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Jill doesn’t appear convinced. “What if she’s not, Owen? Do you have a plan for that?”
“No, but I don’t think we’ll require one. Tahlia has never let me down.”
“This may prove to be the kind of situation in which she has no other option but to put her family first. And if so, we need to make alternative arrangements.”
Jill has exceptional organizational skills. When she’s on her game, she’s good at managing people and finding the best ways to achieve goals. I’m good at managing myself only. I don’t always look outward, which is where Jill has always come in. She’s right; we need to go over our options for next week. There’s no way I can manage everything in London by myself.
“You’re right,” I say. “How about Lisa? She might be able to help.”
Jill screws up her face and shakes her head. “No, she didn’t leave on good terms.”
I frown, recalling Lisa’s resignation differently. She was Julian’s assistant until six months ago when she quit to go to college. I turn to him questioningly. “I thought everything was okay when she left?”
He glances between Jill and me. “It was, but I can think of one reason this won’t work.”
“She wanted to sleep with you,” Jill snaps impatiently. “You’re not taking her to London. She’ll be far from efficient.”
Jesus.
I scrub a hand over my face.
I miss half the shit that goes on around here.
“Okay, well, do you have any suggestions? Perhaps someone from the agency Charlize is with?”
Jill nods slowly. Thoughtfully. “You could take Charlize.”
Those are four words every cell in my body likes, but there’s no way I can take Charlize. If Jill thinks Lisa wouldn’t be efficient, she has no idea just how inefficient it would be to send me away with Charlize.
“You need her here,” I say. It’s not far from the truth. While I’m busy bringing in new business next week, Jill will be busy working on client retention here. She has a packed schedule of her own and will need Charlize.
She thinks about that for a moment. “Tahlia can help me.” When I pull a face, she says, “No, it makes sense, Owen. You need someone sitting in on the meetings with you. I can get my stuff done with the help of someone virtually. You should take Charlize. She’s efficient and capable. It won’t take her long to figure out your needs.”
If only she knew how quickly Charlize has figured out my needs.
“I agree with Jill,” Julian says as he stands. “We’ve got a lot riding on next week. You want to make sure whoever you take is ready to run with it all, and from what I’ve seen, Charlize picks things up quickly.”
“I’ll talk with Tahlia today and figure out where we stand,” I say, not wanting to commit to anything yet.
“Do that ASAP,” Jill says. “We’ll want to prepare Charlize if we decide to send her.”
After the three of us finish discussing everything we need to, I call Tahlia. Deep in my gut, I believe it’ll be Charlize on that plane with me next week, and I don’t know what to make of that.
I suspect Bradford was right about one thing he said.
There’s a vast difference in the women I’ve dated since my divorce and Charlize.
Not one of them has entered my mind since the last time I saw them while Charlize hasn’t left it since the minute I discovered her wailing in that bathroom.
My mother’s words come back to me about the Bluestone Award.You need to keep Jill on your side. If she rocks the boat, that award may go to someone else.
That award is another high priority of mine. I don’t need to give Jill any reason to rock the boat.
16
Charlize
Ire-read the email Jill sent me half an hour ago. There’s no need to, though, because I’ve already read it a million times. Or maybe a million and one times. I’m not sure if I’m hoping something will change in the email or if I’m secretly excited by the contents of it.
