Behind me, Nia made a soft, impressed sound, which I ignored because I was still looking at Nathan, trying to reconcile the fact that the same man who’d dragged me into last-minute meetings and expected me to fix problems before they even existed, was now standing here telling me to take something for myself that would interfere with work.
“Okay,” I said finally, the word coming out slower this time. “Okay, yeah. I can do it.”
Nia lit up instantly. “Perfect.” She beamed. “I have to go. I have a photoshoot to get to, but my team will be reaching out to make everything official.” Nia explained.
“Can't wait to get started.” I held out my hand for her to shake and she did, before pulling me into a hug. Once she pulled away, she thanked Nathan before waving at the both of us and letting herself out, the door clicking shut behind her.
The room fell quiet in that way it only did when something big had just happened and no one quite knew what to say next. I stood there for a second, staring at the empty space Nia left behind, like maybe if I waited long enough, my brain would catch up with what I’d just agreed to.
It didn’t, so I turned to face him.
“You set that up.” I stated, staring at Nathan pointedly.
“I made a call.”
I let out a short breath, crossing my arms, not quite annoyed, not quite anything I could name yet. “You ‘made a call’ that just happened to end with me choreographing a music video?”
“She needed someone,” he said.
“And you thought of me.”
This time, he didn’t deflect it. “Yes.”
I stared at him. “Why?” I asked. Because that was the part that didn’t make sense. Edge Record worked with many season choreographers and I didn’t have half their experience.
Nathan paused for a second before answering. “Why not you? I only employ the best. That includes you. I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t think you were the best fit for the job.”
I held his gaze for a second, something warm settling in my chest. “Thank you.”
It wasn’t just for the opportunity. It was for the way he made it feel like I didn’t have to choose between my job and my passion.
Like I could have both.
And that meant more to me than he’d ever know.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NATHAN
I BUILT MYschedule so I didn’t have to think about it. Every call, every meeting, every shift in priority was filtered, organized, and handed to me in a way that made the day move efficiently.
Elise was very good at that. She didn’t just manage my schedule. She anticipated it. Adjusted it before it needed adjusting. Solved problems before they reached me.
I glanced down at my phone, scrolling through the mess of overlapping calendar notifications.
Now I was doing it myself.
And I understood, very clearly, why most assistants failed at it.
There was a rhythm to it. A balance between what needed immediate attention and what could wait. Between what mattered and what only seemed like it did.
I stepped out of the conference room on Friday, drafting a response to an email that needed my attention, when my footsteps suddenly halted.
Elise was back at her desk like she’d been there this whole time. Only, she wasn’t. She’d been gone all morning, that portion of her day purposely blocked off so she could work with Nia on her music video.
She had shown up on time as usual, wanting to make sure it was okay she would miss the first half of work, even though she’d been doing it all this week, worrying that I wouldn’t be able to handle a few hours without her, but I reassured her that I’d be fine, and I was, but I couldn’t deny that I was glad to see her at desk.
I was about to approach her to ask her how her last day was but Marissa reached her desk first.
