Page 44 of Fool Me Twice
Her eyes widened. “Operations manager?”
“Yes.” I took a bite of a sweet-potato empanada.
Georgia made a dramatic show of looking around the room. “Hold on. Are you sure you brought the right person to lunch?”
I lowered my fork, unsure how to respond to that.
“I’m a news woman,” she said. “I’m the last person qualified to be operations manager. There are so many people back at the station right now you could ask to do it. There’s Maddie, there’s—”
“I asked you, because you have the personality.”
A quiet moment followed, during which Georgia seemed lost in thought.
“I’m listening,” she finally said.
“You’re good with people, Georgia. This position will require a lot of person-to-person interaction.”
“I don’t know.” She twisted her lips.
“What is holding you back?”
“I like what I do now. I’m good at it. I know what to expect when I show up for work each day.”
It wasn’t the answer I had expected to hear. Then again, perhaps she had changed more than I thought.
“Is that what you really like?” I asked. “The Georgia I used to know hated doing the same thing every day.”
She snorted at that, her eyes rolling. “The Georgia you knew was a bit of a risk taker.”
“What cautious person goes on an ATV ride all by themselves?”
“It was the lizard’s fault.”
“What?” I asked, unsure I’d heard correctly.
“Never mind.” She waved her hand.
“The position would involve you spending a fair amount of time in our Rio offices. Most likely, your time would be split between Baltimore and there.”
At that, she sat a little straighter. Unexpectedly, my heart sped up. Was she excited at the prospect of being near me?
I couldn’t lie to myself: Georgia had been on my mind nonstop since our last dinner together. I had mostly acquired the station she worked at because it was a good business move, but the fact that it would keep Georgia in my life to even a small degree was a bonus.
And it wasn’t about making up the past or proving myself to her. Though those things would have been nice, I knew there was the possibility I might never fully fix what happened years ago. The only thing I could do was be the best man possible now.
Her eyes flitted around, and I could see her processing this new bit of information. With my heart slamming against my ribcage, I spoke up.
“I could help you get set up in Rio. I know many realtors, and the company would cover your apartment there.”
She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “I have been thinking about how I want to shake things up. Baltimore is kind of slow for me.”
“Oh.” I tried to hide my disappointment. So it wasn’t that she wanted to be closer to me.
And of course not. Why had I ever thought that might be the case?
“I don’t know…” She poked at her lunch. “Are you sure I’m the person for the job?”
I looked deep into her blue eyes. “You are smart. Adaptable. You see both sides of matters. You are empathetic and yet you always remain levelheaded and fair. And you are committed to the pursuit of the truth.”