Page 14 of Song of Lorelei
Lila handed her a new tissue. “What is it—mermaid troubles? Work stress? Wedding planning woes? Is Killian being a butthead? Cause if he is…”
Far from it. Killian pampered her. Took care of dinner, most of the other household chores, and virtually all the wedding planning. Lorelei just said “yes” or “no” to things. If anyone was a butthead, it was her for overworking and not chipping in enough at home. “No, no, no. Just the first two. But mostly work today. I need to talk to Phil about hiring another person. But I’m worried that the hiring process is going to eat into time I don’t have.” Phil Simmons, the Director of the Haven Cove Marine Research Center, was both their bosses.
“It always does, but it doesn’t have to be as much as you fear. In the past, I’ve handled all the nitty-gritties of hiring myself with HR oversight, like what I did when I hired you, but now I let HR and Phil take care of it. I just give them a rundown of the type of personnel I need—what qualifications, experience, etc. They draft the job description and run it by me, but they handle all the job listings, recruiting, and scheduling of interviews. I just come in for the final rounds to decide. They can do that for you, too.”
Lorelei exhaled. “Really? That would be fantastic.”
Withdrawing her arm, Lila slid a pen and notepad off her desk. She flipped to a crisp new sheet. “Really. Here, I’ll help you brainstorm.”
Lorelei glanced at Lila’s work computer, biting her lower lip. “Don’t you have your own work? I don’t want to set you behind.”
Lila blew air between her lips. “Pssht. I have minions. I’m fine.”
Recalling the bags under Lila’s eyes, Lorelei crossed her arms and searched the marine biologist’s face for signs of a fib, but the shine in her eyes was just as bright and cheery as her smile. As if reading her mind, Lila added, “I have this whole decompressing ritual when I go home—exercise, a shower, some meditation, a glass of wine…dessert. I just stay up too late binging Nat Geo or the latest TV drama. I do love me some juicy political angst. You should try it, just, you know, go to bed on time.”
They spent the next half hour sketching out the role for an Assistant Museum Director. After referencing several sources online, Lorelei also emailed her former boss in Marquette, Michigan, asking if she could pick her brain sometime soon on museum operations.
When Lorelei rose from her seat, Lila offered her a bit of parting advice. “Just start thinking about the first couple projects you want your new team member to knock out for you. Makes onboarding a lot easier and helpful.”
“Thanks Lila. You’re a lifesaver, as always. Do you want to go out for drinks with me after work? My treat.”
“Hell yes.”
Lorelei left Lila’s office with a little spark to her step.
* * *
Running into Carrie Prior in the women’s bathroom was the last thing Lorelei expected on this bad morning turned to workday hell. All she wanted was to splash cool water on her face, and touch up her makeup, so she didn’t look like a sad, blotchy raccoon when she put in a hiring request with her boss. But no. Killian’s ex just had to be there to witness the aftermath of her meltdown. The woman’s penchant for showing up at the worst possible moment bordered on supernatural.
Lorelei found Killian’s ex at a sink washing her hands when she pushed open the bathroom door with her elbow. Carrie didn’t even turn her head, but whatever she saw out of the corner of her eye made her jump back. No sound but a breathless wheeze escaped her lips as she opened her mouth in pure terror. Her drained complexion could have rivaled printer paper.
When Lorelei took a step forward, Carrie moved back and held out her trembling wet hands as if to ward her off. But all she accomplished was drip water onto the floor. Lorelei glanced at her own reflection in the mirror. She looked bad. But not the type of bad that fills the room with fear so thick and cloying, it stuck in the air like someone had gone heavy on the air freshener. Mixed with unpleasant bathroom odors, and amplifying them, Carrie’s fear burned her throat, a noxious combination leaving a foul taste on her tongue that she didn’t want to think too much about.
Turning her head into her elbow, Lorelei coughed. “God, it stinks in here.”
Recognition settled over Carrie’s features and bright pink color returned to her cheeks. She swiped a paper towel from the dispenser with a ferocious yank. “Jesus, Lori. You scared the shit out of me!”
“Smells like it,” Lorelei grumbled under her breath. She stepped up to the open sink furthest from Carrie and set her makeup bag on a clean paper towel on top of the counter.
“What did you say?”
Lorelei ran the cold water and splashed her face several times. It wouldn’t do much to reduce the puffiness around her eyes, but it did make her feel better. At least, as good as she could feel with Carrie hovering nearby. Patting her face dry with a towelette, Lorelei ignored the question by asking one of her own. “What are you doing here?”
Carrie tapped the visitor’s pass clipped to her lapel with one perfectly manicured nail. “I’m here for an open house tour. And then I have lunch with my cousin at noon.”
Lorelei arched an eyebrow. “With…Lila?” The marine biologist didn’t like her husband’s cousin any more than Lorelei did, but she tried to be civil for the sake of family. Maybe this was one of those obligatory family meetups. But it was odd Lila hadn’t warned her Carrie would be at the research center today, given the trouble they had with her in the past.
Carrie tossed her used towel into the trash and stepped in front of the mirror, turning ivory porcelain cheeks this way, to check her perfect makeup and primp her perfect light brown locks, curled gently at the ends. It was wholly unnecessary and a not-so-sly, unspoken jab at Lorelei’s frazzled appearance.
While Lorelei was no slouch, Carrie came to the research center dressed to impress with her navy-blue blazer, light wash jeans, and beige, peep-toe, ankle boots. Save for a concave dip in her calf muscle, where Lorelei may have accidentally, on purpose, taken a chunk out of her leg, Carrie filled out every single curve in her tight, tailored jeans.
Carrie had the look of someone on top of their game.
Glancing down at her left hand, she spun her engagement ring around with her thumb. She tried really, really, hard not to think about the fact that this was a woman Killian once loved. Neither Carrie nor Killian had ever given her any reason to be jealous of their history, but exhaustion wore her emotional resilience thin, and Lorelei fumbled.
Self-doubt was a cruel, wicked beast.
A smug little smile curled up the corners of Carrie’s mouth. “No. With the director.”