Page 64 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Where were you going to move?”
“I toyed around with New York for a while before coming to my senses.” I didn’t want to get into that, so I kept talking before he could ask why. “The thing is, I got my start at Metamorphosis. I’ve worked there for eight years. All my clients signed contracts with me through the company, so they’d be considered Metamorphosis’s clients, not mine. I only keep them if I stay with the company.”
“But how many of them are going to need their places redone again? If they refer someone else, I’m guessing they refer them to you, not the company.” Jake set down his fork. “I could crunch some numbers and set up a business plan if you want me to. It’s kind of my specialty, you know.”
I took another bite of the cake and pushed the plate back to Jake. “The only time I really have to deal with Patricia is when I do the commercial jobs. I can power through it, like I did last time. I just wish they didn’t take so long.”
“Lots of people get comfortable with where they’re at and are too afraid to change, so they settle with what they’ve got.”
“Sounds like my stance on relationships.”
“Well, in any relationship,” Jake said, meeting my gaze, “including your business ones, you have to decide if you’re going to put in the effort to make it work.”
I slumped back in my chair. “Great. Not even a job I love has a happy ending.”
“You decide the ending. If you don’t like something, all you have to do is find a way to change it.”
“It sounds like a good idea and all, but I know better.” That awful sense that my life was about to get more complicated burned away at my gut. “Things never end the way you want them to.”
I knew that better than anyone.
Chapter Twenty-two
Barbara’s party had a good chance of being boring, but at least it gave me an excuse to wear my new silver-and-black print dress. I twisted my hair into a loose bun at the base of my neck, then pulled out a few face-framing strands. After looking over my collection of shoes, I decided to add some color with my plum heels. Dangly purple earrings completed the look.
There was a knock on my door, and I went to answer it. Jake stood in the hall wearing a black suit and looking like a million bucks. He leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Hey, gorgeous.”
Just like that, the stress filling me melted away. I put my arms around him, soaking in the way he looked, smelled, and felt. Then I tipped onto my toes and kissed his freshly shaven cheek. “You look nice.”
My cell phone rang and I groaned. Since Patricia had been calling nonstop, I’d programmed a special ring for her. “I’ve got to get that.”
“Where’s my report?” Patricia asked the second I answered.
“In your inbox. I stuck it there before I left.”
“I’m not going to the office tonight. E-mail it to me.”
Working to control my voice, I took a deep breath. I’d wanted to e-mail it in the first place; she was the one who’d insisted she wanted the large printout. “I can’t. I’m on my way to Barbara’s party and the files are on my work computer.”
“I thought you were going to be a team player. Now you can’t do it because of a party?”
“A party for one of our high-paying clients. It’s a great chance for me to network. I’ll e-mail you the information first thing tomorrow morning.”
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before she snapped, “Fine. You know this is a big account. We can’t afford to screw it up.”
“I’ve got all the groundwork laid already. You just need to make the final decisions, then we’ll present it.”
“I expect it to be in my e-mail first thing tomorrow morning.”
“It’ll be there.” I let out a breath, frustration burning through me. Getting to choose my clients over the past year had spoiled me. Already this hotel thing was becoming a big headache.
When I ended the call, Jake was standing at my window, pouring a glass of water into my mostly dead plant. “I thought you said watering it was a waste of time,” I said.
“At first I thought you should put it out of its misery, but it won’t give up and I admire that.” Jake glanced around. “Where’s the other one?”
“It gave up.” His I-knew-it expression caused me to add, “I swear it wasn’t my fault. It was already on its way out when I got it here.” I tossed my keys and cell into my beaded clutch and hooked my hand in his elbow. “Now let’s go party.”
…
