Page 18 of Shattered Crown
"How about this," I said finally. "You come here three days a week to start. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We'll see how it goes. If you like it, if you're good at it, we can talk about adding more days."
Evie grinned. "Really?"
"Really. But this is your thing, Evie. Not your father's." I made sure she was listening. "He doesn't get to manage this or control it or turn it into another item on your schedule. He doesn't get reports on your performance or progress updates or any of the things I'm sure he's already asked for. This is for you. Understood?"
She nodded vigorously. "Understood."
I stood and offered my hand across the desk. "Welcome to the Kealoha Foundation."
Evie scrambled to her feet and shook my hand with exaggerated formality, pumping it up and down like she was closing a business deal. Her palm was small and slightly sweaty against mine. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
"Now," I said, releasing her hand. "Let's put you to work. Priya?"
Priya materialized in the doorway so quickly she'd clearly been hovering just out of sight. "Boss?"
"This is Evie. She's going to be volunteering with us this summer. Can you give her the tour, introduce her around, maybe set her up with something useful to do?"
Priya looked at Evie with an assessing gaze that probably would have made grown men nervous. Evie stood a little straighter under the scrutiny.
"Are you any good with computers?" Priya asked.
"I… yes? I think so?"
"Great. Our database is a mess and I've been looking for someone detail-oriented to help clean it up. Are you detail-oriented?"
"I organized my entire book collection by genre, then author, then publication date," Evie said. "Does that count?"
Priya's lips twitched. "That counts. Come on, kid. Let's see what you've got."
She led Evie out of my office. I watched them go, Priya's long stride, Evie hurrying to keep up, her ponytail bouncing with each step. At the door to the main office, Evie glanced back at me. A quick look. Almost shy.
I nodded at her. She smiled and disappeared around the corner.
I sank back into my chair. Stared at the doorway for a long moment.
"Well," said a voice from behind me. "That was adorable."
I swiveled to find Nalani leaning against the window frame, a knowing smile on her face. She must have come in through the side door while I was focused on Evie. She did that a lot, materialized out of nowhere like some kind of benevolent ghost,usually at the exact moment when I was doing something she could tease me about.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough." She pushed off from the window and dropped into the yellow chair Evie had just vacated, crossing her long legs at the ankle. Nalani Reyes was tall, willowy, with the kind of effortless grace that came from a decade of professional dance before a knee injury ended that career. Now she ran our community outreach programs and served as my unofficial advisor on all things involving human emotion, a subject I sometimes struggled with despite my warm reputation.
"She's Sebastian Dubois's kid, isn't she?"
"You know about that?"
"Honey, everyone knows about that. You two have been circling each other like angry cats since you were teenagers." Nalani tilted her head, dark eyes sparkling. "Also, Priya texted me the second she walked in. 'SOS, ice king's daughter in the building, Aria's going to adopt her.'"
"I'm not adopting her."
"You're absolutely adopting her. I know your MO."
"What are you talking about? I don’t have an MO."
"Yes, you absolutely do. You find a wounded bird and decide it's your personal mission to teach it to fly." Nalani's smile softened. "It's one of your best qualities. Also, one of your most exhausting."
I rubbed my temples. "She's a good kid, Lani. She's lonely and lost, and she wants to do something that matters. How am I supposed to say no to that?"
