Page 9 of The Reno
Willa’s voice rose an octave. “Renovate the bloody house, will you?” She pointed at me, accusatory. “I’ve seen your Pinterest boards. They aren’t listed as private, you know. I know what you’re like when you have an itch to scratch, especially when it’s something creative. That’s why we need you here. Clients love that vision and that drive. Sodothe bloody thing and come back. How long do you think you’ll need?”
The cogs of my brain were struggling to keep up. Willa was about four paces ahead of me.
“Ugh—” was all I could manage to get out.
“Two months? I’ll give you two. Then I need you back and focused. We’re planning to pitch to some big clients, and I need everyone with their heads in the game, okay?” She patted my hand. She went to rise out of her seat like the job was done.
Panic pressed down in my chest.
“Willa. This is unnecessary. I don’t even know if I want to go up there. It rainsconstantly, and it’s not like I have any friends up there. I barely know my family. It’s ridiculous. And my mum would spit feathers—”
“I will say this as gently as possible because it’s what you need to hear. And because we have no HR. Stop listening to your mum. You are strong and capable when you believe in yourself. But the more you listen to your mum—” Willa exhaled. “Look, I like Paula. Mainly because she likes me.”
Mum approved of Willa almost immediately when she sawhow accomplished she was.A business owner and so young!Mum had gushed.
Willa pointed a manicured finger. “But you don’t take risks when you listen to her. You get scared. Go and do the damn thing.”
Willa made it sound so simple, but she was right about one thing. I didn’t take risks like this. Mum hadn’t needed my diagnosis to train my impulsivity out of me. If I were a boy, my ADHD would probably have been endearing. I would have run around. I would have fidgeted a lot. I would have been disruptive in class, maybe—an endearing nuisance.
But as a girl, it wasn’t so cute.
As a girl, it was repetitive thinking, daydreaming and anxiety. It was all in my head. It was constantly forgetting things and letting people down, especially as I was diagnosed late and had been forced to mask my symptoms.
“It’s not that simple,” I said uselessly.
“It is now. ’Cos you’re fired.” Willa smiled like she was giving me a gift. “I’ve seen your plans. You have an eye for this stuff, Kat. Trust yourself.”
I played with the hair bobble on my wrist. “Well, I do have each room planned out.”
“Exactly.”
I bit my lip. “And I would come back and be able to focus.”
“Yep.”
“Are you sure? I know you need help here—”
“Kat,” Willa interjected, “if Horizon can’t function for two months without one staff member, I have bigger problems onmy hands. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got some things in the pipeline.” Willa idly picked at her nails, then nodded. “By the time you’re back, we’ll have turned it around, trust me.”
Willa stood up, tucking her straight hair behind her ears and touched my shoulder. “I’m excited for you. It will be fun. Try to find some fun, okay?”
I nodded, a lump in my throat.
“Maybe find some sexy local to show you a good time.” She winked. “God knows you need it.”
“Hey!” I said. “I date.”
Willa barked a laugh and nodded sarcastically. “Okay. Beanie-wearing losers with a mattress on the floor. You are really treating yourself.”
Damn it, she’d got me there. That was my type in a nutshell.
“It suits me. I like to keep things casual.”
“You like to keep things non-existent.”
“This is not appropriate for work.”
Willa shrugged, grinning. “I told you—no HR, babes.”
