Randi smiled. “Thanks.”
Eden got out of the car and Randi waited until she was safely in her house with the front door closed before backing out of her driveway.
On the short drive to her apartment she replayed the night in her head. Eden was right. It had been strange at times. She kept looking for sparks between Eden and Kelly, but didn’t see any. For a moment, she thought there might be when she saw a familiar smile on Eden’s face; however, Eden had turned and directed the smile at Randi.
Randi shook the thought out of her head. “No way,” she muttered. All this talk about friends to lovers and sparks had made her see things that weren’t there.
All she needed was a good night’s sleep. The presentation tomorrow was a big deal to the company and to her. That’s where her mind needed to be.
As she got ready for bed she went over the main points she wanted to make in her head. She was glad Eden would be there. It did give her an extra shot of confidence, but she didn’t need it. Randi believed in HLR’s strategies, products, and people’s ability to take Cari’s books and her career to the next level. Convincing Cari to make the investment in herself and her books would be the hard part.
Randi slipped between the covers and settled into bed. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. When she closed her eyes she thought of Eden’s smiling face. There had been times over the years when she wondered if she had a chance with Eden, butthe risk was too great so she’d kept her feelings buried inside her heart. She rolled over and fell asleep thinking of her best friend.
The next morning Eden found Randi in the conference room preparing for the presentation. She set the cup down in front of Randi and smiled. “Here you go,” she said. “One vanilla frappucino with an extra pump of caramel for the star of the show.”
Randi sneered and reached for the cup, taking a sip. “Oh, that’s good.”
Eden looked Randi up and down and felt a little flutter in her stomach. She didn’t know how many times she’d seen Randi in this outfit, but today she looked…especially striking.
“I see you took my suggestion to wear the suit,” Eden said, raising her brows.
Randi smiled and smoothed her hands down the front of her blazer. “I did. You know what makes me look good.”
“I do.” Eden smiled. “You look very professional and also quite stunning.”
Randi looked at Eden and widened her eyes.
“Own it, Powell. You know you look good. Give me that confidence,” Eden encouraged her.
Randi chuckled. “I’ve got my confidence and if I don’t?—”
“You can always fake it.”
“You do listen to me sometimes, don’t you?”
Eden laughed. They’d spent many evenings with Randi practicing a presentation and Eden offering suggestions. Randi was never short on confidence, but always made the quip that she could fake it, if need be.
“All set?” Analise asked, walking into the conference room.
“Yes ma’am,” Randi replied.
Analise looked at her watch. “Cari should be here anytime. You didn’t keep her out too late last night, did you?”
Eden and Randi exchanged a look. “No,” they replied in unison.
The phone buzzed in the conference room and Analise picked it up. “I’ll be right there.” She turned to Eden and Randi. “She’s here.”
When Analise left the room Eden stood in front of Randi, smoothed the lapels of her blazer, and rested her hands on Randi’s shoulders. “I’m really glad you were here this week. You’re the best person for this presentation. I’ll be sitting right here, cheering you on.”
Randi smiled and exhaled a deep breath. “I’m glad I’m here, too.”
Analise led Cari into the conference room. Randi walked over to meet them and smiled.
“Wow, you look different than you did last night,” Cari said, raising her brows.
Randi gave Eden a knowing smile and turned to Cari. “We’re like a family here at Hook, Line & Reader, but we are professionals and take your career seriously. Let me show you.”
Randi rolled one of the chairs out for Cari to take a seat.
