And then my former boss called. Or, I guess, she was kind of still my boss? While I had taken a step away from Luxe Living, I nevertechnicallyquit. I was on a temporary leave.
I was at Lily’s apartment, which was a couple floors above Purrfect Blend, and we were waiting for Eliza, who lived in the apartment across the hall from Lily’s, to show up.
As Lily was finding us a movie to stream, I leaned back against the couch. My relaxation was short-lived. My eyes widened in disbelief when Cheryl’s name flashed across my phone screen.
“Oh my god,” I breathed out, picking up the phone and showing Lily.
She let out a gasp. “Wait, why’s Cheryl calling you?”
I shrugged. When the phone let out another ring, I tossed it in Lily’s direction like it had burned me. Lily caught it and tossed it right back.
“I’m not going to answer it!” she squeaked. “You answer it. Before it goes to voicemail.”
“Fine,” I said with a defeated sigh, knowing I only had a few seconds to pick up. I cleared my throat, trying to sound like I hadn’t been freaking out. “Hey, Cheryl. How are you?”
“Jules,” she responded. “It’s so nice to hear your voice. It’s been quiet in the office this summer without you. I wanted to check in on how things are going. Have you been doing okay?”
Put the call on speaker,Lily mouthed.
I pulled the phone away from my ear and tapped the speaker button before answering Cheryl. “I’ve been doing a lot better. Thanks so much for asking. The summer has been what I needed, both personally and professionally.”
“I’m really happy to hear that. You have a gift, Juliette.” She paused. “Does that mean you’re not coming back to Chicago?”
I looked between the phone and Lily. “I’m…considering staying.”
Lily clamped her hand over her mouth, her bright-blue eyes sparkling with excitement. I hadn’t said those words out loud to anyone.
“Listen, you know that I support you doing what’s best for you. But before you fully make up your mind, I’d like to run an idea by you. I was thinking about our last conversation before you left for the summer, and I might just have a project that would interest you. Could you come into the office so we can discuss it in person? I’d reimburse you for gas and other expenses, of course.”
I stammered, unsure how to respond. Cheryl’s words hung in the air, a silence filling the room. I hadn’t expected that.
I muted the call for a moment, looking over at Lily.
“You should at least see what she has to say,” she whispered with a sad smile. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”
I knew Lily was right. If I was going to make my decision, I needed to know all my options.
I unmuted the call. “I would love to hear you out, Cheryl.” I paused. “Let me know when would work, and I can plan on driving down for a couple of days. I don’t want to commit to anything beyond that.”
I heard Cheryl clap her hands together. “Wonderful! And I understand. I’ll email you the details, and I’ll see you soon. I’m excited to see you, Jules. I have a feeling you’ll like this new direction.”
That’s exactly what I was afraid of. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that Cheryl was going to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“I’ll see you soon, Cheryl,” I said, wrapping up the call. I stared at the phone, a shaky sigh escaping me. “What if this changes everything?” I asked Lily.
“It might,” she said with her own sigh, scooting closer to me on the couch. “But I would hate for you to make your decision without hearing your boss out. I mean, it has to be big if she wants you to come down in person, right? And you’ve put so much into your career this summer.”
“I guess so. She’s always preferred face-to-face conversations over talking on the phone, so I’m not surprised. But, yeah, I guess with her covering my travel expenses down there, there must be something she can’t show over Zoom.”
Both Lily and I groaned, leaning back against the couch, as the door opened.
Eliza pushed the door open, a box of pizza under her arm. She looked at me first and then at Lily. “What happened to you two?” she asked, confused, sliding off her sandals and makingherself at home. She set the box of pizza on the coffee table in front of us, and Lily immediately opened it and grabbed a slice.
“We need the comfort food,” Lily said before taking a bite.
Meanwhile, I filled Eliza in on what happened over the last half an hour.
“Well, that’s the last time I’ll be late.” Eliza raised her arms and let her hands fall against her thighs. “But, seriously…that’s…” She shook her head.
