Three dayster, on Friday, Eleanor had justpleted part of the handover to Garrison Bradley''s team and was looking forward to the weekend. She decided to speed up the transition process so she could take her daughter on a trip abroad once summer vacation started.
It had been two and a half years, and she''d barely had a chance to truly rx. Thest time she went skiing in Drexford, she''d brought work with her, and her multiple business trips to Kingston had all been work-focused.
As Eleanor was packing up to leave for the day, her phone rang. She nced at the screen and was surprised to see it was Joel Kingsley.
"Hey, Joel," she answered cheerfully.
"Ellie, are you free tonight? We''re having a get-together, and you shoulde," Joel said, his voice light. He added, "Callie and Gwenda will be there. It''s been a while since we all hung out."
Eleanor paused. Judging by Joel''s tone, it sounded like there was good news.
"Joel, is there something to celebrate?"
Joelughed on the other end. "Can''t hide anything from you. The sales orders for the firstmercial product from our project have blown past all expectations, and the market feedback is fantastic. The team wants to have a small celebration. As a key contributor from the early stages, you have to be there!"
Eleanor was genuinely happy to hear the news. "That''s wonderful! Congrattions to all of you."
She decided to go. "Where is it? I''ll head over in a bit."
Joel gave her the address of a restaurant downtown.
"Okay, I just need to arrange something for my daughter. I should be there around six-thirty," Eleanor said.
"Great, see you then." Joel hung up. Eleanor nced at the time—it was 4:50 PM. Before she could figure out what to do about her daughter, her phone rang again. It wasn.
Eleanor hesitated for a moment, then answered with a sense of premonition. "Hello?"
"You should go to Joel''s get-together tonight. I''ve already asked Serena to pick up Evelyn and take her to my mother''s for dinner," Ian''s deep voice came through the line.
Seeing that he had already made arrangements, and wanting a chance to unwind, she agreed. "Okay, thank you."
"Have a good time and rx tonight,"n said before ending the call.
A momentter, a text from Serena came in, saying she was already waiting at the school gate and that Eleanor should go enjoy her dinner without worrying about Evelyn.
Eleanor was perfectlyfortable with Evelyn going to Goodwin Manor. Since she was no longer in a rush, she opened herptop and decided to work a little longer, nning to leave around five-thirty.
Meanwhile, in a conference room at Goodwin & Co.,n sat across from several managers in charge of themercial project''s sales. Their faces were beaming. "Mr. Goodwin, the presale numbers are thirty percent higher than our most optimistic estimates
Word-of-mouth is spreading fast,
and the potential for future growth is huge."
After the managers left, Gavin walked in. "Mr. Goodwin, The Green Olive has been booked out for the evening. When were you nning on heading over?"
"There''s no rush. I''ll goter,"n said coolly.
Gavin understood immediately. Was Mr. Goodwin worried that his presence would keep Miss Sutton from fully enjoying herself?
Then again, their rtionship had improved considerably, so maybe that wasn''t a concern anymore.
Around five-thirty, Eleanor got ready to leave. She wore a crisp white blouse and a tailored pencil skirt-clean, confident, and unmistakably put-together.
She went to the restroom and took
off her hair tie. Her silky,
waist-length hair cascaded down her back. After arranging it to fall naturally, she touched up her lipstick, which instantly brightened her expression. Looking at her reflection, Eleanor pressed her lips. together in a small smile, grabbed her bag, and headed for the elevators.
She felt a sense of pride knowing that the project''s incredible sess was
something she had helped build.
Eleanor drove to The Green Olive, feeling rxed. When she walked in, Joel''s team
and her own were already there, chatting animatedly.