60. Trevor
CHAPTER SIXTY
TREVOR
“ T revor, thanks for meeting with me.” Miles stands from his desk and motions for me to sit in a chair across from him. “You ready for tonight?”
“Pretty sure. I have to dip out early today to grab my tux.”
“Of course. That’s not a problem at all.” His eyes dart toward the door before he gives me a nervous grin. “You know, I wanted to apologize again for pulling you away from your family for that training in Utah.”
“Hey, it’s water under the bridge. Lyla’s good, Willa’s good. I made it back in time. We can forget it.”
Miles nods and looks at the door again.
“So what did you need, Miles?” I have a lot of work to do before clocking out at lunchtime.
The gala doesn’t start until eight tonight, but after I pick up my tux, I have to get home so we can take Lyla to Hunter and Ashlie’s.
They’re watching her overnight so Willa and I can have some much-needed alone time.
I’m sure after spending the day with my parents, she’ll need it.
“Well, this award of yours has put you on corporate’s radar, digging in your file, and I’m not sure about your position on the team. ”
My head juts back. “What do you mean? Did I do something?”
“No, nothing like that.” He shifts his eyes back to the door, and this time, I turn and look. There’s no one there. “You’ve been a great asset to our team.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
Miles stands again, and when I turn, I’m met with the smiling founders of EdTechU. They also happen to be the fathers of my two best friends, Chase and Hunter, so seeing them in suits like this is a little weird. “Russell, Kendall, come on in,” Miles says nervously.
I stand and shake both of their hands, and Russell tracks my confusion immediately.
A friendly grin lights up his ivory face, his full head of gray hair professionally coiffed with a side part.
“Sit. Sit. We’ll explain in a minute,” he says.
They take the seats on either side of me, and I settle back into my own.
“We don’t want to keep you, seeing as you have a big night to prepare for.” Kendall claps my shoulder, a bright smile flashing from his deep umber skin. “We’ve been very impressed with your work, both here and in San Francisco, and we have a proposition for you.”
The smile never leaves his face, despite my knitted brows raising in surprise while he and Russell give me their pitch. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I would be insane to turn down. While I hear everything they’re saying, all I can think about is Willa and Lyla.
“Now, we know you just had a baby”—Russell tacks on—“and we want to make this worth your while.”
I nod, my breath shallow while I try to juggle the information with the panic rising in my throat.
This could be the perfect solution to a problem I thought was so far in the future I didn’t need to worry about it.
But here’s the solution, just the same, and I think the timing might be just right. Maybe. Hopefully .
“This wouldn’t start for a few months, but you’ll need that time to get all of the paperwork submitted. You could take the weekend to think about it, talk to Willa, and get back to us on Monday if you nee?—”
“I don’t need to think about it.” I shake my head, wetting my lips with sudden clarity. “I’ll take it.”
Miles nods with an easy smile that matches the CEO and CTO of EdTechU. All three take turns shaking my hand, and I feel like I’m walking on a cloud, thinned air and all. I turn to Miles. “Do you think I could clock out now? I have some things I need to prepare for this new…career path.”
“Of course. Of course. We’ll see you on Monday.”
I nod, and my eyes dart around the room, trying to focus on anything that makes sense.
Did this really just happen ? I’m so sleep-deprived, maybe I’m dreaming.
I’m still nodding as I turn out the door and head to my office to clock out.
When I get to my desk, however, the first thing I do is dig my phone out of my pocket and dial.
“T? Is everything okay?”
“My,” I say to my sister. “I need you.”