Page 51 of The Situation
Her eyes widen. “Why?”
“He called me … well, he called me on Friday, but I didn’t get his messages until Saturday. Basically, his mother was put into hospice, and he needed to be home with his family.”
“Oh, man. I hate that for him. Is he okay?”
My heart tugs in my chest. “I think he’s as okay as anyone can be when you find out that your parent is passing away.”
A wave of despair breaks over me as I recall the moment that I found out both of my parents had been in a terrible accident, and that my father had passed, and my mother was on life support. A ball of fire settles into the base of my throat. For a few seconds, it’s hard to breathe.
“Wow,” she says on an exhale. She stares out my office window as if she’s trying to process it all.
I glance at the legal pad full of notes I took on Saturday evening with Charlie. He insisted on sharing every file, note, and inspiration he had for the Raptors rebrand. I’m awed by his marketing prowess and vision. I also wish I’d had more time to learn from him. For someone leaving a company, especially under such dire circumstances, he was certainly upstanding in how much time he spent preparing his assistant.
I’m convinced, however, that more than anything, he was keeping himself busy until his flight took off on Sunday morning. Preoccupying oneself is something I can relate to these days.
Tally sighs. “Not to be insensitive, but what do we do now? Are they replacing him? Are we just waiting around until he comes back?”
“I honestly don’t know. I assume that’s what we’ll discuss in the meeting this morning.”
“So I’m guessing you flew back from Columbus on Saturday?”
I nod. “I came here straight from the airport Saturday afternoon. We were here until nine o’clock that night, just going over things and …” I frown. “I don’t think he wanted to be home alone with his thoughts. And since I’ve lost both of my parents, I was a good sounding board.”
“Was that hard for you? I mean, I can imagine that it would be difficult to talk about losing your mom and dad, especially when someone else is in the heavy emotional stages of it.”
“I don’t think anyone ever enjoys talking about things like that. But I guess I feel like if I can use my grief and pain to make someone else feel more seen or heard, then at least it’s doing some good.”
Tally smiles at me, nodding. “I love you.”
Her declaration makes me laugh.
“I mean it,” she says, laughing too. “You are the best person. You’re kind to everyone. Thoughtful. You’re so full of wisdom.”
“Okay. Easy there. Now I know you’re just flattering me.”
“I am not.” Her laughter fades. “I feel fortunate that I’ve gotten to work with you.”
My cheeks flush as I grab my coffee. “Well, I feel fortunate to have my very own hype woman.”
“Hey, speaking of hype women, weren’t you a professional cheerleader?”
I nod. “I cheered for the Illinois Legends, the pro football team, in my twenties.”
“See? You’re the epitome of cool. I’ve learned so much about not only marketing from you but also how to be a strong woman.”
I don’t know what to say to that because I certainly don’t feel like a strong woman all the time or most of the time. In fact, if Tally had met me when I was reeling from learning I’d married a selfish, egotistical bastard, she might have different thoughts about me.The way he treated his daughter was disgusting.But it does make me feel good to know that I might be having a positive impact on my intern.
She shifts in her seat. “On that note, I might not be able to help Charlie, but I can help you. What can I do to assist you, Aurora?”
I look around my desk and search for an answer.
I’ve fixated on this job for the past day and a half. I’ve been over every aspect of things front to back, side to side. I promised Charlie that I would maintain our vision, and I intend to do just that. But I’ve focused on it for so long that I need a break to refresh my brain.
“Thank you for asking,” I say. “I’m sure there will be a million things you can do to help. But for right now, I want to mentally check out for a few minutes while I can.”
“Understandable.”
I lean against my desktop. “Why don’t you tell me about your weekend? How was pickleball?”
