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I went into her office, and she gestured for me to take a seat. I knew I should apologize, but before I had a chance she said, “How are you doing, Soph? Are you okay?”
Was that a trick question? “Of course. I’m fine. Great, actually.”
“Really.” Edie sat down in her chair and stared at me with a tilted head, like she was thinking hard. Aboutme.
“Yes, really,” I said, giving her the most reassuring smile I could come up with.
“Here’s the thing. We talk about work-life balance, but are we actually carving it out in our life? That’s a question we all have to ask ourselves,” she said as she clasped her fingers in front of her face.
“Yes,” I agreed. “For sure.”
“It’s important for our creativity, and for our holistic well-being.”
“Agreed,” I replied, wishing she’d get on with it.
“Since your breakup, Sophie, you’ve been working nonstop.”
“No, I haven’t.”
She put on her readers and looked at her computer screen. “Friday, three twelve a.m., an email from Sophie Steinbeck about rebranding. Saturday the fourteenth at two thirty p.m.—an email from Sophie Steinbeck about benefit renewal meetings. On Easter Sunday, at ten a.m.—an email from Sophie Steinbeck about a potential new payroll vendor.”
I blinked and tried to remember what I’d done on Easter. “I mean, do I sometimes send after-hours emails? Sure. Does that mean I have no work-life balance? I don’t think that’s accurate.”
“Pardon my French, but that’s bullshit and you know it.”
“I’ll start making it a priority,” I said, desperate to convince her we were on the same page. “Because I really do believe it’s important.”
“Sure you do.” Edie took off her readers and leveled me with an I-see-you stare. “The other thing here is that everyone in this department—in this building, in this company—knows that you hate Stuart Lauren.”
“I don’thatehim—”
“And who can blame you? But the closer I get to retiring, the more you need to be seen as professional, charming, and well-rounded. No one is going to think you’re ready for this job if you can’t stop yourself from growling at Stuart every time he talks.”
“It wasn’t a growl, it was a groan,” I clarified, still mortified by my childish reaction.
“It was a goddamn cry for help, Soph.” Edie gestured toward me with both hands and said, “You know that I want to recommend you, but how can I do that in good conscience if you aren’tbehavinglike a vice president? If everyone knows you still have issues with your ex in sales?”
Well, shit.I didn’t say anything, because what the hell was there to say to that?
“Let me ask you this, as a friend,” she said. “Have you even left the house, socially, since the breakup?”
I wanted to say,None of your business, but that wasn’t going to help my case. “I actually went to a wedding a few weekends ago.”
She didn’t look impressed. “That doesn’t count.”
“But I went with a guy.” I got out my phone and quickly scrolled to the selfie. “See?”
I held it out, suddenly desperate to convince her that I had a social life.
“That is one hell of an attractive man.” She moved her face alittle closer to the phone, then raised her eyes to me. “Dear God, Sophie—is that the guy who crashed your wedding?”
Oh, shit.“Yeah, um, funny story,” I blathered. “We kind of became friends after that.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, her mouth dropping open. “And now you’re dating him?”
“Not really,” I said, but when her face fell, I added, “yet.”
Two dark eyebrows shot up, and she sat back in her office chair. “Is that right?”
