Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
brIANNA
Kissing Audrey was like curling up with a book after a long day of work; comforting, familiar, and needed.
Brianna had no clue how she had survived this long without doing so, but now that she had a taste for it, she had no idea how she would let the woman out of her sight.
Audrey kissed with a passion Brianna had only ever dreamed of, with the fervor of a woman starved, and Brianna loved being the recipient of it.
Their second make-out session was sweet, and though Brianna wanted it to continue, she knew she should take it slowly.
It would make no sense to dive headfirst into a new relationship, not with all the other changes she had going on this year.
She slowly broke apart from Audrey, smiling at the look in Audrey’s eyes.
She would probably not stop smiling for the rest of the week.
“I should go,” Audrey said, though she seemed extremely reluctant to do so.
“That’s a good idea. Your family may be waiting for you,” Brianna said.
“I really don’t want to,” Audrey said.
Brianna didn’t want her to go either, but she knew she needed to take things slowly, if only for her own sanity.
With so much change in her life lately, she wasn’t sure she could handle another new thing, as much as she liked it.
She didn’t want to ruin anything or give herself the chance to ruin something great before it could really begin.
“We have all the time in the world to figure this out. I’ll see you in a few days, okay?” Brianna said.
“Okay,” Audrey agreed and stood.
She grabbed her phone from the kitchen island, as well as her purse, while Brianna went to the coat closet to grab her jacket. When Audrey was all bundled up, Brianna gave her a parting kiss on the cheek.
“Text me when you get home,” she said.
“Will do,” Audrey agreed.
It was with great reluctance Brianna watched her go, but she knew it was for the best.
Brianna was still practically floating as she went through her nighttime routine, first doing the dishes and then washing her face and brushing her teeth.
When Audrey texted her that she was home, Brianna was already in bed, replaying the events of the day.
She hearted the message and tried to force herself to calm down.
If this was the way her new year was beginning, she knew she was already in for one of her best years yet…
That feeling lasted only a few days, bursting immediately upon the news from Mike that her thirty-day performance review was coming up. It seemed simultaneously like only yesterday and a year ago that she had started working at Beaver Creek Library.
Now, sitting in Mike’s office for the meeting, she was trying her best not to pick at her nails too aggressively from her nerves.
Mike wore a golf tee with a snowflake print all over it, his holiday attire clearly extending to all wintery months. He seemed to sense Brianna’s nerves, because he began the meeting with a wide smile.
“Don’t worry, Brianna, you’re not in trouble,” he said. “This is a standard review we do with all employees who work at the library.”
“Right,” Brianna said.
“Basically, we just go over the job duties and confirm you are meeting all the requirements. I can confidently say you are, which is fabulous. I’d even say you’re doing better than expected, at least with the supervision of the branch.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed that you’re such a great team player.
We’re really lucky to have you on the team. ”
Brianna wasn’t quite used to this much praise at work, and she blushed slightly. It was one thing to think you weren’t half bad at your job; it was another to hear you were, indeed, excelling at it.
“I’m so glad you were able to join the team, seriously. But now that we know you’re already amazingly competent, wouldn’t you like a challenge?” Mike asked.
“Huh?” It was the only thing Brianna could think of to say.
“I mean, we know you’re a great librarian!
That’s why we hired you. I guess I have a little bit of a challenge for you,” Mike continued, oblivious to Brianna’s obvious turmoil, or perhaps just choosing to ignore it.
“We know the library is a great place to be for both fun and work, but I want us to start thinking of the library as a destination. Maybe a special event? A new collection? I don’t know exactly, but that’s why you’re Head Librarian and I’m not.
Let’s think of something we can present in next month’s council meeting. ”
“A council meeting? Like in front of the mayor and stuff?”
Mike nodded. “Exactly. They fund us, y’know?
We need something that will make them see the library is a great place to keep funding!
I know they were keen on some ideas to make Beaver Creek a destination to visit, with all the promotions going on around Ontario to increase local tourism. You understand, right?”
Brianna understood on an intellectual level, but to actually understand and be able to think of a library thing to meet the vision of an entire town council seemed bonkers.
She had just passed her probation, though, and uprooted her whole life for this job, so it wasn’t like she could say she wasn’t up for the task.
“I’ll work on something. I just need to think a little, get my ideas in order,” she said instead.
“You can do it!” Mike said and closed the employee binder he had open for her file. “Sorry, I have a meeting in five. Let’s continue the convo later?”
Brianna merely nodded and left the room silently. Thank goodness she was not expected to be back on desk until later, because she was absolutely freaking out. She had no clue what she was going to do, but she knew she’d have to begin researching to a level she had not yet attempted.
“You got this,” she tried to whisper to herself, but she sounded even more unsure.
Oh God, this will be a disaster.