And for the first time in her life, she didn’t feel at all guilty about what kind of girl that made her. Because right now, that was exactly the kind of woman she wanted to be.
“Good,” Sam said, then wagged a finger at her. “Now get back to work, slacker. You’ve got high-level important shit to do.”
“That is my official job description,” she said solemnly.
“And I expect full kinktastic details this weekend.”
“You’ll have to get me drunk.”
“Done!”
Tessa smiled, warmth moving through her. She had a best friend to count on. A sexy man to spend time with. And a job that meant something. Who was this girl? And whose life was she living?
Maybe her list was working after all.
Tessa leaned over and scanned the endless numbers on the documents she’d printed out and spread across her desk. One of the big-deal potential donors she’d called today had wanted to know more detailed information about her charity and their financial situation before he made a commitment. She’d flubbed her explanation, stumbled on her words, and exposed how little hard financial data she knew. She’d come off looking like an idiot. And predictably, the man had made up an excuse and said he wasn’t able to donate this year. Thousands of dollars down the tube.
The failure had been like a fat fist punching right through the confidence she’d been feeling the night before. In that moment, still hearing the disgust in the man’s voice at her lack of expertise ringing in her ear, she’d wanted to quit, to find someone who could do this job without screwing it up completely. The charity was going to go under because she was an uneducated dingbat pretending she was smart enough to have a big important job. She was kidding no one.
But right when she was on the verge of full breakdown, she’d pictured Doug’s smiling face, the I-told-you-so in his eyes. That had been enough to staunch the tears that had wanted to come. And instead of having her pity party, she’d left for an early lunch break and had headed over to Bluebonnet Place to have sandwiches with the staff. They’d welcomed her with enthusiasm and had ended up brainstorming with her to help come up with ideas of how to get the kids involved in the Dine and Donate event. They’d decided that artwork and crafts would be fun. Each child could put together something to display at the event and possibly sell.
It’d been a productive visit and one that had made her feel like a real part of that team for the first time ever. That was all she’d needed to reinvigorate her. She’d left with a stack of financial documents, determined to learn everything she could about the business she’d started. But now her head was hurting and her eyes were blurring. She’d taken accounting classes over the past year and knew the basics of a P and L statement, but there were things that didn’t add up in these. And for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what she was doing wrong. Gibson had suggested she talk to someone in accounting if she wanted any help, and it looked like she may have to do that because the numbers were not making sense. Based on the donations, Bluebonnet shouldn’t be struggling so much to stay afloat. But clearly, she was missing something or reading it wrong.
Tessa’s office phone rang, startling her from the notes she was making. She grabbed the phone and pressed the wrong button at first.
“Tess?” Kade’s voice boomed through her small office.
“Hold on, you’re on speaker.” Her fingers hovered above the keypad, as she tried to figure out what to press. These phones had so many buttons, she was afraid she might launch a missile or something if she pressed the wrong one.
“It’s the blue one,” Kade offered.
“Right.” She hit the button and put the receiver to her ear. “Sorry. I’m still figuring out things here.”
“No worries, you’ll get the hang of it,” Kade said, his good nature so vastly different from the bosses she’d worked with lately. “Did you get my package?”
She glanced down at the manila envelope that had arrived an hour ago. The words Confidential, Hold for Mr. Vandergriff scrawled across it. “Yes.”
“Did you open it?”
“No, I’ve been really buried this afternoon. Plus, it said Confidential.”
“Good girl.” She could hear the pleased smile in his voice. “I like that you follow instructions. It’s going to serve you well with what we’re doing.”
She wet her lips and glanced toward her open door, knowing anyone could be listening. “Yes, sir.”
“I’m taking you out tonight. I have a friend who’s performing at a little bar in Fort Worth and a few people I know are going. I’m not usually into country music, but he’s pretty good. Should be fun.”
A little flutter of panic went through her, and she lowered her voice. “We had agreed to keep things private.”
“I need you to trust that I’m not going to break that promise. These are close friends of mine who will have no trouble being discreet. They’re a safe group for us to be around. And the bar is off the beaten path.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, but I thought this was all about fantasy. This sounds like a date.”
“Appearances can be deceiving. When you can, lock your door and open the envelope. I want you to wear what’s in there for me tonight. Understand?”
Her eyes moved back to the ominous package. “Okay.”
“I’ll pick you up at your place. Be ready.”