A Fortunate Arrangement. Nancy Robards Thompson

Epilogue

       Extract

       About the Publisher

       Chapter One

      Austin Fortune almost missed the plain white envelope at the bottom of the stack of papers his assistant Felicity Schafer had set on his desk. After he’d read the letter, he wished he’d never seen it and for a moment, he considered pretending as if he hadn’t read it.

      Maybe it would just disappear.

      Instead, the reality of it danced around him like illuminated dust motes.

      Felicity, his gatekeeper, his right hand, the person who kept him organized and on track ahead of the fray, had tendered her resignation.

      “Is this a bad joke?” he muttered aloud, trying it on for size.

      But no. Even though Felicity was good-natured, it would’ve been out of character for her to kid around about something like this.

      “She’s leaving me.” Uttering the words out loud made it sound personal. It wasn’t personal—it was work, but it sure felt personal.

      He looked up from the note and watched her through the glass wall of his office. She was engrossed in something on her computer. He didn’t know what. He could see her in profile. Her head was bowed over her keyboard, her dark blond hair a curtain hiding her face.

      What the hell was he supposed to do without her? Every morning when he got to the office, she had a daily briefing typed up and waiting for him on his desk along with his coffee and a smoothie with energy booster. She remembered birthdays, anniversaries and the minutiae of family and client particulars that elevated and solidified his business relationships and could prove costly if forgotten. She was always game for brainstorming new concepts and abstract business angles. Ultimately assisting with client presentations.

      Plain and simple, Felicity made him look good and was always there to help him succeed.

      It wasn’t just a matter of hiring someone new. Felicity was a rare find. She had an uncanny ability to anticipate his every need—even before he knew what he needed. In all fairness, he paid her well and she seemed happy. So, why was she leaving him?

      He skimmed the letter again looking for clues, but in true Felicity form, it was short and to the point.

      Dear Austin,

      Please accept this letter as notification that I am leaving my position with Fortune Investments at the end of the month.

      I’ve left the date open, so I can be of assistance during the transition.

      Sincerely,

      Felicity Schafer

      Austin reread the note twice more, making sure he’d read it right. Once he’d absorbed it, he had a good idea of how he might fix it. He pressed the button on the intercom.

      “Felicity, could you come into my office, please?”

      “Sure.”

      A moment later, she was standing in his doorway.

      “What do you need?” she asked.

      “If you wanted a raise,” he said, “all you had to do was ask.”

      She wrinkled her nose. “A raise?”

      “Of course, you just had your half-year review and got a bump in salary, but if it wasn’t enough, if you want more money, we can talk about it.”

      She gave her head a quick shake. “Who said anything about a raise?”

      He picked up her letter. “I thought maybe that’s what this was about. I mean why else would you resign?”

      Her cheeks flushed, and her mouth fell open before she snapped it shut, into a thin line and folded her arms across her chest. She looked at him as if he had insulted her.

       How could offering someone more money be insulting?

      He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, mirroring her posture.

      “Austin, you’ve always been generous when it comes to my salary. But I’m graduating with my MBA at the end of the month. I don’t need a graduate degree to be someone’s personal assistant. It’s time I moved on.”

      “Do you have another job?”

      “No, not yet. I’m going to start interviewing soon. I wanted to be up-front with you about it.”

      “Thanks,” he said.

      She flinched. He realized he might have sounded sarcastic. Maybe a very small part of him had meant it that way. Was he supposed to be happy he was losing her?

      He raked his hand through his hair. This was not the way he wanted to start his Friday. It certainly wasn’t the way he wanted to end his week.

      He gestured for her to sit down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk.

      She sat and folded her hands in her lap. “I’ve loved working for you and Fortune Investments, but I’ve worked hard to get this degree.”

      He didn’t say anything because he was afraid what he wanted to say would sound wrong. He’d always prided himself on being fair.

      “I hope you can understand that I want more than being someone’s secretary for the rest of my working life,” she went on. “Because that’s what I am. We can dress it up and call me your assistant, but when it comes down to it, I’m your secretary. It’s been a great job, but now I need more.”

      He held up his hand.

      “I get it,” he said. “I do. Congratulations on accomplishing this, Felicity. I’m happy for you. I know how hard you’ve worked. You’re smart and you’re creative and I understand that a person with an MBA is way overqualified to be a personal assistant. You’d be wasting your potential staying in this position. But that doesn’t make it any easier for me because I don’t want to lose you.”

      He held her gaze and her expression softened.

      “I mean did you expect me not to be upset about the prospect of losing you?” He held up his hand again to signal that the question was rhetorical. “But that’s me being selfish. This isn’t about me. It’s about you. What do you want to do with your degree?”

      “My undergraduate degree is in advertising. I’ve always wanted to work in that field.”

      “You’d be good at it,” he said. “You’d be good at anything you decided to do.”

      Her cheeks turned pink again. She looked down and then back up at him.

      “Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay with Fortune Investments?”

      “I don’t know. Are there any opportunities here?”

      “What if I talk to Miles and see if we can create a position for you? I’m not making any promises, but would you consider staying if we could come up with something?”

      Felicity smiled. “It depends. Would it mean doing advertising work in addition to everything I do for you?”

      Austin laughed. “You know me too well.”

      “I know I do.”

      “How am I supposed to get by without you, Felicity?”

      She shrugged. “You did fine before I came on board. You’ll survive.”

      No, he hadn’t been fine before she came onto the scene. His