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I looked around at the impersonal space. “I haven’t had time. I needed to hit the ground running since I’ve been on maternity leave.”
Archer narrowed his eyes at me. “There’s a reason it’s called “leave”. I happened to know you were working for part of the time anyway. A baby is more work than work.”
I burst out laughing as I rested my hips against my desk. “I’m actually relieved to be back at work-work. Don’t get me wrong, I love Teddy more than I could’ve imagined loving any other human, but it’s really nice to have adults to speak to on the regular.”
Archer chuckled. “Phoebe said the same thing. I know some people want to be at home all the time with their kids. I like it in doses myself. Anyway, I wanted to get you up to speed on our planning for the year. We’ve got the project for the distribution expansion and the brewery and the restaurant. David is kind of our point person for the restaurant. He’s usually in Fireweed Harbor, but he ran that restaurant for years as the chef. We could use all the help we can get.”
“I’ve already been in touch with David. I know him from my time in Fireweed Harbor. Isn’t the restaurant doing events already?”
Archer nodded. “Just events though. We’ve had so much interest, that we’re pushing to get it up to full schedule. It’s been so busy, and I just…” He lifted his hands in the air and let them fall.
“How about I just take that over? I’ll coordinate with David, and you and Chase can focus on the distribution center, the brewery, and the renewable energy projects. I’m happy to help with anything.”
“Honestly, if you can be on point with David, manage this entire office, and coordinate with HR on anything, we’ll be fine.”
“On top of all of that.”
“If you want more furniture for your office, I can take you down to the storage space.”
I glanced around in my bare-bones office, which at this moment consisted of a single desk and a small table in the corner. “I might take you up on that. By the way, who’s going to handle the actual brewing here once it’s up and running?”
My curiosity had nothing to do with Griffin, nothing at all.
“Hopefully Griffin.”
“Oh,” I said, striving to keep my tone as casual as possible.
“I can’t imagine he’ll be a firefighter that much longer,” Archer added.
“Oh?”
“It’s hard work. Phoebe did it for years. I had to manage my anxiety over it when we first got together. I’m relieved she only fills in for the town crew now.”
I thought about Griffin being out in the wilderness fighting a fire. My heart pinched uncomfortably with a worry I hadn’t even allowed myself to contemplate. It wasn’t like we were a couple. I didn’t need to worry like this.
“There you are!”
We glanced over together to see Phoebe standing in the doorway. Her toddler squealed in excitement at the sight of Archer.
Archer beamed, immediately lifting the little boy from Phoebe’s arms and spinning him in the air. Seconds later, he returned to Phoebe and gave her a lingering kiss. Her cheeks were pink when he straightened. “Nice to see you,” she said.
When she looked my way, I waved. “Hey there.”
“I wanted to see how work is going for you,” she said.
“It’s going.”
Archer cut in. “I am so glad she’s here. She’s as amazing as Rhys said she would be. We had some time with her before, but we finally have her full-time.”
“Of course, she is,” Phoebe said confidently.
“I don’t mind handling the messes and the boring admin,” I offered with a shrug. “I appreciate that Rhys speaks so highly of me. I only hope I can live up to expectations.”
Phoebe narrowed her eyes. “You’re already exceeding them and you’ve only been here full-time for a few days.”
Archer glanced between us. “I need to run down to grab a phone call in my office. Should I take Archie with me?”
“Go for it,” Phoebe said with a grin. “I’ll fetch him on my way out and drop him off at daycare.”
