Page 72 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“It’s a gift!” She mimed a small bow. “Just make sure you pack plenty of moisturizers. You know how dry you get. I can’t imagine you won’t be a piece of ashy toast down there.”
I sucked my teeth at the thought. “Have I told you how hilarious you are?”
“No.” Jackie fluffed her pixie cut. “It would be nice if you did, though. I’m not lacking in self-confidence, but compliments are nice either way.”
“You’re right, but I wouldn’t want to lie to you.” I stuck my tongue out at her then called for Natalie.
“Oh, soyou’rethe comedian!” She leaned across my desk picking up the document left there. “To Conjure Love. What are you doing with this?”
“It’s the new production at the studio we’re contracted with. No one is supposed to know about this, so don’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, I already know about it.” She waved her hand at me. “The announcement isn’t out, but I have an inside tip, of course. I can’t wait for the big party!”
“How do you know about this?”
“Lena… The name didn’t look familiar to you? That’s our Lena!” she shouted. “Our girl is a star!”
“What?” I picked up the document. “Oh shit, how did I miss that?”
“Miss what?” Natalie asked as she entered.
“Um, nothing.” I quickly changed the subject because, as much as I loved Natalie, she had a problem with gossip. “Natalie, I’ve been training you over the last few days to take on more responsibility around here, and you’ve done an amazing job. Which is great, because I’ve been training you for a reason.”
“Thank you.” She grinned. “What reason? Am I getting a promotion?”
“Something like that, yeah.” I nodded.
“Your boss is taking a much needed…vacation,” Jackie offered. “And you’re going to be running this place for her. I’m sure that leads to a promotion and a pay bump of some kind.”
After a sharp side-eye to the woman promising raises she wouldn’t be paying for, I offered Natalie more explanation. “I’m going to be going away for a few weeks, starting tomorrow. I understand if this is too short of notice for you to—”
“No, absolutely. I can handle it.” She waved her hands to stop me from speaking. “You sure you don’t want to leave now?”
“You’re that ready to get rid of me?” I chuckled. “I thought you liked me as your boss.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way.” Natalie scratched her neck nervously.
“Yes, you did, and that’s okay.” Jackie sucked her teeth. “She needs to back off! This will be great practice for her. Besides, I’ll be here if you need anything. Jericha has downloaded everything about this business into my head. So, she can go away and completely disconnect. Also, I’ll be the one processing payroll or any otherfinancial things.”
“Jackie, you’re supposed to be on my side,” I butted in.
“I’m on the side of the greater good. It’s all I can do, since I’m not funny enough for my dream career in standup comedy.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
“I’m just going to get things wrapped up here, and then we can go.” I moved to clean up my desk but was cut off by Natalie.
“Let me!” Natalie offered eagerly. “I’ll be in control for a few weeks anyway, right?”
“True.” I glanced back at the desk, longing for the safety of overworking.
“Okay, well, I’ll handle things tonight, and then you can let me know how I did tomorrow.”
“Brillant idea, Natalie.” Jackie clapped. “See, she’s already running this place like a pro!”
A few minutes later, Jackie pushed me out the front door. I took one last glance back to see Natalie standing with her tablet in hand, grinning and waving. I imagined she did a cartwheel and danced around the office the second we were out of view. Okay, the cartwheel might have been overkill, but she would have definitely done a celebratory shuffle.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked as Jackie drove me away from the office.
The woman was clearly planning to kidnap me, because Miguel was there to drive her rental. He followed us closely.
