Page 51 of Do It With Me

“Thanks for the warning.” I looked at her across the table. “Tell me about today. It looks like your idea was pretty successful.”

She grinned, nodding before she started telling me about it, explaining how she’d rearranged her shop, how the new community craft section was already drawing attention, and how she was planning Second Story Sunday, a sidewalk market to showcase local artists. As she spoke about it, she was glowing, passionate in way I rarely experienced firsthand.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve done in just a day,” I said, genuinely impressed. “You really took that idea and ran with it.”

“It feels good. Like maybe I actually know what I’m doing when I listen to my instincts and trust myself.”

“You do know what you’re doing.” I looked into her eyes, so soft and unsure in the glow of the lights, and for a second, I swore time actually slowed down. “Going through a tough time doesn’t make you bad at business, Ellora. It just means you’re going through a tough time, but here you are, fighting to get through the slump and to find new ways to get customers. That makes you brave and strong.”

It was terrifying, the way she made me feel like I was finally waking up after years of being asleep. She made me believe in things I’d stopped believing in a long time ago. It was both thrilling and dangerous as hell.

“You give me too many compliments,” she said quietly. “I’m not sure what to do with it all.”

“Believe it,” I replied without skipping a beat. “Something tells me you need to start believing in yourself again. Maybe, if you start by believing that I’m honest about all this, it’ll help you get there.”

“Maybe.” She held my gaze for another moment, then smiled and cleared her throat. “Let’s pretend for a minute that it’s not Fix Ellora’s Self-Esteem Day. How did your day go?”

“Great,” I said, honest but a little surprised. “Why?”

“Why?” She frowned, but I could see the amusement in her eyes. “What do you mean, why?”

“I mean, why did you ask? Is it just to get the attention off yourself or do you actually want to know?”

“You’re not used to people being nice to you, are you?”

“Polite, yes. Nice? Not really.”

She chuckled, her head shaking slightly. “Do you not have any friends?”

I shrugged. “A few. They’re not really the how was your day type, though.”

“What type are they?”

“The type who either want me focused on whatever is going to make us all the most money next quarter, or the type who want me to match their donations to whatever cause next quarter. It’s mostly about money. Next quarter.”

Her nose wrinkled in genuine distaste. “That sounds awful.”

“Well, there’s the other type as well,” I said, a slow smirk spreading on my face. “The trust fund kids with their clubbing habits and their plans to go yachting off the Amalfi Coast.”

“Now those sound like my kind of people,” she joked. “But seriously, how was your day?”

I considered the question, eliminating any answers relating to the company’s bottom line, share prices, or good investment options. “It was fine.”

“Really? That’s all you’ve got?” She pursed her lips before pointing the bitten end of her taco at me. “You need to get used to talking about yourself, Professor. It’ll be good for you. Try it. Were you happy today?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” she asked. “What made you feel happy?”

“Mostly the fact that I spent a few hours yesterday with you,” I said honestly, but when she pursed her lips at me, I continued. “Things are also going well with that new project my company is starting soon and there were no idiots in my direct line of sight at work today. Everyone seemed to be doing their jobs just fine.”

“See, that’s better.” She grinned. “We’ll work on the idiots thing, though. People generally don’t think you’re kind when you talk about them like that.”

“They don’t need to think I’m kind. They just need to do their jobs. As long as they do that, I don’t need to refer to them as idiots.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll definitely work on that, but I’m happy you had a good day. I was concerned all my messages might’ve been bugging you.”

“Nah. On the contrary, I enjoyed them. It was something fresh and new for me, too. You helped stimulate parts of my brain I haven’t used for too long.”