Page 20 of She Likes It, Hey Micah
“That’s not a word most people use to describe me.”
“Hence thesecretpart. It’s not something you need to hide, Fischer.”
I shake my head. Though I’m not sure I should really be having this conversation, I want her to understand, at least in part, why I’m so closed off. “You’re better off not knowing me, secret parts or otherwise.”
She grins. “Well, that can’t be true.”
“Miss Taylor? Are you finally back?”
At the sound of Lila’s voice, we both turn toward her office. Weirdly, it feels like we’ve just stepped back into reality after spending the last couple of hours in an alternate universe.
“Back to work,” Micah breathes, which has me wondering if she feels the same way. Still, she bounces over to Lila’s office and jumps right back into assistant mode, her voice cheery and bright. “Everything is confirmed for the twenty-sixth, and Debbie will oversee the event personally.” She opens up the box of leftover samples and holds it out to Lila.
Lila scoops out one of the liver paste bites and takes a delicate bite. She shudders as soon as it hits her tongue, but she does a surprisingly good job of hiding it. “Mm, it’s exquisite, as always,” she says, setting the rest of the bite back in the box.
Grant, who sits across the desk from Lila, eyes it warily, and I know he’s thinking it probably tastes as awful as it looks. In all ways he is a meat and potatoes guy, which is the only reason I felt moderately comfortable letting Micah make the switch. “I’m sure it will all taste wonderful,” he says with a healthy dose of skepticism.
“Debbie won’t let you down,” Micah throws in.
“Yes, I personally discovered the chef years ago,” Lila says. “I’ve never trusted anyone else with our most important events.”
It’s subtle, but Micah’s shoulders sink and her smile falters as she stands there like a servant waiting for her mistress to give her an order. I thought she was the one who brought Debbie into the Ember fold. Not Lila. Again, I wonder why she works for this woman when she could do just fine on her own. Why stick with a woman who passes her ideas off as her own?
“Any news on Houston Briggs?” Grant asks, looking at me even though Micah was the one who suggested him.
I could defer to her, but with the way Grant hasn’t given Micah a single glance since she came in here, I have a feeling he’s not going to listen to her anyway.
“I’ll be sending a contract to his agent this afternoon,” I say, and I don’t miss the way Micah deflates even more. Does she think I’m taking credit for her work? “Miss Taylor worked out all the negotiations.”
Her eyes jump over to me, wide and watery, though she’s not quite crying. I swear, she looks at me like I just gave her her dream job, and my chest grows tight thinking about this intelligent and spunky woman getting swept under the rug so often that she’s surprised when someone gives her recognition for something small.
I wonder if she ever takes the blame for other people’s mistakes along with letting others accept rewards for her successes. As someone who took blame for someone else’s huge mistake, I absolutely do not want that for her. No one deserves to pay for someone else’s sins, and I would hate to see her light snuffed out like mine was.
Not that I was ever as bright as she is, but the notion still applies.
“Oh,” Lila says, as if she’s surprised that her assistant would do her job. “Good work, Taylor.”
I don’t like the shocked look on Micah’s face after hearing those words.
“Grant, you have a one o’clock,” I mutter.
“Yes, I know,” he grumbles, which means he had no idea he had any other meetings today. Maybe I should set him up with Micah’s colorful calendar. Maybe then he’ll actually look at it. “Lila, I look forward to seeing these plans take shape.” He reaches for her hand, and their lingering eye contact after their handshake lasts way longer than it needs to.
Micah notices too, though she seems more excited than concerned about the two of them trying to push the boundaries of a business relationship. Mixing business with pleasure is never a good idea, which is why I tell myself that I should never be in a small space with Micah Taylor again if I can help it.
The more time I spend with her, the more ideas my brain is going to get. Well, not my brain. There’s no logic to the way I’m drawn to her, which is exactly why I need to keep my distance if I can. I can’t afford to get distracted again.
“I’ve got the car,” I tell Grant, which finally pulls him away from Lila.
“Send over that contract before you send it to Briggs’s agent,” Lila says. “I want my people to look over it first.” She points at Micah before turning her full focus to her computer.
Micah offers a shrug and follows me out. “I don’t know much about contracts,” she admits quietly. “And our lawyer isn’t super great. This one is on you.”
“Luckily for you, I am well versed in contracts,” I say, though my words come out rough. Not surprising, considering how much trouble the last six months have been for me because of contracts gone awry. I’ve learned my lesson, and I will be sure to have everything airtight. It helps that there won’t be any money exchanged with Briggs, so things can only get so muddy.
Grant shoots me a look that says he heard what I said about contracts, and he seems to be asking me if it’s a good idea for me to be handling that part. I’m honestly surprised he made the connection; he knows all about the trouble I’ve been in, but I wouldn’t have thought he would remember details.
I turn to Micah. “Anything else you need from us today, Miss Taylor?”
