Page 104 of Beni

She relaxed at the sound of the girl from the front desk downstairs.

“Hey, Marney. What’s up?”

“You have a visitor down here in the lobby. Or … well, he just went outside for a minute. But anyway, he’s down here whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Who is it?”

She wasn’t expecting anyone.

People didn’t randomly show up at her job.

“He said it would be a nice surprise, and when I say he is very persuasive … anyway, you’ll see when you get down here. Later!”

Marney’s cheery voice and vagueness was still running through August’s mind long after she had left her desk. Down the hall of glass walls that made up several offices, she came to the largest one at the end. Through the door, which was also clear glass, she could see Michelle Coss, the editor of Bared Brands, sitting behind her desk on the phone. In her usual black pant suit, hair pulled back into a severe bun, and that signature red lipstick that never looked like she had to reapply it, the woman could be … well, intimidating.

Just a bit.

Sometimes, she used that to her advantage to get shit done, and other times, it was nothing more than a mask to make new people stand a little straighter in her presence. For August, it had always given her a vision of what she wanted to be in this business. Tough as nails, no excuses, and driven to succeed. She was more than grateful for the experience she had been given working as Michelle’s assistant here.

Michelle’s gaze turned to August, and she smiled before waving a hand to invite her inside. Okay, here goes nothing … She ignored the way her heart thundered in her chest, beating so deep and hard that she could feel it in her throat. Maybe she should have worked her way up into doing this, but here she was now.

“Just a minute, August, I’ll be done in a second.”

She nodded.

Michelle went back to her conversation on the phone. She could have listened in, but she wasn’t that interested, and had never been the type to spy. People who minded their own damn business got a hell of a lot more done than those who didn’t.

That was fact.

The phone clicked when it was placed back to the cradle, and Michell’s attention turned on August once more. “Ready for your long weekend?”

Yes.

The ticket in her bag for Chicago was burning a hole. Tomorrow morning, she would be on a flight back to see people she had missed more than she could explain. None of that was important right now, however.

“I am,” she said, “but before that … I have to give you this. And I hope you’ll understand when I say that I am so grateful for what you and Bared Brands have done for me—from the internship, to this job. I learned a lot. About this business, about sacrifice, and even myself. I also learned what I did and didn’t want, which is why I have to make a different choice now.”

She waved the folded letter.

Michelle didn’t even glance at it. “That’s what I think it is, then?”

Her heart wasn’t beating as loudly now.

August shrugged. “My resignation, yeah.”

“I figured.”

“Why was that?”

Michelle sighed, leaning back in her chair, and folding her hands on her lap with grace and poise. “Because I thought you were wasting your time here, too. Except I couldn’t say that—not to you, or to the people upstairs.”

August stilled on the spot. “What?”

“This company is filled with gatekeepers, and sometimes, getting past them is a career achievement in itself, if you understand what I’m saying. The thing is, you never needed gatekeepers. You needed someone who believed in you and would let you do what you did best. You’re not going to find that here … not with the new job they offered you, or otherwise.”

“I figured that out.”

“I appreciate the formal notice, though.”