didn’t happen.”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “Mmm-mm. No way.”
“Are you gonna tell everyone I blew my nose on you?”
“No,” I said, wiping the last of her tears from her cheek. “I just don’t plan on forgetting anything about this night.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
S O P H I A
It had been two weeks since Drew and I had found our way back to us. It felt good to be back on the same page, to have our relationship come out on the other side of another storm.
But while the worst of the storm was definitely over, I was feeling a slight uptick in the winds as I walked into Margot Nathan. Trey Daily was coming in today to approve some strategies the team wanted to implement as his launch neared. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was feeling a little shook.
I set my things on my desk and began unpacking, organizing everything how I liked it. Once I sat, I woke up my laptop and checked my calendar for the twentieth time in the last twenty-four hours. The daily meeting was still a go for ten a.m. Blah. My anxiety fluttered against my sternum like a kaleidoscope of butterflies had taken up residence in there.
It wasn’t even that I was worried about anything happening during the meeting. Jake hadn’t made any move to hurt Drew’s business or me, and he’d be an epic moron to make a fuss about it today. But I couldn’t help the overwhelming dread I felt at having to be reminded of how badly things had veered off course at our last meeting and how badly that had impacted my personal life.
I took a deep breath. I was better than this. Stronger. More professional. It was one meeting. I could suck it up for an hour.
“Sophia, can I see you for a moment in the conference room?”
I twisted my head toward the voice until I locked eyes on Carole, who looked at me expectantly.
“Um, sure,” I replied, because what else did one say to their boss when summoned? I wanted to question why she wanted to meet in the conference room, but asking questions was a kamikaze mission.
She nodded before turning and walking toward the conference room, leaving me to quickly stand and hurry after her. She ushered me inside and closed the door behind me.
This couldn’t be good. In the two months I’d been here, Carole had never electively had a conversation with me. It was always barked orders and vague directives.
She slid into one of the chairs, and I took the one across from her, though because we were at the head of the table, I didn’t have the safety of the table between us.
Carole studied me for a minute, and I forced myself to remain still under her scrutiny. This woman might have been able to wreck my career before it even started, but I’d lived with twenty other women. Carole could not out-bitch me.
Finally, she spoke. “The Trey Daily meeting is today.”
I waited a second for her to continue, but when she didn’t, I said, “Did you need me to prepare something for it?”
Her jaw worked a bit, as if she were gnawing at words she wasn’t sure she wanted to say. She leaned forward, rested her forearms on her thighs, and clasped her hands.
The move startled me, causing me to push my chair back a bit.
She gazed at her clasped hands for a second before looking up at me with what I could only describe as warmth. Or maybe it was the absence of blatant annoyance that I mistook for warmth. Either way, it wasn’t hostile, and it threw me.
“Sophia, where do you see yourself in ten years?”
Christ, is she career-coaching me?
I was so not in the place to appreciate her interest right now. Maybe I could reschedule the chat for a few hours later in the day when I didn’t feel like throwing up. But her face held genuine curiosity, and it made me want to be honest.
“In your position,” I said. “Here or elsewhere, but definitely in this field and at your caliber.”
She nodded absently. “And do you think you’ll ever get there if you allow men to steal your ideas and pass them off as their own?”
My complete and utter shock was the only excuse I had for the bald word “What?” coming out of my mouth.
“I’ve been at this for a long time. Seen a lot of interns. I know diamonds from coal, Sophia. I also know