Page 4 of Embrace Me

He’d been afraid that I wouldn’t want him back, but I can hardly blame someone for their ambition, and I’m thrilled to have him back on the team. I’d been a little worried that he’d be frustrated by Abby’s rise in the company, but he’s not.

All in all, he’s about as perfect as an employee can be, and I think going away made him realize what a good thing he has here. Over the last few months, he’s become as much of a right hand as Abby.

And I’m especially grateful for him now that I’m trying to get every single duck in order before I go on maternity leave.

Today’s task is to choose five potential interns to bring in for an interview. I add two more to the No Thank You pile, then move a USC sophomore’s resume to the Maybe pile before leaning back in my chair.

“Problem?” Eric asks as he steps back into the conference room. He puts my cup of decaf in front of me, then heads to his side of the table.

“Just wondering if you’re sure you want to bring on an intern right now.” The idea had been Eric’s, something he’d run by Abby and me about two weeks ago. “The timing’s not ideal,” I add.

He drags his fingers through his hair. “Not perfect,” he agrees. “But there’s still time.”

I glance down at B.B.S., who will be ready to greet the world before I know it. “You’ve got a few weeks, sure. But we aren’t going to hire someone today, and you’re going to have to train them before you can use them.” I shrug. “Honestly, it might be easier for you and Abby to just divide the work. And if you really get into a bind, you know you can always call me.”

He cocks his head and looks me in the eye, then glances down to my baby bump. “I appreciate the offer, but honestly, Nik…?” He grins. “One, I’m thinking you won’t want to be disturbed. And two, I’m thinking you’re going to be so frazzled, you wouldn’t even know what the answer is.”

I laugh. He’s probably not wrong.

“Besides, if we can get someone in to interview in the next day or so, I’ll have almost a week of training before you even leave, right?”

“That’s true,” I say, picturing the calendar in my head. “This little guy’s due in just over three weeks, so I plan to work about ten more days here and then stay home. But until the baby’s born, I’ll be working. You can call me at home. Or come by. I’ll set up the bungalow as an office again, so I’ll be there when you need me until I come back here after my leave.”

“We’ll be fine. You have two little girls who are going to want your time before their brother comes, and then you’re going to have a little boy who’s going to be very demanding.” He grins and indicates himself with a flip of his fingers. “Trust me. I know how much trouble guys can be.”

“Fair enough.” I look at my stack of potentials, then slide it toward him. “In that case, knock yourself out. I trust you to hire someone perfect.”

His eyes widen a little. “What? You’re saying you don’t want a say?”

“You’re going to be the one working the closest with our intern. I think you should do the initial calls and interviews, then get Abby to approve your choice. I’ll help if you need me to, but otherwise go for it.”

He leans back in his chair, looking only slightly discombobulated. Then he nods. “Yeah. I know what we need. Of course I can do this.”

I laugh. “Yes. You can.”

“I’ll arrange the interviews for when Abby’s back,” he says referring to my partner who’s currently in Dallas meeting with one of our anchor clients. “It’ll be easier if she’s in the office when I do the interviews. That way I can steer whoever I like over to her office for a second interview.”

“See? You’re already on top of it.” I glance at my notes to see what else we have to cover. “What about Every Note?”

“All good,” he says. “I’m heading over to Stark Tower later today to do some training on the new features, but I don’t foresee any issues.”

“Good.” Every Note is a cross-platform, collaborative note-taking app that I designed about the time that I met Damien. It hadn’t been finished yet, but I told him about it, and he’d seen the potential. He’d actually wanted to license it right away, but I insisted on starting my business without a connection to my then-boyfriend. Once established, though, I was more than happy to add Stark International to the client list.

I glance at my notepad again and go over a few lingering details until Eric leans back in his chair and groans. “Nikki, you’re having a baby, not transferring to the moon. We don’t have to go over everything today.”

I sigh. He’s right of course. I’m in that state where I want to get everything in order before the baby comes. Some books call it nesting. I call it being organized.

“You’re right.” I narrow my eyes. “But I’m still going to type all this up and send it to you.”

He laughs. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

I push back and stand, groaning as I get my balance. “All right, I’m heading out. I have a lunch date, and then I’m going to head home to get ready for tonight. Are you coming?”

“Are you kidding? Of course.”

“Good,” I say, because even though giving speeches makes me nervous, it’s for a good cause and I want my team there, too.

“Business lunch or pleasure?” he asks. “Not that it’s any of my business.”