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“Sucker. Did you give her your credit card and drop her in front of the mall?”
“Pretty sure kids her age don’t hang out at the mall, especially not alone.”
Phillip clucked. “Fair. What did you agree to?”
I laid out Alana’s request.
“Sucker,” Phillip said again. “But no worries. Adrienne and I will start concept art for the Christmas event. See you in thirty?”
“Yeah.” I nodded as I agreed, even though he couldn’t see me.
Alana was the same pleasant, uptight kid I expected when she got back in my car. We stopped for treats and I made sure to get drinks and pastries for Phillip and Adrienne too, as a thank you for changing their work plans for the day.
At the office, we stepped onto the elevator at the same time as Judith. The way she glanced at Alana with a raised eyebrow rankled me. I was glad Alana was focused on her phone and didn’t see.
“I know.” I kept my response vague on purpose. “I’ve got it under control.”
“If this comes back on us, it’s on you.” Judith’s tone was hard.
Which I was used to. “It won’t.”
“I promise not to peek at any cartoon tits. Gross.” Alana never looked up from her phone.
Judith rolled her eyes.
I laughed. “See? All good.”
We reached our floor, and Judith turned to Alana. “Come back in ten years, and you can have a job.”
“If I come back in ten years, it’ll be for your job,” Alana said.
Judith almost smiled. “I’ll be waiting.” She turned toward her office.
Alana and I headed down a different hallway. I entered the Art room a few feet ahead of her, to make sure everything was clear, but wasn’t surprised to see the beginnings of Christmas outfits on screens.
I cleared my throat to announce my presence, then handed out the coffee and such. “Alana, this is Adrienne, she started last week.”
“It’s lovely to meet you.” Adrienne’s smile was warm and sincere.
“And you know Phillip,” I said.
Pink rushed to Alana’s cheeks and she ducked her head. “Hi.” Her voice was instantly meek.
That was bad. No more visits to my work for her.
I hid my reaction and pointed her toward the office. “We’ll be in there.”
It was easy enough to give Alana a corner of my desk to set up on, while I put my laptop on another. The next couple of hours went smoothly as I vetted review sites for content and ensured our press kits were in order for the next stage of our beta.
Alana’s phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. “It’s my swim coach, can I answer?”
“Sure.”
“This is Alana.” She was more professional than half the people I’d worked with in the past. “Yes... Of course... That’s fine, I understand.”
Sweet as sugar.
I turned back to my work. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alana set her phone on the desk next to her tablet.
