Page 89 of Boss Level

“Are you okay?” Claire looked concerned.

No. My heart was broken. Was that stupid? How else was I supposed to describe this ache in my chest? There was nothing I couldn’t fix… except this.

I was startled when Claire threw her arms around me and squeezed tight.

“What are you…?” I didn’t have a choice but to hug back. My body wouldn’t let me ignore this.

“I don’t know what’s making you look like that, and you probably don’t want to talk to someone silly and inexperienced like me, but I’m here.”

The longer she squeezed, the more the weight on my chest lifted. The frustration and pain didn’t go away, but they no longer felt overpowering. “Thank you.” I took a deep breath, lingered a little longer, and gently broke away. “I’ll grab a step ladder. How do we attach these things to the wall?”

“I have hooks.” Claire said.

This would be fun. “Perfect. Let’s do this.”

We dove into decorating. The longer we worked, the more Claire’s holiday cheer buoyed me. There was no reason to talk about work, and she didn’t seem any more interested in small talk than I was, so we flitted from one topic to the next.

“We should watch more Christmas movies when we’re done.” She handed me three plastic icicles with hooks.

I positioned them on the strand of tinsel I was next to. “You really like those. The world isn’t always rainbows and butterflies and happily ever after.” I wasn’t trying to be cruel, but I did want to understand.

Hopping down, I moved the step ladder over a few feet, and climbed again to hang more ornaments.

“I realize that,” Claire slipped hooks into plastic with practiced efficiency. “Not sure if you noticed, but everything around us spends a lot of time trying to remind us how much the world sucks. Pain sells. And people pay a lot of money to escape it.”

That was one of the most profound things I’d heard in a long time. “Denying it doesn’t make it go away.”

“I’m not denying anything. I may work to make bad situations good…” She trailed off.

When Claire didn’t finish her thought, I glanced at her. She was thinking about Dale, I was certain of it. Before I could reassure her, she gave a quick shake of her head. “But that doesn’t mean I ignore the bad,” she said. “And sometimes, most of the time, enjoying genuinely kind things feels like its own sort of defiance. You know? Like giving the world the finger and telling it I can feel good despite its attempts to the contrary.”

I’d never heard happy endings described as defiance before. “I like it. You pick the movies and I’ll watch.”

“Yay.” Claire clapped.

My phone rang.Xander?I reached for the device without thought.

No. Grant’s name was on the screen.

“I have to get this,” I said to Claire, and hopped the few steps to the floor. “This is Judith,” I answered.

“It’s Grant Lent.”

I know. Thanks for the update though.“What can I do for you?”

“I got your call Friday, about Elliot. You’re making a mistake.” Of course he didn’t apologize for waiting to call me back, for doing so on a Sunday, or for shitting on my resolution.

And I wouldn’t back down. “I disagree. This is one of the best possible solutions, given the circumstances.”

The sigh Grant let out was one I’d heard too many times in my life. I didn’t used to interpret it assilly woman, you don’t get it, but over time that became all I heard in a noise like that.

“If you run this business based on emotions, onfriendshipyou will fail,” Grant said.

“No.” My reply came easily. “Compassion, reason, instinct all have their place when they’re used right. This isn’t about any of that—it’s about not burning a bridge with one of the brightest minds in the industry. The numbers say that.”

Another sigh from Grant. How many until I set a personal record? “Call it what you will, but I won’t be involved with a company that runs itself this way.”

Was that a threat? I didn’t know if he was bluffing, hoping for me to yield, or if he was just pulling out, period.

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