Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“What kind of news?”
“Good news for you, silly.” She twists in her seat and looks through her purse, then pulls out a business card. Suzette slides it across the table like it’s worth a million bucks.
I take the card and turn it over. It’s the classy kind of business card—thick paper, smooth ink. This isn’t the cheap kind you can get at any office supply store.
The name on the front reads Michael Davies, CEO.
“What is this? I mean, who is this?”
Suzette smiles, pleased with herself. “I asked around, and it turns out a friend of a friend has a close friend whose company consults with nonprofits.”
I tip the card one way, then another, watching the light move on the embossed letters. “Consultation?”
“It’s right up your alley, Maddie.”
The name seems to ring a bell and then I read the website on the back and the tagline. “Wait, I applied for this place.” I nearly gasp as I the realization dawns of me. The company name looks familiar when it didn’t only moments before. “Only I applied to work in filing, not as anyone’s assistant or consultant.”
“Well, the CEO needs an assistant with a consultation background, and you have tons of experience.”
“I don’t, though. I’ve never worked as a consultant.”
“On the other side, I meant. You were on all those boards. And it’s not like that’s all you’ve ever done. You had jobs on boards before and always made it work. You know the ins and outs, and you have recent insight into costs and strategy. Don’t sell yourself short.”
I stare at her across the table. “You spun my board experience into a lead?” My heart pounds; I was on boards but it’s not like I was making the executive decisions. I have insight yes, but I wasn’t in charge of any major decisions.
“You can lean in this direction. Don’t undersell yourself.”
“I just don’t want to oversell myself,” I tell her.
A knot in my chest releases. I hadn’t known how much stress I was actually under until Suzette handed me this card.
“That’s impossible to do, Maddie. You have so much worth to provide. And they need it. Truly, this will be a match made in heaven.”
I let her words sink in and think back to all the strategy meetings. I did have a lot of success in that department, and more than that, I loved doing it. “It’s good to hear you say that, because I’ve felt like a total fraud lately.”
“Don’t.” She waves a hand in the air. “The last thing you are is a fraud. And if Michael thought so, he wouldn’t have given me a card. All you need to do is call and set up the interview.”
“You have no idea how good that sounds.”
“It’s not going to be good, it’s going to be great.” Suzette beams at me. “And, honestly, I don’t think you’d be an assistant very long. Once he sees how good you are at fundraising, he’ll have no choice but to put you in charge of a team.”
“A team?”
“They have a whole department just for gifts and philanthropy. You’ll get your foot in the door, and it’ll be like that.” She snaps her fingers.
“Oh, wow.” I take a few deep breaths, feeling lighter and hopeful once again. “That’s…thank you. I was starting to lose hope a bit on the job front. Having a rich fiancé isn’t impressive on a résumé.”
“Well...” Suzette gives me a meaningful look. “You don’t have a rich fiancé now.” She glances around the café as if we might be overheard. “You know what? Michael’s building isn’t far from here. Why don’t we walk over and see it?”
We take our coffees and go. I’m equally nervous and excited. Suzette’s confident enough for the both of us about this new job. I fall for her enthusiasm hook, line, and sinker. It only takes a block or two for excitement to win.
“So.” Suzette tosses her empty cup into a garbage bin. “What had you so excited before I gave you the best job lead ever?”
“Oh, it’s probably not...it’s nothing, really.”
“Did you meet someone?” she guesses. Suzette is sharp as a whip.
My face gets hot. The truth is that part of me wants to tell everybody I meet about Graham, but the other part wants to keep him a secret. That way, what we have together only belongs to me. Well that and the fact that I exchanged sex for rent also stays a secret.
“Maddie!” Suzette nudges my elbow with hers, and for a second I fear she can read my mind. “I can see you blushing. Did you meet a guy? No, no…tell me where you met a guy. I can tell you have a crush.”
I swallow thickly, holding onto my paper coffee cup with both hands. “You can’t say anything.”
Her eyebrows go up. “A secret boyfriend?” I can tell she wants to laugh, and I let out a long breath.