Ugly(130)

“You think? What did they say?”

“They want to fly me out to New York, all expenses paid, to have a talk with me.”

“Wow.” The way Peter drags ‘wow’ out, it gives me goosebumps and makes me smile. “What an opportunity. And to do something you love. You have to go.”

“What?”

“You have to go. Take that nice young man with you, the one who stutters, and go to New York. If for nothing else, just to hear them out.” I regard Peter. I’ve always said he has his finger on the pulse, and for him to refer to Max, tells me just how much he knows.

“She offered to set it up for next weekend.”

“Did she? You have a day off next Friday, and the following Monday,” he says with certainty.

“No I don’t.” I shake my head while mentally thinking about my schedule. But my days are set, Monday to Friday.

“I’m giving them to you. You have next Friday and the following Monday off. You can’t let this opportunity go. It may be what you want, it may not, but you have to go and discover that for yourself.”

“But, what about my job here?”

“Are you kidding me, Lily? You’ve been, hands down, the best personal assistant I’ve ever had, but this place isn’t for you. It never has been. You need to do what you love.”

“But I owe Dale money.”

“Yes, and from what he’s told me, you’re barreling along paying your car off. You’ll still pay it off, you won’t abandon your responsibilities. And besides, Dale will kick your ass out of the office next Friday once he finds out you’ve been offered this opportunity.”

“What if I don’t like what they have to say?”

Peter stands from behind his desk, and comes over to me. He places his big, wrinkly hand on my shoulder and smiles. “Then you say ‘thank you, but no thank you’ and come back here. But don’t not do it for fear of what may happen. Because you’ll always look back and say ‘what if’. Your job is secure here, it’s not going anywhere. But truthfully, Lily, it’s time you do what you love.”

I feel a tear flow down my cheek, and I simply nod. “Thank you, Peter.”

“You’re welcome. Now go home and I’ll see you on Monday, when you’ll come in here with the prettiest smile you’ve ever had, because your work-week will be short, and you’ll be going to New York.”

My whole life I’ve been surrounded by men who never cared about me for anything more than their own benefit. Now I’m in a sea of gentlemen. They not only care, but they push me to be the best version of myself I can be, without any worry of the consequences for them.



“I’m so proud of you,” Max says as he sweeps me up and spins me around once I tell him about my phone call. “You’re going to go, right?” He places me on my feet and rubs his hands up and down my arms.

“Peter says I need to, if anything, just to hear them out.”

“Smart man your boss. Hang on, I’ve ordered Thai for dinner.”

“Thank you. I don’t know, what do you think, should I go?” I walk over to the sofa with my water bottle and curl up on the edge with my feet tucked under my body.

“Of course I think you should go. It may be the opportunity of a lifetime, it may be a stepping stone to something bigger, or it may just end up being a weekend trip to New York. But in any event, you shouldn’t let this chance pass.”

I take a deep breath and look out over the city. We’re in Max’s apartment and the view is nothing short of breathtaking. I huff, still unsure what to do.

“What’s the problem? What’s stopping you?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I suppose it’s the unknown. What if it ends up being something I can’t do?”

“That’s a logical feeling. But look at it this way. You’ve been doing this since when? December? We’re in April, and four of your authors have made both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Four. And one of them hit with their debut novel. If publishers are taking note of them, then they’ll see your name attached to their books. And that makes them sit up and take note, because they believe you’ll improve the manuscripts you work on and make them money. You’re obviously already doing something right.”

I open my water bottle and take a sip. “That’s logical.” Can’t argue with that.

“What’s the worst thing which can happen? You’ll take a job with them, it won’t work out, and you’ll need to go back to the supermarket. You’ll still have the authors who aren’t with a publishing company, and you’ll still be doing what you love. So really, I don’t see a risk.”