Page 53 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“Thank you, everyone. I’ll email you the documents after lunch. Great. Thanks again.” Andrew hung up and let out a groan that echoed to the edge of the woods.
“How was that?” Lillian asked, poking the cat’s ear.
“Wasn’t expecting to be in a conference call this morning,” he replied, rubbing his face. “It went fine. If I was still unconscious they would have seriously messed up some of our operations, but it’s fine now. I really need to hire an assistant who’s on the same wavelength as I am.”
“Is it hard to hire one?”
“Just have to get approval and then do a bunch of interviews, I guess. I could pick an insider and just move them up. I don’t know. I need lunch first.” He looked at her. “What have you been up to?”
“Well, I’ve had a phone call from Katharina.”
“The Los Angeles girl?”
She nodded. “Yeah. She bought a guest house, had it moved on a truck into her backyard, and wants me to decorate it.”
Andrew clapped. “Hey, that’s awesome!”
“In theory, yes. But she wants me to come this weekend.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem is you being here alone.”
“Oh, come on. It has nothing to do with Cayden coming back?”
“Maybe a little of that,” she admitted.
“Is Katharina hot?”
Reluctantly, Lillian nodded, and pulled up the photo of Cayden and her working out last week. Holding the phone up, she watched Andrew’s jaw drop.
“Dude,” he said.
“I know.”
He shook his head back to normal. “Does you not wanting to go have anything to do with her and Cayden working out together every week?”
Lillian scowled. “Maybe. I mean, she loves my work. Which is cool, I guess. She said she wouldn’t hire anyone else to fix up her place, so it makes me feel good.”
“It should make you feel good! She’s a sexy, rich woman who has the world at her fingertips, and she wants you to organize and decorate her place.”
“I’m not a decorator.”
“You always say that, but you really are. You can do both; it’s just natural for you.” He gave her a little push. “Come on, Lillian. You have to go. Why not? None of your excuses are good enough to not go to Los Angeles, on a paid trip, to do something you love and are good at.”
“Last time I wanted to go,” she pointed out, “you thought it was a mistake.”
Andrew got solemn. “I was more cautious then.”
“Then? That was less than a month ago.”
“You and Cayden were having a hard time, and I was worried you would drive yourself crazy being in the same place as him.”
“Did you think Cayden was a mistake?”
“I didn’t know him. Now that I’m getting to, I don’t think it’s a mistake. That’s the past, and we don’t need to bring it back up. Things are good with you two?”
She nodded.
