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"You’re spacing out again," Glynnis said "Stop it!"

"Okay Sorry" I dropped Petra’s book onto the table with a thunk "Let’s start by focusing on what value we can bring to her organization"

"Seriously?"

"Okay," I said, conceding lameness "How can we sell her better than she can sell herself?"

"She’s not selling herself," Glynnis said "Beyond what her publisher is doing for her She doesn’t haveher company, Petra Polly doesn’t seem to want to be seen"

That was odd Maybe it meant she didn’t understand the power of socialher every dictum when she didn’t understand how to use the Internet? It didn’tto stay mysterious But why?

"Let’s focus on the products," I said, going with a hunch "Not Petra"

"But she’s cute and hipstery," Glynnis said with a skeptical lift of her brow "Don’t ant to use that?"

It was an easy way to brand herself If Petra wanted to use it, she would have "I don’t think that’s what she wants"

"I disagree I think you want the easy way out" Glynnis gathered her things angrily, and then stooped to whisper in my ear "If I wanted soone to Jackie"

"That’s not fair"

Glynnis’s fair skin had grown ruddy with her frustration "If you want to keep your job, you need to start thinking--"

"Don’t say ‘outside the box’"

She shoved Petra’s book into her"Make fun of it all you want, but, yes, that’s exactly e need to be doing"

"Giving her the expected response does not qualify as creative thinking"

"We’ll make it special" To my horror, her eyes welled up "We can offer her that"

"Of course we can," I said soothingly

"You’re the e We all need you I don’t want to keep living with o soer than a car payment I--" She dissolved into tears

"I’ll try," I proo over there"

Mykia sat onblueberries into herout ht the fruit with her because h blackberries to make a jar of jam for at least another year or two Patience will be rewarded, the garden remindednot to obsess aboutit next year"

Mykia told arden," she said "Some stuff works, so ends up producing the following year Keeps you living in a constant state of suspense, so whatever co, when I got up early to water and weed and do all the caretaking things that had becoreenish-orange slightly tie-dyed look to orange, burgeoning on red, like a really beautiful sunrise The plants looked healthy and strong, their leaves a deep green velvet I couldn’t disguise my pride when I showed Mykia as soon as she’d arrived

"This is good," Mykia had said with a deep sense of satisfaction "You did good, Paige"

No one had toldthat I’d teared up and hugged her

She had a sharper expression on her face as she hopped off the counter and went to the , taking in Mr Eckhardt’s perfect lawn "You still have the earrings, right? You didn’t give the them, I set theotten fro with Sean’s presence and the party overall, hadtheain, even angrier that I’d kept theive them back"