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I walk back to my office to take care of a few things before the meeting with Rachel starts. The others can enjoy her company until then.
When Michelle comes to me, she closes the door so we have privacy.
“I’m not the resident artist,” I say.
Michelle grins at me. “I know you’re talented. You just need a space to prove yourself, and I’m giving it to you.”
“Why?” I ask.
Michelle shrugs. “Because I know you can do more than you’ll ever give yourself credit for. Luckily, I’m your boss, and if I’m the one giving you credit, you can’t stop me.”
I laugh. “You’re a saint.”
“I’m a realist,” Michelle points out with a wink. “You look good. Better than on Monday.”
I nod, feeling guilty. “Yeah, sorry. I had a lot going on. But I think things are okay, now.”
“How’s Mason?” Michelle asks.
I smile, a blush creeping up from my collar until my ears burn hot and my cheeks are probably scarlet. “He’s great.”
Michelle laughs with glee. “It sounds like he is.” She winks at me again and leaves before I get even more embarrassed than I already am.
But I don’t mind Michelle knowing how things are going for me. She’s more my friend than she’s my boss at this point, and I love that I can turn to her with things in my personal life. I’m also flattered that she wants me to spearhead this design process. I’m nervous—but I feel confident. It helps Michelle believes in me.
It's time I start believing in myself, too.
It’s almost time for my meeting, but before I leave to find Rachel, I give Mason a quick call. He told me his mom is in the hospital again and I worry about him.
“Hey, beautiful.”
He always greets me like that, and when he says it, Ifeelbeautiful.
“Hi,” I say. “I can’t talk very long. I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. How’s your mom?”
“She’s still sedated,” Mason says grimly. “And no news yet about new lungs for her.”
“Something will come up,” I say.
“Yeah. I’m staying positive.”
He sounds grim, and I wish there was something I could do to help. But our relationship is so new that I don’t know enough about him to know how to cheer him up.
“I have a meeting soon,” I say. “A designer from Paris just arrived and I’m in on the process for a new line.”
“That sounds incredible.”
He always manages to be happy for me, even when he’s not in a good space. “Tell me all about it, later.”
I promise I will and we end the call. When I’m on my way to find Rachel, I decide to find a way to see Mason and be there for him while he’s going through a tough time with his mom. I want to be there for him. I’ve been stuck in my own problems for so long it's actually kind of nice to be there for someone else.
When I walk into the boardroom where the meeting is set up, Rachel already has a ton of sketchpads spread out on the table. She put on round glasses that look fashionable rather than quirky on her face.
“Natalie,” she says with a smile when I walk in. “I’ve waited for a long time to meet you. You’re all the talk in the Paris office, you know.”
“Really?” I ask.
Rachel nods. “Raven talks about you a lot. You’re Noah’s sister, aren’t you?”
