Chapter 15
I’M LEARNING
Skip the hex and curse his ass.
I’m sorry . . .. ORNAMENTAL?
Love sees beyond imperfections, but without it, one has no choice but to see others for who they truly are.
Very hypocritical that Josh is hung up on his wife not working, but doesn’t mind Brielle working? Make it make sense.
Release the honey badger!
Eliana took a slow, calming breath as she knocked on Milo’s door on Tuesday morning. He’d asked her to come over once Abby and Zoey were at school so that they could review the responsibilities of her new role—before they left for the first meeting of the day.
Her mind was reeling, excitement and fear warring as she waited.
She knew next to nothing of business or consulting, despite having watched dozens of YouTube videos and reading even more articles on the topic yesterday.
What if she misunderstood something vital?
What if she missed an important note? God forbid, what if she embarrassed him by saying something ignorant?
But then Milo was pulling the door open, a mischievous grin on his handsome face as he said, “Hey, Bugs!” And just like that, the anxiety simply .
. . melted away. This man had already proven that he was in her corner.
He certainly wouldn’t leave her hanging out to dry when his professional reputation was also on the line.
Eliana snorted. “So the nickname was a little . . . unexpected.”
“Yeah . . .” Milo rubbed his neck sheepishly. “It hit me in the moment. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble going off-script.”
Eliana shrugged, remembering her fight with Jesse and the fact that he still wasn’t talking to her three days later. “It worked out in my favor.”
“You like it then?”
Eliana stared, surprised by the note of uncertainty in Milo’s voice. Then she nodded. “I do.”
His answering smile was brilliant as he stepped back, pulling the door open further and ushering her inside. “Alright then. Now we’ve got that sorted, let’s get to it.”
So, that’s what they did. For the next hour, they walked through all the processes she’d be taking over—schedule maintenance, phone calls, intaking inquiries, vetting out new client backgrounds. Then they packed up and headed out for his scheduled meetings with current clients.
Eliana had every intention to stick to the edges of the rooms, minding her own business, but Milo had other plans. He introduced her warmly as “my new assistant, Eliana” to each person she met, and he made sure she always had a seat in the middle of the action, right at his side.
The conversations, as Milo predicted, were often dull, but Eliana was well-practiced in the art of idle listening.
After years of patient multi-tasking while her girls droned on and on about new pop culture references that made no sense, or Jesse talked her ear off about some ridiculous office drama—she found the unexpected skill to be transferable as she followed the discussion with her notes.
She focused on picking up context clues and making sure to write out any specific terminology that she didn’t recognize for later research.
It did move quickly at times, Eliana mused, but it wasn’t near the breakneck pace and constant vigilance that keeping book at a tournament 12U softball game required. This was child’s play in comparison.
If topics strayed away from the technical specifics and into more ethical territory, Milo would glance over and ask her opinion on the matter. She’d been so startled the first time it happened that the truth had come unbidden to her tongue.
“I think that choosing to withhold information from the associates is the same thing as lying. Even when the news is bad, the employees will respect it a lot more if they hear it from the mouth of the company before they start piecing it together themselves.” She glanced around at the executive leaders sitting at the table and sucked in a breath.
Regret left her winded, as effective as a sudden punch to the solar plexus. “I’m so— That’s not to say— I just—”
“Eliana,” Milo interrupted. “This is a working session. All viewpoints are relevant and help us develop a well-rounded, thoughtful plan. You did good.” The last sentence was delivered softly, with a subtle wink, before he turned to a portly, kind-faced man sitting across the table.
“Marvin, as the communications lead, what is your recommendation?”
They continued on this way through three more client meetings. In the last, with a bolt of unexpected confidence, Eliana spoke up mid-argument with her unsolicited thoughts, which, to her wonderment, were met with true consideration from the clients and a nod of proud approval from Milo.
She knew she wasn’t offering any sound business advice, but as a mother of pre-teen twins, she was well-versed in seeing both sides of an argument and in finding a resolution that fell somewhere in the middle of the options presented.
Eliana couldn’t have said what she’d expected the meetings to look like, but they struck her as very similar to how she imagined therapy would go.
It was like Milo was some twisted form of corporate-level psychiatrist. It was especially interesting watching him in the third meeting, as it was his first time working with that particular company.
The way he set them at ease with his affable manner and got them talking with his targeted questions.
But above all else, it was the simple, understated way he approached the issue that fascinated Eliana.
How he sat back and let them talk—simply listening and asking probing questions whenever they hit a nerve.
By the time the meeting ended, she had a notebook full of problems, ideas, and follow-ups written out, along with a determination to see the resolution through to the end.
It was like the best kind of puzzle. She could picture the end goal, the beautiful potential, and with her notebook in hand, she could also see the pile of problems—puzzle pieces waiting to be sorted.
She imagined the next step would be to dive into those pieces, figuring out which ones were foundational—making up the frame of their client’s purpose—and then working through what remained, and figuring out how to best fit them into the final image.
Instead of the exhaustion she’d expected to feel, Eliana was downright giddy when they got back to the car. Milo laughed at her expression as he pulled out onto the highway, heading back into town.
“You had a good time, I take it?”
“Absolutely.” Eliana nodded enthusiastically.
His answering smile was wide. “I’m glad. You were a natural.”
“Everything felt natural, and I owe that to my girls. Who knew that managing a home with tweens created such applicable experience?”
Milo laughed. “More people than you’d expect, but still less than should be expected.”
Eliana laughed with him. “Regardless, I truly appreciate your kindness today, helping me acclimate. I didn’t realize how much I’d enjoy it; honestly, I didn’t know what to expect at all.
Setting aside the correlations we’ve drawn between business and parenting—I’m wildly inexperienced.
But somehow, that didn’t seem to matter much today. ”
Milo shrugged. “Loads of business roles are incredibly niche, and the people who fill them often have remarkably unique backgrounds. Many simply work themselves up from simple admin jobs. It’s all just about finding the spot that fits you best. Almost everybody has some form of imposter syndrome.
You just have to remember that there’s always fresh information.
Always something you don’t know. Those who embrace the imposter syndrome, who ask the questions, who are constantly on the hunt for more knowledge, even when they’ve made it—those are the ones who succeed in the long-term. ”
“That makes sense,” Eliana nodded, appreciating the simple logic and its easy application. “See, I’m learning.”
Milo smiled with her, but then his eyes landed on the dashboard and his expression fell into a frown.
“Hey, this is probably wildly inappropriate, but would you mind if we made a short, personal pit stop?” He asked.
“I’d meant to drop you off at home first, but that last meeting ran over, and visiting hours are nearly over. ”
“Visiting hours?” Eliana inquired, a moment before a light bulb flared in her mind’s eye. “For your grandma?”
Milo’s eyes were surprised when they met hers for a moment, as if he couldn’t believe she remembered. “Yes, my grandma. You don’t have to go in or anything, but I try to stop by as much as I can, and they close early on Tuesdays.”
“My going in is completely up to you. But I would never mind stopping for that. I think it’s admirable.”
“You would actually want to meet her?” Milo asked. “She can’t respond much. She mostly just listens and sleeps. I’m not sure how much she really registers.”
“I’d love to meet her, and I wouldn’t mind if she didn’t respond.”
“For real?” His voice was so shocked that she turned in her seat to look at him better.
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“Sorry, it’s just . . . Bea was never very interested.
She said there was no point visiting with a veg—” His words cut off as he glanced away, seeming unable to finish.
Anger coiled within as she watched the muscle in his jaw flex.
He released a sharp sigh. “It doesn’t matter. She just wasn’t interested.”
A wave of hurt on Milo’s behalf roared to life in Eliana’s chest, surprising her with its intensity.
But this wasn’t her hurt. She pushed the anger back down until it was a muted glow rather than an inferno—until she felt it was safe to speak.
“I’m very sorry that she spoke to you like that, Milo.
You’re welcome to squeeze in as many visits as you can manage during our work days, and I will always be honored if you’d like me to join you.
I hope you know that I would never think such a cruel thing, much less say it,” she spat, unable to fully disguise the disgust in her heart.
“Understood.” Milo’s smile was quick, a gentle look of something new and warm brightening his eyes as he repeated back her words. “I’m learning too, Bugs.”