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Vivian kept an eye on Lily as the day went on, passing by the glass walls of the conference room more than strictly necessary. The poor girl looked miserable, even wrapped in a blanket in front of the TV. Vivian didn’t have much experience with children, but she wanted to cheer Lily up. Emma came to check in on Lily several times, but she was really busy with work and didn’t have much time to spare.
Vivian didn’t have much time to spare, either, but she managed to postpone a few tasks for the next day. She knocked on the door and entered.
“Lily, how are you doing?”
“I don’t feel good,” Lily mumbled.
“I know.” Vivian sat down on the couch next to her. “Being sick is really tough. It messes with your brain as well as your body.”
Lily nodded, frowning.
Vivian tried to take her mind off how awful she felt. “Do you enjoy school?”
That got a spark of enthusiasm from her. “Yes! I get to be in a class with Miriam and her friends. They’re all really nice.”
“That’s great.” Every accommodation Vivian had had to make for Emma to come to work later was worth it, seeing Lily’s smile, a perfect image of her mother’s. “What about the work? What’s your favorite subject?”
“I like math. But not the weird math. Math that makes sense.”
Vivian had to laugh at that. “Which parts make sense?”
“The financial math section. Why would you even do any of all the other stuff?”
That also had Vivian chuckling. “So, you’d like to go into that field when you’re older?”
Lily nodded. “I’m going to be an accountant!”
“That’s a great field to be in. Would you like me to show you some of what our accountants do?”
“Yes, please!”
Vivian didn’t know all the intricacies of accounting, but she knew enough to show Lily some of the basics that a child would be able to grasp. Lily seemed to be enjoying herself.
“Would you like to help out in our accounting department? I’m sure James could use the help.”
Lily’s eyes went wide. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I would pay you, of course.”
Her eyes went even wider. “Yes, please!”
Vivian stopped by Emma’s desk to check this course of action with her before going down to accounting and bringing James up to meet Lily.
Lily jabbered questions at him while James set her up with a large pile of transactions that needed to be stacked in order of price. Lily took to it with a vengeance, her little brow furrowed in concentration as she worked.
Vivian realized that the day was slipping away from her and forced herself to get back to work, but she kept checking in on Lily every now and then. Lily seemed to have forgotten all about feeling unwell as she worked.
When the day ended, Emma stopped by Vivian’s office. “Thanks again for letting Lily stay here for the day. I hope she wasn’t too much trouble—I saw she had you and James running back and forth for nearly an hour.”
“She wasn’t any trouble at all. I’m sure James appreciates not having to sort all those statements by hand.”
“She definitely appreciated the distraction. I certainly didn’t expect to see her so happy by the end of the day.”
“You’re welcome to bring her back at any time.’
“Thanks so much, Vivian. I’d better get her home—I want her to have an early night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, Emma.”
