without any fightback. I bite into my lip, anxious to text the girls and tell them. The realization slams into me, fusing a crack in my heart. I’ve never had a support system. I’ve never had any sort of group that I felt comfortable around. And I’ve only known a couple of these girls for three weeks. Is this what it feels like to have someone believe in you?

Marcus stands, and I follow suit. “I can trust you to take care of the details?”

“Sure thing, boss,” I say with a light and airy tone.

“Don’t . . . Okay.” He tugs on the back of his neck. “Good. Let me know the schedule you get worked out, so I can change the hours on our website. I can also create a payment page for when you get those details sorted too.”

What was he going to say? Hmm. “Okay. Thank you for this.”

His brows scrunch.

“This opportunity,” I clarify even though I’m already thankful for so much more. I may still not know exactly what I want to do for work when I go home, but I do know I feel better than I ever did working for Beau, and that’s a huge start.

He nods subtly. Without another word, he bends to grab the paper he was reading over before our meeting and walks to his desk. I take it as a cue to leave and make an exit. I swear I feel his eyes on me as I walk out the door, but I don’t turn to check.

The second I’m back in my room, I push the door closed, stripping off my jeans and blouse and exchanging them for my elephant pants and a sports bra. Much better. Diving belly first onto the cloud that is Marcus’ mattress, I kick my feet in the air and pull up the group chat.

Me: GUESS WHAT!!

Avery: What?!

Lexy: He loved the idea?!

Me: It seems like it!

Lexy: I knew he would. Troy did too. He thinks it’s a great idea!

Maci: Aaaahhhh. YES!

Avery: Thank god! I can’t wait. It’ll be like a required girls’ morning out. I need adult interaction.

Me: I’m excited. He’s giving me full control too.

Lexy: Giving you control at work to make up for the control he’d take in the bedroom I bet.

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