Page 11 of Say My Name

Then my business consumed most of my life, Cliff built his life around his family, and Elena disappeared from my regular orbit… Until now.

I try to keep my eyes focused on hers but god damn, Cliff’s little sister grew up.

I immediately push that thought aside, guilt replacing it for even noticing my best friend’s little sister is now a stunningly beautiful woman who is staring back at me with wide eyes.

She’s twenty-six. An experienced acquisitions strategist with an MBA, an impressive record, and no reason at all for me to think of her as Cliff’s little anything. The woman standing in front of me is composed, watchful, and beautiful in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

I gesture toward the chairs beside my desk. “Have a seat.”

“I’d rather look at the projections you sent.”

I stop. “You already reviewed them?”

“You attached them to the calendar invitation.”

“For context.”

“Yes. I used the context.”

She walks over to the conference table where I left the acquisition summary for a meeting later this afternoon. I follow, more interested than I was five minutes ago.

“Cliff said you’re looking for a change,” I say.

Her shoulders tighten beneath her jacket. It’s small. So small I might have missed it if I weren’t watching her too closely.

“I am.”

“Why?”

“My current position has stopped being the right fit.”

It’s a polished answer that tells me nothing.

I lean against the table. “What stopped fitting?”

Her eyes hold mine. “The company’s direction and mine separated.”

“Recently?”

“Does it matter?”

“It might.”

“Then I suppose you’ll have to decide whether my work is good enough to make the reason less interesting.”

There’s no attitude in her voice. No attempt to impress me with a rehearsed challenge. She means it and I like it.

I should push. Cliff called last week and asked me to meet with her because she needed out of her current company. He didn’t ask for a job, and I didn’t offer one. I assumed this would be a courtesy interview followed by lunch and a recommendation to someone in my network.

Now I want to know why she’s leaving. More than that, I want to know what she can do.

I pull out the acquisition summary. “You said you reviewed the projections.”

“Yes.”

“What did you think?”

“They’re wrong.”