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My eyes widen, and my jaw drops a little bit at what she is suggesting. “You think I am capable of doing that?”
Jamie laughs. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant at all. That would be a huge jump for you, and you are not ready for that at all. But I don’t trust my realtors to lead the company either. We both know, if I let that happen, they would just use the leverage to start their own company. No one is loyal like you are to this company.”
I smile, but my smile is weak because I have no idea where she is going with this.
“So, anyway, I hired Sean to be me when I’m gone. He’s the best, the absolute best. And I just need you to report to me about how things are going while I’m gone and he is in charge. If things aren’t going well, I’ll end my maternity leave and come back, but if you tell me things are going well, then I will leave him in charge. Can you do that?”
“Of course. Does this new job come with a promotion?”
She laughs again. “I’m so happy you are my assistant, Olive. You always know just what to say to brighten my day. Of course it’s not a promotion, just a favor between two friends.”
I nod, but I can’t keep smiling. I’m not getting promoted. My heart sinks.
I don’t understand. Jamie and I have been friends for years. I’ve been completely loyal to her and the company, but I still haven’t earned a promotion. I don’t understand, but I’m not going to question her. I trust her completely, and anyway, I owe her.
“Is that all you need?” I ask.
“Yep. I’m still planning on going to your boyfriend’s concert tonight. I need one last night out before I’m confined to my bed for these next few months.”
I try to smile, but it’s impossible to be excited about spending time with my friend tonight. I nod and then leave Jamie’s office to try to go about the rest of my day like usual.
I walk back to my cubicle.
“Hey, Olive. Where is the coffee?” Lewis, a realtor in the company, asks as he walks by my desk.
“I’m sorry. I had to go pick up Sean and dry cleaning on my way into the office today. I’ll make it soon.”
Lewis frowns but walks away, grumbling, “It can’t be that hard to make coffee, can it? What are we paying an assistant for anyway if she can’t even make coffee?”
I sigh and try to remember that he doesn’t mean it. He just hasn’t had his morning coffee today, so he’s grumpy.
“Olive, where are the cookies for today’s open house?” Audrey, another realtor, asks.
“I’m sorry. I was never told you were doing an open house today. I thought it was scheduled for this Saturday.”
“It was, but my client moved it late last night. I really need the cookies.”
“I’m sorry. I think there are some frozen ones in the fridge that you can warm up and use. They’ll taste just as good. I promise.” I try to smile to reassure Audrey.
“You really should start making cookies every day. That way, we’ll always have cookies. You know clients want us to move things at the last minute all the time.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll do that in the future. I can go grab you some fresh ones if you want. There is an awesome bakery just around the corner.”
Audrey laughs. “I’m sure they are great, but they aren’t as good as your cookies are. Your cookies sell houses.”
I smile even though, inside, I feel like dying. I like baking cookies. It’s a huge stress reliever. But, when I baked a batch of cookies for Jamie’s birthday about a year ago, I never thought it would turn into everyone relying on them on a weekly or now daily basis.
I sigh and then get to work. At least, tonight, I’ll get to have a little fun, watching Owen, my boyfriend, play his guitar.
“When does your ass of a boyfriend go on?” Keri, my friend who used to work at Parks Real Estate with me, asks.
I sigh as I glance at my watch that now reads after eleven p.m. It’s going to be another long night with little sleep. “I thought he was already supposed to be on.”
I take a sip of the white wine I ordered. It’s only my second glass. Though, after the day I had, I am tempted to drink something stronger.
“We are waiting ten more minutes, and then we are leaving,” Keri says, sipping on a margarita.
“Oh, relax, and have some fun. Tonight will be the last night I go out in months,” Jamie says, sipping on her water.
