Page 35 of If You Stayed

Bobby cocked an eyebrow. “Our what with the what-what?”

“Our mentoring program.”

“We don’t have a mentoring program.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but I need to come up with one.”

“Why do you need to come up with a mentoring program?”

“Because I might have told Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter.”

His cocked eyebrows knit together. “Why would you tell Henry Hughes’s wife that we have a mentoring program for their daughter?”

“I actually don’t know why I told her that.”

“Ohh,” he sang. “She’s hot.”

“What? No.”

“She’s not hot?”

“Well, no. I mean, she’s beautiful. I mean, she’s my client’s wife, Bobby. I don’t see her like that.”

“Then why are you offering her daughter a job?”

“I don’t know. To help a kid chase their dream or something.” Shit, why did I offer up a mentorship? Now I had to come up with some things for Ava to actually do.

“Don’t worry, buddy. I think it’s cool. It would be good to have a kid here. I love kicking kids’ asses at Mario Kart during my lunch break.”

I smirked. “That’s a bit childish, don’t you think?”

He grabbed a banana from our fruit basket and shook it in the air as he walked off. “Never grow up. It’s a trap.”

***

A week after I offered Ava a mentoring position, my whole team was on board. Each day, she’d study on a different floor and see how everything was run. She’d also travel with us toappointments and run tasks so she could get a real feel for the environment. I felt extremely grateful for how on board everyone was with me randomly bringing in a kid to follow us around for the summer.

Another week passed, and when Monday came around, Kierra showed up with her daughter, who seemed very timid and shy. I met them in the lobby, where Ava hid slightly behind her mother.

“Hey, you made it. Welcome,” I said.

Kierra smiled, and I felt that shit in my gut. And chest. And all over my body. “Good morning, Gabriel. This is my daughter, Ava.”

Ava stepped out a little and gave a timid grin and waved. “Hi.”

“Hey, welcome to the team. We’re so happy that you’re here,” I informed her.

She just kept nervously smiling.

Kierra leaned in toward me. “She’s a little shy at first but warms up quickly.”

“We can handle shy. Shy isn’t a problem. But I’d love for my receptionist, Jackie here, to take Ava up to the wellness floor so she can make herself comfortable. A few of my employees are there to greet her and show her around.”

“What’s a wellness floor?” Ava quietly asked as Jackie walked over from behind the reception desk.

“It’s a cool way to say video game and candy bar floor,” Jackie whispered, nudging Ava in the side.

Ava’s eyes lit up. “You have a video game and candy floor?”

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