Chapter Seventeen
By Thursday of the following week, Tessa found her nine-to-five groove.
She maximized her time spent in the office by organizing and streamlining her duties.
She knocked out the low-hanging fruit over morning coffee, while her brain came to life.
Wrapped that up by lunch and concentrated on the more complex tasks in the afternoon.
Having a plan and limited time increased her productivity, as did the knowledge that she, too, would leave at five.
In fact, she’d completely stopped feeling guilty about working a forty-hour week and looked forward to all the things she could do with her evenings.
That new mindset, in turn, created fresh enthusiasm for coming back to work the next day.
She wasn’t perpetually exhausted or on the edge of burnout.
The rejuvenation cycle was beautiful and powerful.
And all week, she’d thrived. She’d even given some thought to local businesses that could use Devin’s help, assuming he stuck around and stayed sober, which she really hoped he would.
She’d created a short, solid list. He’d told her not to worry about him, but that was just what big sisters did.
She texted Devin before she changed her mind and invited him to meet her for lunch tomorrow.
They could discuss his job search, then visit the businesses she had in mind and see if they felt like a good match for Devin.
If one of the shops resonated, she’d reach out to the owner on his behalf.
From there, she’d leave it up to him. Regardless of whether he got the job, he’d know she’d encouraged and supported him. And it would make her dad proud.
In an added stroke of luck, Xavier hadn’t been in the office.
According to his emails, he was off site, working on strategy and corporate initiatives.
According to Millie, he’d set up meetings with corporate attorneys, though he hadn’t specified the reason.
Rumor had it, he was preparing Hello, Marketing for another office expansion.
Possibly in budget and staff. Landing the Lilacs and Lace account would take them to a whole new level, assuming Peyton could pull it off.
Tessa’s gaze lifted to Peyton. He sat in his new office, making wild hand motions on the other side of the glass wall, apparently arguing with someone.
If anyone had thought for a second that they’d somehow underestimated Peyton’s talent or ability, he’d made it clear this week that wasn’t the case.
Anytime Tessa had seen Peyton, he’d been upset, barking at an intern, sweating bullets on conference calls, running late for meetings, or completely missing his appointments.
She glanced at the clock. Only a few hours before the Influencers Ball began, and she’d be dancing on a rooftop with her friends in fancy gowns. Kate couldn’t stop messaging the group about it, and Tessa couldn’t wait to see her in her element.
Tessa’s distracted gaze returned to Peyton, feeling bad as she watched him struggle. Who is he arguing with? she wondered. Hopefully not a client.
Nina exited the ladies’ room and stared at Peyton a moment, then scowled. She caught Tessa watching her and raised one hand, palm up, as if to ask what Peyton was all worked up about.
Tessa shrugged, and Nina headed her way.
“He’s cracking under the pressure, and it’s only been two weeks. You’re still not helping him?” Nina asked. She angled her head in the direction of Peyton’s office.
“Nope.”
Nina pursed her lips, expression pensive. “How are you doing? Need any help with anything?”
“I’m all caught up,” Tessa said. “It’s been kind of mind boggling, actually.
I thought I had to put in long hours to get all the work done, but I don’t.
I stopped accepting piles of work outside my accounts, which helps, and I started delegating the overflow to the interns, who need the experience. ”
“Nice work. Drawing boundaries is hard, especially after you’ve set a precedent.”
Tessa took a deep cleansing breath. “It’s not easy, but it’s still new. I really don’t want to fall back onto the hamster wheel again. It was too hard getting off the first time.”
“Are you ever glad you didn’t get the promotion?” Nina asked. “It’s none of my business, but you seem happier now. And you’re a really cute dresser. I like this.”
Tessa laughed. “I was headed for burnout before,” she said. “Now, I’m heading for balance.” And so far, she was doing pretty well.
“I love that for you. How’s everything else?” Nina asked. “How’s your dad?”
“He’s good.” He’d been on her mind more than ever since their family dinner, so she’d made a point of checking in more often. “My brother’s home, so he has company again.”
Nina’s features froze briefly before easing into a relaxed smile. “How’s Devin these days?”
“Sober,” Tessa said. “I’m praying nightly that it sticks, and so far it has.”
“He’s back, sober, and living with your dad,” Nina summarized. “And you’re okay? How are you managing that?”
“Therapy,” Tessa said. She’d resumed her weekly appointments and readily plunged back in.
Nina bobbed her head in approval. “Smart.” She watched Tessa another long moment, maybe wondering about her mom now that she’d mentioned sobriety.
“How about you?” Tessa asked, changing the subject before her pleasant day took a turn toward the emotional.
Nina looked in the direction of Peyton’s new office. “How bad am I for enjoying that?”
He hung up his desk phone, then dragged both hands through his hair.
“I don’t want to answer,” Tessa said.
Peyton stood and turned in their direction.
“Oh,” Nina said. “I’ve got to go.”
Peyton’s office door opened, and Nina seemed to dematerialize.
Tessa returned her focus to the project before her. Whatever had Peyton riled up this time had nothing to do with her, and she was glad not to be involved.
She looked at the columns on her laptop screen.
She’d created two solid campaign plans for Grant’s new office headquarters, then created various similar scenarios for his related companies.
Using the same fonts and color schemes, with the imagery adjusted to reflect the individual business, would give clear visual clues of connectivity between shops, while emphasizing the best parts of each store.
A bubble of pride swelled in her chest as she reviewed the work. All of Grant’s investments were in local storefronts, and those were her specialty. She’d sent a few teasers to Grant via text when he asked about her day, and he’d liked them all.
He’d been messaging randomly to ask what she was working on, or if she knew an obscure piece of local trivia.
She looked forward to every text. And they went head-to-head on local trivia.
She might’ve finally met her match in that category, but she’d never let him know. She was far too competitive for that.
If investing ever fell through for Grant, he could probably teach classes on everything anyone could want to know about their town, the surrounding area, and the region.
She imagined him in a sweater vest and round framed glasses. Coffee in one hand, pointer stick in the other. Maybe standing before a white board and lecturing on the impact of the Great Depression on coastal Virginia. Nerd, she thought.
She would take his class any day.
Peyton rounded a nearby cubicle, catching her eye and heading her way.
“Tessa?” Millie’s voice reached her a moment before she burst into view at the end of the white tile hallway.
She startled Peyton into a human statue as she jogged past him.
Millie ran on tiptoes, barely hindered by the long pencil skirt trapping her legs at the knees, or the narrow heels of her cute white ankle boots.
Peyton frowned when Millie grabbed Tessa’s arm and hauled her onto her feet.
“Whoa,” Tessa said, closing her laptop and using the desk to gain her balance. “Hello.”
“Are you busy?” Millie asked, already dragging her away. “Do you have a minute?”
“Um—” Tessa hurried along at her side until they reached the rear wall of windows several yards away.
“What’s going on?” Tessa asked. “Tell me Cyndi Lauper announced a stop in Harbor Heights on her new tour.”
“Ohhhh,” she breathed the word long and slow. “I wish. But no. Much worse. He’s on his way into the office, and he’s pissed.” She stretched the final word until she sounded like a cartoon snake.
Tessa looked over her shoulder. Peyton was nowhere to be seen. “Xavier?”
“Yes.” Millie released Tessa and rested both palms on her hips. “If you have a client to visit, now’s the time.”
“I don’t understand,” Tessa said. What did Xavier’s anger have to do with her? She hadn’t even seen him all week.
“Peyton’s making a mess, bumbling around and trying his arrogant salesman bit on clients who have no interest in it,” Millie said.
“There’s a time and place for everything, but he does not understand that, and people are calling Xavier direct to complain about Peyton’s approach to running the show in his absence. ”
Tessa felt her eyebrows rise. Hello, actions, meet consequences.
Millie darted her gaze toward the hall from reception. “Xavier’s not good at accepting fault. So he’s blame shifting. And he’s decided this is a problem you caused.”
“Me!” Tessa squeaked. “How is this my fault?” she hissed. “He passed me up for the role. I’m just another employee. Is he mad at all of them too?” She swept out an arm and caught the attention of a group of nearby interns.
Millie pressed Tessa’s arm down and forced a bright smile for the interns.
“No. Not at all,” she assured the little group.
Her brows pinched as she looked frantically back to Tessa.
“He thinks you’re taking some kind of stand since Peyton’s promotion, and that you’re”—she raised her thin fingers to form air quotes—“intentionally behaving in ways detrimental to the company.”