Page 45 of Volatile Obsessions

? Every Breath You Take - Chase Holfelder ?

“Ididn’t think I’d hear from you again,” I said to Isabella, thoroughly intrigued to hear what she had to say after a month of silence. “I’m assuming you have good news for me?”

“Took me longer than usual to get in contact with everyone, but yes, I do!” she exclaimed proudly.

“Fantastic. Let’s hear it then,” I conceded, leaning back in my seat.

“Oh.” She sounded confused. “Right now?”

I glanced at the time displayed on my computer, noting it was well past business hours. Still, she was calling, right?

“Is now not a good time?”

“No, no, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting to catch you at this time.”

“And is that a problem, Miss. Mendoza?”

“No, no, of course not!” she blurted out. “What I’m trying to say is, I was prepared to leave a voicemail thinking you wouldn’t be in the office at this time, that’s all.”

“Well, I’m here,” I stated the obvious, “so go on, tell me what was going in your voicemail.”

“O-okay, well, ummm… I spoke to Sephora and ULTA. They’d love to showcase Black Widowin select stores for a 90-day trial period to see how it does. If it’s a hit, they’ll expand you to every location without question.”

“Oh wow.” I couldn’t hide the surprise in my voice. “That’s actually wonderful news.”

“It is,” Isabella squealed. “I’ll admit, Macy’s still hasn’t gotten back to me yet, but I’ve heard their process is a bit more trying. I’m sure I’ll hear from them soon.”

“Even if you don’t, you got two mass companies to agree. I commend you, Isabella. I truly didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Thank you, Miss Mercier. I appreciate it.”

Her smile was palpable, and while I’d been skeptical of the girl at first, I found myself smiling as well. She proved me wrong, pleasantly so, and because of it, Black Widowwas finally getting the attention it deserved.

“So, where do we go from here? What’s next?” I questioned, pulling out a notepad and a pen from my drawer.

“We’ll need to start with that contract, then from there we can set up meetings with both corporations to review and finalize their propositions,” she explained surely.

“Ah yes, the contract.” I laughed. The girl was adamant as ever. “I’ll tell you what, since it’s getting late… My PA usually handles any and all paperwork for me, and she’s already gone for the evening, so I’m going to leave a note on her desk to ensure she gives you a ring first thing tomorrow morning. Then we’ll go from there. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect! So does this mean you’re hiring me?”

“If we mutually agree to the terms, yes it does.”

“Holy fuck,” she said, but the gasp that followed led me to believe she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Oh my God, I apologize, Miss Mercier. I cuss and gush when I get ner—”

“Isabella,” I interjected, chuckling under my breath. “You’re fine. If we move forward, you’ll find out rather quickly I cuss like a fucking sailor. A crass mouth doesn’t offend to me.”

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed in relief. “I legit thought I just blew that for myself. World record job offer.”

We both shared a laugh then.

“No, alls good. It’ll take more than a few ‘holy fucks’ to piss me off. So I’ll hear from you tomorrow, yes?” I hedged.

“Absolutely! I have you as number one on my to-do list for tomorrow.”

“Organized, I like it. We’ll speak soon then. Have a wonderful evening, Miss Mendoza.”

“You too!”

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