Page 67 of Made to Love Ya

“Well, I’m glad I was chosen,” I admitted as we walked into the administrative office.

“So am I. I believe this is going to be beneficial for everyone around the board. Give me just a minute to speak with Grace and get your packet,” Kenyatta stated. “Please have a seat.”

I sat in one of the chairs that were positioned along the wall that she pointed to. I pulled out my phone while I waited and sent a text to Izael.

ME:

Hey, baby. Guess what?

I twiddledmy thumbs and anxiously waited for his response. Kenyatta returned in ten minutes.

“Sorry about that. I had to wait for Grace to finish a call. You’ll find the offer letter inside this envelope with the revised salary along with instructions for how you can go online and get the background check started. Remember that this offer is contingent upon you passing the background check.”

“No drug test?” I asked as I looked through the papers.

“No, because although you’re a writer, you’re not like the other staff who work in house all the time. Because you’ll only be here one or two days out of the week, you’re free to do you. I say that very lightly, though.”

“Don’t worry. I have no plans on going out and getting smashed or addicted to anything. This alone is my high…well…sugar.”

Kenyatta laughed as we stepped out of the office.

“Yeah, you and me both. Well, thanks again for returning and interviewing with us. I look forward to working with you, Talia.”

“And the same for me, Kenyatta. It was a pleasure talking with you both.”

She nodded and led me to the receptionist’s desk. “Amerie, would you please stamp Ms. Campbell’s parking pass?”

“Sure,” the receptionist stated and looked at me with a brilliant smile.

Kenyatta walked off while I searched my purse for my parking pass. Just as she disappeared I heard some voices coming around the corner. One of them was Asante. She must have finished her meeting, but the other voice was all too familiar and caused my fingers to freeze inside of my purse.

“If you don’t have your ticket, I can call down to security and ask?—”

“Oh, no. I’m sure that it’s in here somewhere,” I muttered as I strained to hear the conversation that drew closer to us. I pulled the pass out and handed it to the receptionist.

“Thank you so much for calling back and changing your mind. You know that we value your opinion and hold it in high regard, Zae.”

“Not a problem at all. I’m just glad that you considered my change of heart,” Izael stated and chuckled.

“With your initial concerns, I wouldn’t have moved forward on hiring her for our cooking column. But I’m glad that you no longer hold those same reservations. I know that she’ll be a great hire,” Asante declared as they stepped into the lobby.

“Here you are,” Amerie stated and handed my pass back to me.

I looked up from the pass, and Izael’s eyes met mine. He had a worried expression on his face, and Asante’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, there she is now. I’m glad that I caught you before you left. I was just telling our board chair that I think you’ll be a perfect fit for our magazine. Talia Campbell, meet Izael Ellis, our board chair.” Asante introduced us.

My heart slammed in my chest, and I was stunned. Asante’s words about Izael changing his mind about me being hired raced through my mind as a niggling thought crept into my mind. I kept trying to reach for it, but it was eluding me.

“Talia?” Asante stated.

Just as she called my name, the other thought popped up. The day that Izael had been on my computer to sign his contract, I had forgotten to close out of my dashboard that day. My blog was something that I still hadn’t shared with him yet, but when I pulled it up the next morning, I hit the back arrow to go back to what I had been working on last.

Only that wasn’t what came up. Some other articles that I hadn’t even opened in a while popped up. I realized then that Izael might have accidentally clicked on something, but when he never mentioned my blog, I assumed he didn’t realize anything. Now, I knew that he had known all along. But why would he have gotten involved with my application toBBBGmagazine?

“I…uhm…I have to go,” I declared.

“Talia! Wait!” Izael called after me.

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