Page 7 of The Focal Point

“You have two podcast interviews—I scheduled them one right after the other so you could get them out of the way at the same time—”

“Thanks for that,” I sighed. PR and being in the public eye had never been my favorite thing. I did this for the job, not for the fame.

“—And then you’re meeting with the videographer for the videos of the Ramos house for social media.”

I groaned. “Do I have to do that? Do I have to be there?”

Kristen’s lips thinned, and she regarded me with a raised eyebrow. “They’re paying for it, so it’s free publicity. It will be good for your social media presence.”

“I don’t want a social media presence.” My protest was a grumble and a familiar refrain, and Kristen ignored me.

“You have two new client consultations, a dinner for the Young Decorator Star Awards, and three client meetings. Their designs are due on the sixth, tenth, and twelfth. And an interview for the new upholsterer position.”

Running out of air by the last word, Kristen sprawled dramatically in her chair.

“Never mind a new upholsterer. Your assistant needs an assistant at this point,” she groaned.

I bit my lip as I glanced at her tablet clutched in her outstretched hand, looking at the space filled with so many overlapping blocks of color there was barely any white left.

A feeling on the back of my neck made me look up to find Kristen watching me, any hint of amusement or dramatics disappeared. Kristen was not naturally a serious person. Sarcastic, yes—bitingly so—and she never failed to say what was on her mind. But she was rarely serious like she was now.

I knew what she would say before she even said a word and tried to fill the space with words before she could.

“I have Kelsey working on the Haderman account. She’s doing a good job, but I had a few notes, which she’s working on now. But we should be able to get them the designs before the sixth—”

Kristen was still staring, and my words petered out.

“Bailey, I’m worried about you. Seriously.”

She didn’t need to tell me the last part.

“I’m fine.” I waved off her concern. “I can handle it all.”

“Handling it and being fine are two totally different things.” Kristen sat up and leaned forward, her gaze intent on me as she lifted her tablet. “Look at this schedule, Bailey. The only time you’re not working is when you’re sleeping, and you don’t even have much time for that. You’re going to make yourself sick or burn yourself out or something. This isn’t good.”

“I’m fine, seriously.” I smiled at Kristen, put a hand on her wrist, and squeezed with what I hoped was confidence. “This is the way I prefer it—you know that. It’s the only thing that uses up my boundless energy.”

Kristen’s lips thinned, her eyes narrowing. But she also knew that I wasn’t going to budge. We’d had this same argument enough for her to know it was fruitless.

“Can you at least take a break occasionally? Go on vacation? Do something for yourself?”

“I do stuff for myself all the time,” I answered, returning to my tablet and the emails that kept piling up no matter how quickly I responded.

“Oh, yeah? Name the last thing you did for yourself.” I could feel my assistant’s eyes on me even though I didn’t look up.

“I bought myself a high-end computer for designs,” I answered.

“That’s for the business. Not for you.”

“It was for both.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “I love that computer and that program.”

“You know what? You’re impossible, and I give up.” Kristen shook her head as she pushed to her feet. “I’m going to coordinate that furniture order with the delivery guys.”

I watched her go, knowing that was not the last I would hear of it, even though it sounded like Kristen had sworn off me.

The problem was I couldn’t entirely deny what she was saying. Yes, I was blessed with an enormous amount of energy, the kind that had me up and awake without the help of coffee and running all day without growing too tired. But it didn’t mean it had to or should be filled with work as it was now.

I could use the excuse that my business was new and I was trying to push it to grow, and it required all of my time, energy, and attention. But even that, as true as it was, was also an excuse.